Mississippi State Hires Oklahoma’s Jeff Lebby for Head Coaching Vacancy

The Bulldogs dismissed coach Zach Arnett on Nov. 13.

With a tumultuous 5–7 season in the rearview mirror, Mississippi State is reportedly set to turn to one of college football's top assistants as its next head coach.

The Bulldogs hired Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby as their next head coach. Mississippi State made the hire official Sunday evening. The news was originally reported Saturday night by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports.

Lebby, 39, has served as the Sooners’ offensive coordinator for two years under coach Brent Venables. Oklahoma scored 43.2 points per game this season, the third-highest average in the country entering Saturday. The Sooners concluded their regular season on Friday by beating TCU 69-45.

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, Josh Heupel and Lane Kiffin.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 26, 2023

Mississippi State dismissed coach Zach Arnett on Nov. 13 after the Bulldogs lost 51-10 to Texas A&M. Arnett took over as Mississippi State’s permanent head coach in Dec. 2022 after the sudden death of former coach Mike Leach.

Before taking over the Sooners' offense, Lebby was Mississippi's offensive coordinator under coach Lane Kiffin. He spent seven years on Baylor's staff early in his career, working under his father-in-law—former Bears coach Art Briles— who was fired amid a sexual assault scandal at the school in 2016.