STARKVILLE (AP) — Mississippi State’s been a pretty good football program for most of the past decade, rising from a doormat in the Southeastern Conference to earn a streak of eight straight bowl appearances.

New Bulldogs coach Joe Moorhead doesn’t believe that’s enough.

“Our goal here is not to just maintain this program,” Moorhead said at his introductory news conference on Thursday. “It’s not to insult these guys or this school or this state with low expectations. We’re going to do everything we can to bring an SEC championship home and be a program that competes for a national championship on a yearly basis.”

That statement drew hearty cheers from the several hundred fans who gathered on campus for Moorhead’s introduction. The 44-year-old replaces Dan Mullen, who left Mississippi State after nine seasons to become the Florida Gators’ new head coach.

Moorhead has been at Penn State the last two seasons, calling plays for one of the best offenses in the country.

The new coach was quick to praise Mullen, saying the “foundation is laid” for football success at the school. The 24th-ranked Bulldogs have an 8-4 record this season and should return most of their starters for next year.

Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen said Moorhead has the background necessary to capitalize on the talent of the current roster and maintain that success into the future.

“He’s here to make us better,” Cohen said.

Moorhead will earn an average of $2.75 million per year over the next four years, starting with $2.6 million in 2018. There are also various incentives in his contract for accomplishments like bowl appearances. Moorhead said he won’t coach in Mississippi State’s upcoming bowl game, but will be around the program evaluating talent.

Running backs coach Greg Knox will serve as interim head coach for the bowl game.

The Mississippi State coaching search was smooth and drama-free — Moorhead accepted the job about 48 hours after Mullen informed the Bulldogs he was leaving. Cohen said Mullen’s departure wasn’t totally unexpected and he’d been doing research for several months about up-and-coming coaches.

In all his conversations, Moorhead’s name kept coming up.

Cohen said he isn’t worried that Moorhead doesn’t have any head coaching experience at the FBS level. Mullen didn’t have head coaching experience at any level when he was hired by MSU nine years ago.

“We weren’t looking for a coordinator, we weren’t looking for a head coach, we’re looking for the best fit for Mississippi State University,” Cohen said. “And if you’re looking for the best fit, you can’t exclude anybody. You can’t take anybody off the table.”

Penn State coach James Franklin hired Moorhead after the 2015 season to bring his creative spread offense to State College, and it has helped the Nittany Lions post a 21-5 record over the last two seasons.

Several MSU players were at Thursday’s news conference. Moorhead met with the team before being introduced and running back Kylin Hill said the connection was instant.

“The entire offense, they’re ready to go,” Hill said. “We’re really excited about this hire.”

Before arriving at Penn State, Moorhead was head coach at Fordham University. He went 38-13 at his alma mater with three FCS playoff appearances in four years.

The Pittsburgh native also has been offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Connecticut and Akron.

Moorhead received a warm welcome when he arrived in Starkville on Wednesday night and was greeted by several hundred fans at the airport. He even went downtown to one of the student hot spots and served some cheese fries to patrons.

He said the passion of the fans in Starkville was one of many reasons taking the job was an easy choice.

“They were pretty fired up — getting some fries and having a good ol’ time visiting with the head ball coach,” Moorhead said.