Mississippi St. Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen, who's been linked by ESPN's Joe Schad to the soon-to-be-open Penn St. Nittany Lions job, didn't say much at his regular Tuesday press conference that will get the hounds off the scent. He may have also requested a spot on the lists of presumed candidates for every other school that needs a new coach. If that was a real thing, it would be an excellent way to troll your friends. Watch as your buddy opens his front door, only to be greeted by a horde of beat writers!
Here's Mullen:
"Great," Mullen said, in a wryly tone this afternoon. "I'm sure I'm on everybody's. Am I right? Every time a job comes open, doesn't my name come up? So, you know our policy. We talk Mississippi State football. That's all we ever talk about."
"I think it's great for the program," he said. "... There are two rumors about you: either rumors you're going somewhere or rumors you're getting fired. So, I'll take the going-somewhere rumor better than the getting-fired rumor."
Mullen is right. He's been attached to many a reported short list, but the only one before this one that caught on BUZZ-WISE was the Florida Gators job. He'd coached at Florida right before taking over in Starkville, but said the same sorts of things about those rumors that he's saying right now.
For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries and SB Nation Pittsburgh, and here's our 2011 Coaching Carousel Tracker.