Joe Moorhead makes vow to Mississippi State fans: ‘It’s going to get better’
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Five games into the Joe Moorhead era, things appear to be going sideways in Starkville. His Mississippi State offense has been stifled by two consecutive SEC opponents, MSU has scored a combined 13 points over the previous two weekends, and put the Bulldogs into a seemingly insurmountable hole entering SEC West play.
Making matters worse, Mississippi State just lost to its former coach, Dan Mullen. That loss alone would have been enough to drive Bulldog fans crazy and even has some calling for Moorhead’s job before his first season reached October.
On Monday, the school’s AD John Cohen made his first appearance at one of Moorhead’s weekly press conferences as a sign of support and the health of the program was something the Mississippi State coach spoke on during his opening statement.
“While short-term success is imminent, we want it to occur immediately, and it’s going to happen. Me, myself and this staff, are not just building a team, we are building a program here to make sure we have long-term, sustained success — in addition to what we are going to accomplish this year,” Moorhead stated on Monday.
At the root of Mississippi State’s issues is the offense, which is supposed to be Moorhead’s expertise. After taking over a unit loaded with talent, outside of the receiver and tight end positions, the coaching staff can’t seem to get anything out of the offense against any defense with a pulse (at least the Egg Bowl shouldn’t be much of challenge by the look of Ole Miss defense).
Moorhead was asked how he plans to improve his offense and not make the week of prep all about Auburn’s incredible defense.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s making sure us coaches gameplan do a good job today and throughout the week and do a good job today and throughout the week putting a plan together to put the kids in position to be successful,” Moorhead said. “That we practice that well throughout the course of the week, with great physicality and precision and when we make a good call, you have to find a way to execute. I don’t think it’s as much a concentration on what the opponent is doing.”
The Mississippi State coach was also asked about the confidence of his starting quarterback. Is there any danger of Nick Fitzgerald losing confidence in his ability entering SEC play? No chance of that, according to Moorhead.
“Confidence certainly isn’t one of Nick’s issues,” he answered. “I think a bad game or a bad quarter, bad half or bad play, he’s going to come out with supreme confidence in himself — like we all do offensively so with Nick, that’s not something that we harp on with him. His confidence is usually sky high.”
Finally, Moorhead thanked the Hail State faithful for showing up and supporting the team last weekend and reaffirmed his confidence that things will continue to trend in the right direction this year, but more importantly, for years to come.
“I appreciate the heck out of our fans, I know that they love the Bulldogs and certainly they may not love what we are doing right now, particularly on the offensive side, but I promise you it’s going to get fixed,” Moorhead added. “It’s going to get better and the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s an opening, not an oncoming train.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
