Earlier this week, Dan Mullen was livid over reports that connected him to the Penn State opening, particularly one that had him on the verge of accepting the position.
How livid was/is Mullen? So much so that, in an attempt to stick it the rumormongers, he will reportedly interview for the position in the very near future. Or not. One of the two.
The Rivals.com website BlueWhiteIllustrated.com is reporting that the current Mississippi State head coach will interview with the Nittany Lions for their coaching job on Monday. That interview, if the report is accurate, would take place exactly a week after a search committee was officially formed by the university to aid in finding a replacement for Joe Paterno, who was “officially” fired today after being publicly canned three weeks ago.
Alas, this latest report may be closer to being not right than accurate.
When reached by phone by Brandon Marcello of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Mullen gave a very black-and-white, no-gray-area response when asked if he was interviewing for the Penn State job Monday.
“No,” the coach told Marcello.
Mullen went even further in his conversation with Marcello, categorically denying to the Clarion-Ledger writer that he or anyone connected to him have spoken to PSU officials about their vacancy.
“Amidst all of these reports, neither myself, my agent or the administration at Mississippi State University has been contacted by anybody at Penn State. I’m very happy of the direction the Mississippi State program is going in right now.”
So, unless Mullen is a graduate of the Saban School of Denials -- what, like I wasn’t going to go there? -- you can, at least for now, scratch the MSU coach off the list of potential coaching candidates for the Nittany Lions. Probably. Maybe.