Dan Mullen long has been expected to sign a new contract with Mississippi State this offseason, but Michigan may try to complicate that assumption.

According to FootballScoop.com, interim Michigan athletic director Jim Hackett and the university’s board of regents have discussed pursuing Mullen and Jim Mora to fill the team’s head coaching vacancy.

RELATED: Mullen, Mississippi State taking their time in contract negotiations

Citing sources, FootballScoop speculates that Michigan’s best chance at selling Mullen on Ann Arbor is to prove that it would provide him a better opportunity to win a national championship as a head coach.

Mississippi State enjoyed an otherworldly season in 2014 by the Bulldogs’ standards, but still finished 10-2 and didn’t win the SEC West. According to FootballScoop, the desire to win a national championship is a bigger priority to Mullen than where his pay ranks nationally.

From the report:

When I asked sources familiar with Michigan’s search if they would characterize Mullen as a lead candidate, the response was “I don’t know that Hackett felt that way last week; but it certainly seems like he considers him a very viable candidate now.”

For his part, Mullen consistently has maintained that he loves it at Mississippi State and that he doesn’t have a desire to leave. It may be wishful thinking on the part of Michigan, but based on the report, there’s a good chance they’ll try to contact Mullen to gauge his interest.

Will Mullen entertain the Wolverines if approached? Could he leverage the interest into an even better deal at Mississippi State? This coming week should give us some clarity on Mullen’s 2015 season, and it’ll be interesting to watch.