Mississippi State, Dan Mullen agree to contract extension

Mississippi State and head football coach Dan Mullen agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the school through the 2018 season. He will be paid $4 million this season and will average $4.275 million in salary over the next four years.

Mississippi State and head football coach Dan Mullen agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the school through the 2018 season, the school announced.

The school said that Mullen will be paid $4 million this season and will average $4.275 million in salary over the next four years. He is the ninth Southeastern Conference coach to earn more than $4 million per year.

Mullen, 42, has a 46-31 record in six seasons at the school and has taken the program to five bowl games, including an Orange Bowl appearance last season.

“It’s a privilege to represent our university, our program and our fans here at Mississippi State,” Mullen said. “I appreciate Scott Stricklin and our administration who have given us the tools and resources to be successful and develop Bulldog football into a national brand over the last six years.”

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In 2014, the Bulldogs won 10 games in the regular season for the first time in school history, including three straight wins against top-10 teams that propelled the program to their first ever No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll.

They held that spot for five weeks before losing to fifth-ranked Alabama.

The school said that the 2.76 grade point average by the football players during the 2014 fall semester was the highest in the program's history.

“We have created a winning culture both on and off the field and built a program that has sustained success in the nation’s toughest conference. I’ve always said we are going to win a championship here, and I firmly believe that,” Mullen said.

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