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Dan Mullen<br />
Head Coach<br />
What is the typical day in the life of<br />
a college coach?<br />
It changes every day. It starts early and ends late with all<br />
kinds of surprises in between.<br />
Who or what inspired you to become a<br />
coach?<br />
I have always loved football since I was young. I learned the<br />
7-times table in math right away because of touchdowns. I<br />
have always loved teaching young people and have a master’s<br />
degree in education. So I think I was always drawn to be a<br />
coach.<br />
What do you consider your greatest<br />
achievement/accomplishment and why?<br />
Becoming a head coach. I have had to work for everything<br />
to get where I am today. I played small college football, had<br />
no family connections, am from the northeast and yet I am<br />
the head coach at MSU. It is a lesson that if you are willing<br />
to work hard, sacrifice and are committed to your goals you<br />
can make your dreams come true.<br />
Is there a part of your job that you<br />
didn’t anticipate?<br />
There is nothing that can prepare you to be the head coach<br />
and make all the decisions and deal with all the issues you<br />
have to deal with.<br />
If you could give one piece of advice<br />
to a young person, what would it be?<br />
Work hard, be willing to make sacrifices and stay committed<br />
to your goals and you will accomplish them.<br />
What do you love most about Starkville?<br />
The people. This is a great community and the best college<br />
town in the south because of the people that make this town<br />
great.<br />
What is the most rewarding thing<br />
about your job?<br />
Seeing young men graduate and get to live out their dreams.<br />
What is your favorite Mississippi State<br />
tradition?<br />
The cowbell. It means so much to people. It’s a sense of<br />
pride that is handed down from generation to generation.<br />
What’s your biggest win as a coach?<br />
Graduation Day when my players walk across that stage.<br />
Besides your home stadium, where is<br />
your favorite place to play and why?<br />
Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah. I had a lot of<br />
great memories there.<br />
What is your favorite childhood sports<br />
memory?<br />
Winning the 1998 New Hampshire State Football<br />
Championship.<br />
What are your feelings about having<br />
more teams in the national play-offs?<br />
We need to see how this system works first before we try to<br />
change again.<br />
What’s one of the most difficult things<br />
about being a public figure?<br />
The most difficult is that I, along with my family, have to<br />
give up all our privacy in our lives. We are open game to<br />
anyone, anytime, good or bad.<br />
what’s the most rewarding thing about<br />
being a public figure?<br />
I am in a position to make a positive impact on people lives<br />
just by being me. You are able to pick people up that are<br />
going thru hard times.<br />
What’s your favorite thing to do in<br />
your spare time?<br />
Spend time with my family<br />
Who is your biggest fan?<br />
My son Canon.<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> Rankin <strong>Clinton</strong> • 23 75
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