Bryan Building showdown

Political conventions don’t begin for another couple of months, but the Bryan Building certainly had the feel of one Saturday afternoon.

With roughly 150 fans, administration and media on hand, John Cohen was officially introduced by Greg Byrne as the new MSU baseball coach.

Talk about a political ticket. The two would have given any of the presidential candidates a run for their money.

Here’s the skinny of what Cohen had to say
• He thought briefly about not taking the job ofter talking with Polk and knowing his stance. Briefly, though, is the operative word.
• His focus isn’t Omaha. As he pointed out, MSU has been there, done that. The focus is a national championship.
• He expects all of his coaches, including himself, the players and administration to be recruiting coordinators.
• He called Polk a father figure and said it would be much easier if he had his backing, but he’ll proceed anyway.
• He also said he wasn’t going to concentrate on NCAA rules and become consumed with their policies. They are there and he can’t worry about it. His job is to coach.
• From the day Polk announced his resignation, Cohen said he was interested in the job.
• Greg Byrne said six candidates were interviewed and that he asked UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart for permission on Sunday to speak with Cohen and initial contact was made on Tuesday. An offer was made on Thursday night, and Cohen accepted on Friday morning.
• Cohen’s contract is for four years, with a state salary of $250,000. He’ll also receive a supplement and an incentives package from the Bulldog Foundation, an amount that isn’t being disclosed.  Also, his contract is effective immediately. I’m told Polk is close to being completely moved out of his office.

Now, I’m about to fly to Jackson with Cohen, Byrne, Mike Nemeth and Kyle Veazey of the Clarion Ledger for the second press conference at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, an invitation that was extended earlier today. I’ll blog later tonight on that experience, or in the morning depending on when I return.