STARKVILLE – Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen didn’t have to go very far to find a pair of perfect matches to add to the Bulldog coaching staff, as he promoted Chris Wilson to defensive coordinator and Angelo Mirando to coach the wide receivers.

Wilson served as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 2010, his first season at Mississippi State. Under his tutelage, the Bulldog defense front improved against the run by an average of nearly 30 yards per game, and rose in the national rankings from 68th in 2009 to 17th this season. The defense also improved in tackles for loss (from 89th to 17th nationally) and sacks (up from 1.33 per game to 2.00).

State’s defensive unit bettered its 2009 opponents’ points-per-game by nearly a touchdown per game from 26.75 last season to 19.85 in 2010.

“Chris is a talented and knowledgeable coach with a wealth of experience, and we intend to build upon what our defense did this past season,” Mullen said. “Chris has a great relationship with our players and he’ll make a seamless transition.”