Peter Dyakowski is living proof the mullet has lovers and haters.
When the Canadian offensive lineman was a freshman at Louisiana State University in 2002, after driving his 1979 Firebird 50 hours from Vancouver to Baton Rouge, Dyakowski needed a trim.
“Back then I had the mullet, I had the full flow and I usually kept it pretty tight, but when I got down there it was just long all over, pretty shaggy,” Dyakowski told reporter Jacques Doucet from WAFB Channel 9.
Of course, I stumble across this glorious footage after the fact. @PeterDyakowski #LegendaryMullet #2003 #LSU pic.twitter.com/dxv4duNRTm
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) May 26, 2020
“Like a week into training camp one of the guys is doing haircuts. And so I went up to him and said, ‘Hey I need you to freshen me up, shave the sides, box the top – don’t touch the back.’ We get it looking really good.”
Dyakowski was the first Canadian-born player to earn a football scholarship from the Southeastern Conference program. At the time Nick Saban was LSU’s head coach and didn’t want the first year players being hassled by the upperclassmen.
“I go into meetings the next morning and Saban his big thing was if it didn’t help him win, he didn’t want it. He didn’t want to risk any issues with the NCAA compliance, so hazing, he was killing off hazing,” Dyakowski said.
“He’s sees me walking with this beautiful fresh mullet. He grabbed one of the seniors and he’s like, ‘Hey! Who did that to him?!’ Because he had assumed I had to be held down. The senior said, ‘Oh, he asked for that coach.’ And the look of disgust on Saban’s face as he looked from him to me, I’ll never forget that.”
Nick Saban hated Peter Dyakowski’s hair.#LSU first ever Canadian football player @PeterDyakowski (offensive lineman 2002-2006) says his head coach wasn’t a fan of his grooming.
“The look of disgust on Saban’s face…” pic.twitter.com/6FleKmU2wp
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) May 20, 2020
Saban disrespected the mullet and by leading the Tigers to the BCS National Championship over the University of Oklahoma and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jason White in 2004, exacted a measure of revenge on the hair style. Dyakowski, who had become known as “The Mullet” in the Bayou, made a deal with his coaches and teammates.
“I told everyone I’d cut it off if we won the national championship, my second year we won,” Dyakowski said.
Catching up with #LSU Peter Dyakowski
One of my favorite Tiger personalities updates us on his infamous car, shares tales of his famous mullet and recaps his run for political office in his home of Canada. This is just a sliver of our entertaining chat. @PeterDyakowski pic.twitter.com/R6D92vyZ3r
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) May 21, 2020
“So there’s a great photo of me in the locker room, I grab some of the tape scissors and I chopped it off. I cut the mullet off.”
