Peter Sirmon was at a coaches convention in San Antonio earlier this year when he saw an unfamiliar number pop up in his voicemail box.
“I wasn’t expecting any calls from a 662 area code,” he said.
The then-USC assistant coach checked his messages and found that it was Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen who was trying to get in touch. Mullen, as it turns out, was in town for the convention as well and was on the lookout for a new defensive coordinator. The two agreed to meet, and Sirmon walked into Mullen’s hotel around 3 p.