Ad Disclosure
Mississippi State announces hiring of Matt Barnes to Jeff Lebby’s staff
By Keith Farner
Published:
Mississippi State on Friday announced another addition to Jeff Lebby’s staff in Starkville.
Barnes will be the program’s co-defensive coordinator and also coach the safeties.
Barnes spent the the 2022 and 2023 seasons as the defensive coordinator at Memphis. He previously spent 3 seasons at Ohio State coaching DBs and special teams. Throughout his career, Barnes has also made stops at Maryland, Michigan and Florida.
In 3 seasons in Columbus, Barnes’ role increased each year at Ohio State, and he called the plays for the Buckeyes’ defense for the last 11 games of 2021. Over that stretch, the Buckeyes’ defense allowed just 20.3 points per game after surrendering 33 per game in the first two contests of the year while also leading the nation in defensive touchdowns (6).
In 2019, Ohio State’s defense led the nation in fewest passing yards allowed (156.0 per game) and also led the country in pass-efficiency defense with a rating of 97.50.
At Maryland, he was the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator.
Barnes is a 2008 graduate of Salisbury University in Maryland. He was a team captain and helped the Sea Gulls win 3 ECAC bowl games and compete in the NCAA Division III tournament in 2007.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
