Mississippi State eyeing top OC as new head coach, per report
Mississippi State fired Zach Arnett after less than 1 full season as the head coach of the Bulldogs. During that time, the Bulldogs’ offense cratered from where it was under former head coach Mike Leach, who tragically passed away during the 2022 season.
Unsurprisingly, it seems the Bulldogs are targeting an offensive-minded head coach to replace Arnett heading into the 2024 season.
Per Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger, Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby, who used to be an offensive coordinator under Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, is likely to be the next head coach at Mississippi State:
Mississippi State is targeting Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby as its next coach, sources tell @YahooSports. Deal not done, but discussions are expected to result in a hire.
Lebby is a former assistant under offensive minds like Art Briles, Gus Malzahn and Lane Kiffin.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 26, 2023
Lebby is Art Briles’ son-in-law, which obviously sparks some controversy. He also used to work at the school on the other side of the Egg Bowl rivalry, so we’ll see how this hiring is received in Starkville.
However, Lebby’s acumen as a playcaller is unimpeachable. He’s led strong offenses at every stop he’s had during his career. This would be his first head coaching experience. Hiring a first-time head coach didn’t work out with Arnett, but we’ll see if the Lebby decision works out for the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State scored an SEC-low 262 points during the 2023 regular season. Lebby, at the very least, is a great candidate to make sure the Bulldogs improve in that area in 2024 and beyond.