Mississippi State Coaching History

Mississippi State has employed 36 separate head coaches and 2 interim coaches since its first season in 1895. As we’ll discuss further down this page, most of these coaches didn’t fare too well.

In other words, the trend of recent struggles in Starkville is nothing new. Mississippi State has seen 7 head coaches and 2 interim coaches since 2000 – and while there have been a few strong seasons, the Bulldogs have sat near the bottom of the SEC throughout most of it.

Let’s take a look at all 36 head coaches, from W.M. Matthews in 1895 to Jeff Lebby in 2024.

Mississippi State Coaching History

Mississippi State has 3 Hall of Famers all-time: Darrell Royal, Bernie Bierman and Allyn McKeen. Royal and Bierman lived in Starkville for a combined 4 seasons, while McKeen – as we’ll discuss later – is probably the best coach in school history.

Unfortunately for Mississippi State, there are a lot of names to forget on this list. Just about half of these coaches were in Starkville for less than 2 seasons. Five head coaches finished with a win-loss record of under .250 – and so far Jeff Lebby hasn’t jumped to a fantastic start either at 2-10.

Mississippi State has not won a national title, and won the SEC just once under head coach Allyn McKeen.

Allyn McKeen

Allyn McKeen is who many would consider the best coach in Mississippi State history. He’s the only head coach to win a conference title, he owns the best win percentage and ranks 3rd in total wins.

McKeen played football at Tennessee and landed at Mississippi State in 1939 after a few years at West Tennessee State (Memphis). He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1940 for leading the Bulldogs to a 10-0-1 record; He one-upped himself the following year by leading MSU to the school’s first and only SEC title.

McKeen passed away in 1978 at the age of 73. He posthumously was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

Dan Mullen

Dan Mullen isn’t the winningest head coach in Mississippi State history. He doesn’t possess the best winning percentage in Mississippi State history. But, other than McKeen, he was probably the Bulldogs’ most consistent head coach across his 9 years.

Mullen oversaw 5 8-win seasons, which wasn’t common at Mississippi State save a few years under Jackie Sherrill. Mullen also gave Mississippi State its first and only No. 1 ranking. The answer to a classic sports trivia question one day, Mississippi State was No. 1 in the first CFP Top 25 in 2014.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the team seems to have believed that to be the end of the season. Mississippi State finished 2014 1-3 after securing that No. 1 ranking.

Mullen left for Florida in 2017, a move that ended up benefitting neither team. After 2 years of Joe Moorhead MSU hired Mike Leach, who coached the program for 2 years before his untimely passing in 2022. To this day, Mississippi State is still recovering.

Ethan Stone

Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.