‘Swagged’ Mullen not leading on flag issue

HOOVER, Ala. – Dan Mullen is the swaggiest swag football coach that the Southeastern Conference has ever seen, at least if you look down at his feet.

“I try to be swagged up,” Mullen said from the podium at SEC Media Days, rejoicing in the fact everyone here and on college football Twitter were talking about his adidas Yeezy Boost 350s. “I got a little sock game going today, too.”

It was a funny moment, and the rare example where adidas being your clothing provider works in your favor when it comes to cool factor. The Yeezys are Kanye West’s signature shoes, and they’re the hottest thing going — bids on eBay are in the $600-1,000 range for the limited edition sneaker.

“My boy called me and said, ‘Your coach is rockin’ Yeezys,’ ” defensive end Ryan Brown said. “I said, ‘I got to find out where he got them from, because I need some of those.’ ”

As any self-respecting sneakerhead will tell you, the shoe is important but just as much is the person wearing them. The Yeezys would look dumb on a lot of us, but Mullen pulled them off because he had the self-confidence to do so. And that should surprise no one, because Mullen carries himself as someone who knows who he is, knows what he knows and is not afraid to tell you just that. Which is why it’s so weird that he totally fell apart when asked about the Mississippi state flag.

He knew it was coming, because The Clarion-Ledger has made it clear to both MSU and Ole Miss that it is interested in their coaches’ thoughts on the Confederate symbol still being a part of the state flag and would use this week to ask Mullen and Hugh Freeze. It’s important not only because they’re leaders in the state but also because the NCAA will not allow postseason events to be played in Mississippi because of the flag.

So when the question came from The Clarion-Ledger’s Michael Bonner, it was an opportunity to really slam home the kind of response that makes it clear Mullen’s take on the issue. And this is what we got: “That's a lot for people in Jackson and for the people in Mississippi. I know -- I don't see it very often. We don't have it on our campus up. I do know we're the most diverse campus in the Southeastern Conference. I know the university embraces that diversity as a whole. I certainly embrace that diversity. We're so diverse, they have a Yankee as the head football coach in the Southeastern Conference.

“I think it's something that on a national level is getting an awful lot of attention right now, that people are really looking into how we can make things better in the state of Mississippi. And I hope as a university we're out on the forefront trying to help make things better with the type of school that we have and the diversity we have in our school.”

It was meandering and weak, and Mullen never actually answered the question: What is your opinion on the current state flag? Was that the point? And Dan, the guy before you was the first black football coach in the SEC and that’s probably a better sign of diversity than hiring a guy from New Hampshire.

Most of the time Mullen is a columnist’s dream. He’s outspoken, engaging and always up to something. And while the media here all used to laugh when said he was going to bring a championship to Starkville, the five weeks the Bulldogs spent as No. 1 made sure nobody did that Tuesday. He believes in his players, cornerback Taveze Calhoun said, and that’s been an important part of the rise as a program.

But in this situation, Mullen wasn’t ready or willing to lead.

Contact Hugh Kellenberger at (601) 961-7291 or hkellenber@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @HKellenbergerCL on Twitter.