Mississippi State has fired Zach Arnett with two weeks left in the season. They will now start a search for their next coach. Here are five potential head coach candidates for Mississippi State.
1. Jeff Lebby
Lebby is currently the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. He is overseeing one of the best offenses in the sport, as the Sooners average 41.8 points per game. Before being Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator, he spent time at Ole Miss, UCF, Southeastern, Baylor and Oklahoma as a student assistant.
Mississippi State AD Zac Selmon has some Oklahoma ties and might hire Lebby as a result. Lebby can institute the passing attack that was successful under Mike Leach. He also has experience coaching and recruiting in Mississippi with his time at Ole Miss. Lebby won’t be the biggest name mentioned, but he should be considered and could be the best fit for the job.
2. Dan Mullen
Mullen is currently an analyst at ESPN. He formerly was the head coach at Florida and Mississippi State. At Florida, he posted a 34-15 record over four seasons. At Mississippi State, he had a successful tenure. The Bulldogs went 69-46 over nine seasons. That included seven straight bowl appearances in the middle of his run.
If Mullen wants to get back into coaching and Mississippi State can forgive him for taking the Florida job, a reunion could be warranted. Mullen can recruit and has shown that he can win at Mississippi State. Luring him away from ESPN may be the hard part, but if his name is in the running, he already has the credentials to be a good candidate.
3. Jon Sumrall
Sumrall is doing well as Troy’s head coach currently. He went 12-2 last season and the Trojans are 8-2 this season so far. Before becoming the head coach at Troy, he was an assistant at Kentucky, Ole Miss, Troy, Tulane and San Diego. The defensive-minded head coach could be tallying a second-straight double-digit win season.
Not only has Sumrall proven he can be successful as a head coach, he has experience in the SEC. He has coached at both Kentucky and Ole Miss, with the latter also providing him some experience in the state. Sumrall is going to be hired soon for a bigger job and the Bulldogs could benefit from having him on their sideline.
4. Jamey Chadwell
Chadwell has Liberty undefeated in his first season as their head coach. He was the head coach at Coastal Carolina for five seasons before that where he posted a 39-22 record. Since the start of the 2020 season, Chadwell has posted a 41-6 record, making him one of the best coaches in the country over that span. He has plenty of experience at lower levels of college football before Coastal Carolina.
It seemed like Chadwell would never leave the Coastal Carolina job, but finally left for the Liberty job. If he has aspirations of a job in a better conference, this could be it. His unique offensive mind would work well at Mississippi State after they thrived under Mike Leach’s air raid attack. He has experience recruiting in the south and could do well at Mississippi State.
5. Gus Malzahn
Malzahn has head coaching experience at Arkansas State, Auburn and now UCF. His Knights’ team is 23-14 over his tenure and 5-5 this season, which is their first season in the Big 12. At Auburn, he had a 68-35 record and was able to beat Alabama a few times. His time as Arkansas State’s head coach and at the other schools he has coached at have mostly come in SEC Territory.
With his experience in the SEC, he knows how to recruit. His offenses have proven to cause problems for some of the better teams in the SEC. It seemed like he was fired despite doing a solid job at Auburn and could be looking for another chance to prove himself in the SEC. He may not fit at Mississippi State, but his offensive style and past success in the conference could get him a look for the position.
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3 Comments
Perhaps the OC at Texas A&M is available for another run in the SEC.
Dabo Swinney might be interested.
Miss State needs to keep looking, I’m a 1965 Graduate of Miss State