Jeff Lebby is a somewhat familiar face in the SEC and in the state of Mississippi, but the new head coach of the Bulldogs has spent little time in the conference, and will be making his head coaching debut for the Bulldogs.

Lebby joins Mississippi State after spending the last 2 seasons as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator.

He will be the youngest head coach in the SEC next season at 39 years old, but don’t let his young age fool you — he brings plenty of experience to Starkville.

Here are 5 things to know about Mississippi State’s new head coach.

1. Lebby will call plays

With his background as an offensive coordinator, Lebby says he plans to call plays for Mississippi State’s offense next season. In his past 5 seasons as an offensive coordinator, his offenses have put up a staggering 39 points per game.

In his past season with Oklahoma, the Sooners put up 50 or more points 5 times, including 3 games where they put up 60 or more points. It’s safe to say Lebby’s offenses have found plenty of success.

Lebby could be the offensive spark that Mississippi State lacked this past season under Zach Arnett.

2. Lebby’s playing career was cut short by injury

Lebby was an all-state offensive tackle at Andrews High School in Texas, but his time as a player was cut short due to an injury. He suffered a career-ending spinal injury during his freshman season with the Sooners.

But the injury gave him an early start in the coaching world, as he became a student assistant at Oklahoma under Bob Stoops. He was a student assistant from 2002 to 2006, graduating from Oklahoma in 2007.

From there, he went on to be an offensive line and tight ends coach at Victoria Memorial High School in Texas in 2007. He spent just one season at the high school level before joining Baylor’s staff in several different roles — offensive quality control, running backs coach and passing game coordinator.

3. Lebby has achieved staggering offensive numbers

Lebby has led his offenses to some outstanding numbers. Among active FBS offensive coordinators with a minimum of two years of experience since 2019, Lebby has achieved the following stats, just to name a few:

  • No. 1 in first downs + touchdowns (1,580) 
  • No. 1 in rushes + completions per game (65.7) 
  • No. 2 in offensive plays per game (77.33)
  • No. 3 in offensive points per minute (1.48) 
  • No. 3 in offensive plays per minute (2.83) 
  • No. 3 in percentage of games with 70 or more rushes + completions (26.20) 
  • No. 3 in average touchdown time of possession (2:14) 
  • No. 4 in red zone drives per game (4.95)

Not only do Lebby’s offenses put up big numbers, they do it fast and effective. It’s the kind of offense you need to have success in the SEC, especially when your main rival, Ole Miss, also boasts impressive offensive numbers.

4. Lebby was involved with Art Briles scandal at Baylor

One of the biggest scandals in college football in recent history is the Art Briles scandal at Baylor. During a period from 2012 to 2016, numerous allegations of sexual and non-sexual assaults came forward against Baylor University students, including players from Baylor’s football team.

The team and Briles faced scrutiny after it was revealed that university officials did not take action against players regarding the allegations. In 2015, former players Tevin Elliot and Sam Ukwuachu were convicted of sexual assault. Briles was later terminated by Baylor due to his involvement.

Lebby named by a Baylor student as one of the coaches that did not taking action against running back Devin Chafin, who was one of the players accused of assault. In the aftermath of Briles’ termination, Lebby defended Briles, who is also his father-in-law, and sold shirts with #CAB (Coach Art Briles) in his continued support.

Earlier this season, Lebby faced backlash after Briles was seen on the field with him after Oklahoma’s win over SMU. Lebby apologized for the “distraction” caused by Briles being on the field, but clarified that he was just celebrating the win with his family. Oklahoma athletics director Joe Castiglione released a statement regarding the matter after the game.

5. Lebby has worked with 2 current SEC coaches

Lebby has a few friendly faces in the SEC.

He has worked with Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel in two different capacities and he worked with Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin for two seasons.

As a student assistant at Oklahoma, he worked alongside Heupel, who played at Oklahoma and became a graduate assistant in 2004. The two reunited in 2018 when Lebby took over as quarterbacks coach at UCF. Under Lebby, quarterback McKenzie Milton was 7th in yards per attempt and 9th in passing efficiency rating, finishing 6th in Heisman voting. Lebby was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019.

After his time at UCF, Lebby went on to work under Kiffin at Ole Miss for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, leading the Rebels to the eight-best offense in the country in 2020.