Paul Finebaum questions Joe Moorhead’s fit at Mississippi State, jokes Rutgers may not want him anymore
By Keith Farner
Published:
Coach Joe Moorhead has hit a rough patch at Mississippi State with a 3-5 record and 1-4 mark in the SEC in his second season. The Bulldogs are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, and Moorhead’s been mentioned as a top candidate for the open Rutgers job, according to reports from New Jersey.
But SEC Network host Paul Finebaum, who was in Starkville earlier this month for a pair of shows, said he picked up an unusual reaction about Moorhead. Now that State is facing Arkansas this week, a loss suddenly feels like it could be a turning point.
“I don’t think there’s a path for Joe Moorhead perceptively, if they lose this game. I don’t know what the path is anyway,” Finebaum said during his weekly segment on “The Roundtable” on Birmingham-based JOX 94.5 radio station. “Guys I was there last week as I told you, and there’s just a really weird feeling about him and we can all say in unison he’s a nice guy and smart guy and we all like him, and those things are true. He just doesn’t feel like the right coach for Mississippi State.”
Moorhead and former coach Greg Schiano have been names floated for the Rutgers opening, which happened late last month. Moorhead’s ties to the northeast, both personally and professionally, are the main reasons he’s mentioned for the job.
“If you’re sitting up at Rutgers right now and you’re watching this unfold and you’re going, do we really want this guy?,” Finebaum said. “I’ve had some Rutgers fans when I’m in New York in the middle of the week ask me more about Greg Schiano as someone who has a better feel or grasp of that program than Moorhead. I’ve watched Moorhead pretty closely as you guys have, and I just don’t feel like he’s moved the needle very much. He took over a program last year that should have won nine or 10 games, and he was bragging about eight. Fit is important and it’s always a phrase that we use quite often to describe things, but he just doesn’t seem like a good fit. All you have to do is be around him in Starkville, Mississippi which I have several times to come to that conclusion.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
