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Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2008 > December > 04 > Entry
How good is the Mississippi State job?
I TURN TO REGGIE KELLY
FOR ‘BULLDOG’ ANSWERS
There’s good, bad and ugly with every college head football coaching job that comes available.
How good, bad and ugly is the Mississippi State job?
I turned to the man who knows for answers … Cincinnati Bengals tight end Reginald Kuta “Reggie” Kelly. Born on Feb. 22, 1977, in Aberdeen, Miss., he played at Mississippi State, and offered these words for “LUDWIG AT LARGE.”
Reggie Kelly
Obviously, Slyvester Croom did the best he could, and his best wasn’t good enough to appease Bulldog Nation.
Croom’s firing saddened “Ludwig At Large,” and has triggered all sorts of speculation about the next head coach.
Will “Bulldog Nation” experience prosperity or will it watch its program twist in the wind?
BENGALS TE REGGIE KELLY
LOVES MISSISSIPPI STATE
THE GOOD…
“It’s a really good college town. Great fans, a family-oriented town as well, so the next head coach definitely will enjoy it. He will enjoy the hospitality. and he will enjoy the great college life.
“Starkville is a small town, really not much to do. From a teammates perspective, we did a lot of hanging out together, chilling out at the dorm. We had a great time being with the guys. Most of my teammates were from Mississippi and some from Georgia as well. There’s not really much to do there at Mississippi State but just play football, basketball or baseball and just hang out with the fellows.”
THE BAD …
Kelly agreed there are budgetary concerns, and the fact that Alabama and LSU sweep into the state like huge vacuum cleaners and gobble up players.
“I would say that that would possibly be the toughest thing about trying to get good players at Mississippi State that you do have Alabama, you do have LSU, and of course you have your rival, Ole Miss. So with those guys close by, they do steal a lot of your good players. But a lot of good players also stay there. We get a lot of good players out of Georgia and Florida as well. That would be the toughest part about it for the next coach that’s going to come in, is recruiting. That will be a tough challenge.”
THE CHALLENGE …
“It’s a really good job, but it’s a tough job. You’re more than likely going to have a great staff, great facilities. People around there are obviously big-time football fans and they want to see the team do well. They’re going to support you in any way possible. There’s a lot of pressure in that regard. I think it would be a great challenge and it will be a great opportunity for the next coach that comes in.
“I really like coach (Sylvester) Croom. I had an opportunity to meet him last year, talk with him and talk with the team. I had a great vibe. They had a great feel for him. But being in that type of town and that particular situation, they really want to win and really want to win bad. They have great expectations. So it didn’t quite pan out that way. I’m going to miss him. I wanted a chance to see him in the offseason and talk with him and just hang out with him. but I’m not going to be able to do that. Hopefully, I can build some good ties with the next upcoming head coach.”
A GUY IN MIND …
“Carson (Palmer) said when I retire, I should be the next head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. I would have to have a lot of good mentors and a lot of good people around me. I think it would be a good thing to have somebody from the SEC, somebody who knows a lot about the history of those rivalries — Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss. It gets pretty intense. Somebody who has that type of insight would be good.”
THE SEC …
“It’s just tough, hard-nosed football. When I was there, it was always a tough game, anytime we played anybody in the SEC whether it was Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and of course the last game against Ole Miss was always tough, regardless of what record you had. I’ve been away from college for 10 years, and things haven’t changed. I’m just hoping whatever coaches comes in, I’m sure he’s going to have that same type of mentality, and instill the same type of things in his players … that would be hard-nosed, run the football … that’s where I made my living doing that at Mississippi State — run blocking and running the football. Hopefully, we get a nice hard-nosed coach that can come in and discipline the guys and get things back on track.”
LUDWIG AT LARGE appreciates Reggie Kelly’s comments. Read more about Chick Ludwig at http://www.linkedin.com/in/chickludwig56
DEDICATED TO MSU’S NEXT HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
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