Diaz Leaves MSU For Texas; But Not All’s Bad At MSU

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It’s just not easy for traditional second-tier programs to become top-tier programs.  First you have to find the right head coach.  Then he has to find the right players and the right assistants.  Then they all have to mesh together well.

But as soon as that happens — and for a lot of school that never happens — the traditional top-tier programs start circling like buzzards over roadkill.

In the case of Mississippi State, the buzzards this offseason have included Miami and Texas.  And while the Bulldogs have now lost defensive coordinator Manny Diaz to the Longhorns, the upside is that MSU is now winning enough to get noticed by the big boys.

Fans don’t like losing coaches to other programs, but it beats the hell out of losing games instead.

No one in Starkville should blame Diaz for leaving.  Texas is one of the top five programs in the country.  They have deep pockets and a deeper recruiting base.  They have a history of winning and play in a watered-down league that now (sans championship game) offers an easy route to BCS bowls.  In addition, assistants at Texas move on to head coaching jobs (see: Gene Chizik and Will Muschamp).  MSU simply couldn’t match what Mack Brown had to offer.  Most schools couldn’t.

So now MSU is left looking for a new defensive coordinator — who will be the school’s fifth in five years — as well as a replacement for receivers coach Mark Hudspeth.

The defensive coordinator slot will likely go to co-coordinator Chris Wilson.  In fact, Dan Mullen has already told one recruit that Wilson will get the job.  That should make for at least some continuity as the Bulldogs transition to yet another new DC.

But the bottom line is this: Other schools don’t come sniffing around unless you’re winning.  Winning, by default, increases the chances that those who are leading your school to victory will leave. 

But it’s better to have won games and lost coaches… than never to have won games at all.

I think Tennyson wrote that.