"Crooked Letters" - SBNation piece on Ole Miss

[McLoofus 35,182]

Haven't gotten too far into it, but this is sure to be a fun read.

 

[AU64 10,122]

Thanks for the link....a hit piece on the NCAA as well as a general expose' on college football using Ole Miss as exhibit A.  It is too long  for me to read in one sitting so my comments are based on just a handful of pages that I read.   But obviously,  the guy spent a lot of time on research and it's funny in a grim way,  acerbic and written from a definite point of view that Jay Bilas would appreciate.   

Looks like something worth reading and I will link and finish it when I have more time...

[keesler 5,924]

Bottom line, Ole Miss was sloppy in multiple athletic programs.  This investigation covered multiple sports, multiple coaches, multiple Athletic Directors. 

When an Asst Athletic Director is intimately involved in football recruiting and devises a systematic Booster/Recruit/Player operation from the very core of the Athletic Department where all communications channel through him, then you are just asking to get the hammer. 

When OleMiss chose to continue the Booster/Recruit/Player communication lines open and functional while the NCAA investigators were on their campus investigating 2-3 other sports teams, then stupidity is too lite of a word to describe it. 

The NCAA's in your freaking house with a lie detector, a microscope, and they're bugging your phone calls -  and Barney Farrar is wheeling and dealing with active players, their parents, boosters, and future recruits?  WTH?

[AU64 10,122]

15 minutes ago, keesler said:

Ole Miss was sloppy

Man....that is waaay too kind of a description...they were that of course, which you elaborated on of course.....but I'm thinking more along the line of....incompetent, stupid, arrogant ?  ?,    well,  give me some time to check my thesaurus and see what other choice descriptions they have for the entire OM athletic administration. 

[LKEEL75 2,566]

?

[AU64 10,122]

ok..here are some more....amateurish,  bush league,  maladroit, inept,  out to lunch.....

But I think we get the picture....

[lionheartkc 6,150]

Wow... that article is full of fun little tidbits. It makes you wonder how many times, when we stop recruiting a kid, it's because of their parent and not them... It also solidifies all of our beliefs that the NCAA is broken.

You have to love this part...

Quote

Mullen denied that he instructed his players to go to the NCAA with information about violations committed by his team’s biggest rival. But in 2016, with no obvious incentive, three of his players did just that.

More reason to loath him, especially when you follow it up with this...

Quote

In an Aug. 16, 2017, letter to the NCAA, Ole Miss counsel wrote: Although the name of this other institution was redacted in the material provided to the University and other involved parties in this case, it has since come to light that the institution Mr. Lewis identified was Mississippi State University (“Mississippi State”).”

The letter, which was obtained by SB Nation, also alleges that NCAA enforcement confirmed to Ole Miss that they had “quickly opened and subsequently closed” an investigation into Mississippi State because Lewis’s statements about receiving money from Mississippi State were deemed to be “ultimately ... not sufficiently credible to support an allegation.”

and this...

Quote

lawyers arguing on behalf of a former Ole Miss coach wanted to introduce a sworn affidavit from Armani Linton, an Ole Miss player and friend of Lewis’, who said Lewis told him that Dan Mullen himself had met with Lewis to discuss what he would talk to the NCAA about.

 

Then, on another note, there's this little gem...

Quote

Freeze and his agent Jimmy Sexton flirted with the Gators long enough to push Ole Miss to a $4.3 million annual contract, previously unheard of in Mississippi.

I also note that it's not the first time Sexton's name comes up in the article. When is someone going to write an expose about how he single handedly created the coaching salary boom by playing his own clients against each other to constantly boost their salaries, and thus his income, to the stratosphere?

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

After reading that, @lionheartkc, and thinking back on how Cam Newton's recruitment somehow became an Auburn problem instead of a Mississippi State problem, I'm starting to buy what you're selling on Mullen. Shocking powerful marriage between him and "the Hail State family". 

Mississippi State tries to buy a guy who went to Auburn? Auburn problem.

Mississippi State signs a kid that Ole Miss tried to buy? Ole Miss problem.

All the while, Mullen swings a historic run in Starkville with nobody sticking their noses in? 

Man. The Cam thing was disorienting enough, but now my head is really spinning. 

[fredst 9,064]

We can only hope that Dan-O gets his little fellows cut off by the NCAA at some point like he deserves.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

54 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

After reading that, @lionheartkc, and thinking back on how Cam Newton's recruitment somehow became an Auburn problem instead of a Mississippi State problem, I'm starting to buy what you're selling on Mullen. Shocking powerful marriage between him and "the Hail State family". 

Mississippi State tries to buy a guy who went to Auburn? Auburn problem.

Mississippi State signs a kid that Ole Miss tried to buy? Ole Miss problem.

All the while, Mullen swings a historic run in Starkville with nobody sticking their noses in? 

Man. The Cam thing was disorienting enough, but now my head is really spinning. 

As the old saying goes, it's all in who you know. Dan apparently has friends in all of the right places.

 

Of course, lest we be part of the problem, we must not forget, the article was written by an Ole Miss fan so there could be some level of agenda in there, too... but I still think Mullen uses the NCAA to take down his opponents and has someone covering his butt when he's doing every thing he accuses others of.

[McLoofus 35,182]

35 minutes ago, fredst said:

We can only hope that Dan-O gets his little fellows cut off by the NCAA at some point like he deserves.

[AU64 10,122]

6 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

As the old saying goes, it's all in who you know. Dan apparently has friends in all of the right places.

 

Of course, lest we be part of the problem, we must not forget, the article was written by an Ole Miss fan so there could be some level of agenda in there, too... but I still think Mullen uses the NCAA to take down his opponents and has someone covering his butt when he's doing every thing he accuses others of.

Hard to figure what the connections are but DM is about as untouchable as Nick ...maybe more so since his finger prints are on numerous recruiting violations that seem to end up with the NCAA visiting other schools.  

I guess he was able to escape retribution since not many people in the SEC were envious of any of his recruits but looks like any school that actually takes a player he has designs on had better watch out.  

It will be interesting to see how the relationship with FSU develops in the coming years though it would have been more fun to watch him respond to Jimbo's and FSU's ability to cover things up in Tallahassee. 

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

8 hours ago, McLoofus said:

After reading that, @lionheartkc, and thinking back on how Cam Newton's recruitment somehow became an Auburn problem instead of a Mississippi State problem, I'm starting to buy what you're selling on Mullen. Shocking powerful marriage between him and "the Hail State family". 

Mississippi State tries to buy a guy who went to Auburn? Auburn problem.

Mississippi State signs a kid that Ole Miss tried to buy? Ole Miss problem.

All the while, Mullen swings a historic run in Starkville with nobody sticking their noses in? 

Man. The Cam thing was disorienting enough, but now my head is really spinning. 

If you reject Dan Mullen....he will come after you. He's a spiteful, back-stabbing,and mean little man. I hope he's a total failure.

[AUsince72 11,084]

51 minutes ago, Tigerbelle said:

If you reject Dan Mullen....he will come after you. He's a spiteful, back-stabbing,and mean little man. I hope he's a total failure.

 

[keesler 5,924]

If the Ole Miss case was centered on Leo Lewis (MSU & Mullen) then I could see pointing a finger solely at DM.  But Lewis (athlete #39) was only a fraction of the 5+ yr investigation the NCAA built their case on.

I can see DM as being vindictive, petty, and a rat if it gives him the upper hand in recruiting, etc.  But the Rebels cluster was of OM's making - even if DM provided some fuel to the fire, Nutt/Freeze/Farrar ignited that blaze.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

5 hours ago, keesler said:

If the Ole Miss case was centered on Leo Lewis (MSU & Mullen) then I could see pointing a finger solely at DM.  But Lewis (athlete #39) was only a fraction of the 5+ yr investigation the NCAA built their case on.

I can see DM as being vindictive, petty, and a rat if it gives him the upper hand in recruiting, etc.  But the Rebels cluster was of OM's making - even if DM provided some fuel to the fire, Nutt/Freeze/Farrar ignited that blaze.

I don't think anyone is implying that Mullen owns the Ole Miss debacle. We're just pointing out that this is the second time another team has come under scrutiny for a player that he is on record trying to buy, yet he always slithers away unscathed. It's also the second time that evidence has pointed to him using the NCAA as a weapon when he didn't get a recruit he wanted.

[McLoofus 35,182]

29 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

I don't think anyone is implying that Mullen owns the Ole Miss debacle. We're just pointing out that this is the second time another team has come under scrutiny for a player that he is on record trying to buy, yet he always slithers away unscathed. It's also the second time that evidence has pointed to him using the NCAA as a weapon when he didn't get a recruit he wanted.

Why can't his name just be Don instead of Dan? Teflon Dan doesn't sound cool or funny at all.

[keesler 5,924]

1 hour ago, lionheartkc said:

I don't think anyone is implying that Mullen owns the Ole Miss debacle. We're just pointing out that this is the second time another team has come under scrutiny for a player that he is on record trying to buy, yet he always slithers away unscathed. It's also the second time that evidence has pointed to him using the NCAA as a weapon when he didn't get a recruit he wanted.

You said you think Dan uses the NCAA to take down his opponents, that's why I made my statement.  DM did not take down OM.  They had over 4 dozen student-athletes named in the investigation, one of which was #39 Leo Lewis who signed and is playing at MSU.

I don't deny he's a shady operator, but who isn't at this level of coaching?  Dan learned from one of the best in the business >> Urban Meyer.

 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

5 minutes ago, keesler said:

He missed on Cam Newton, but he got Leo Lewis.

I don't deny he's a shady operator, but who isn't at this level of coaching?  Dan learned from one of the best in the business >> Urban Meyer.

 

Funny how all of the really slimy stuff rolls up to Saban or Meyer... and in the Saban line Belichick. I'm not sure who mentored Meyer to play the system like he does.

[kevon67 2,368]

On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 8:02 AM, AU64 said:

Thanks for the link....a hit piece on the NCAA as well as a general expose' on college football using Ole Miss as exhibit A.  It is too long  for me to read in one sitting so my comments are based on just a handful of pages that I read.   But obviously,  the guy spent a lot of time on research and it's funny in a grim way,  acerbic and written from a definite point of view that Jay Bilas would appreciate.   

Looks like something worth reading and I will link and finish it when I have more time...

It's really not that long, just over an hour which included 1 coffee break and 3 bathroom break?

[AUwent 3,748]

On 5/31/2018 at 9:14 PM, Tigerbelle said:

If you reject Dan Mullen....he will come after you. He's a spiteful, back-stabbing,and mean little man. I hope he's a total failure.