How Series Sweep By Vanderbilt May Affect Coach Chris Lemonis' Career at Mississippi State

Coaches are hired to win games, and Mississippi State baseball's Chris Lemonis has struggled to do just that in 2023.

This past weekend was a difficult series for Mississippi State. Vanderbilt scored run after run while the Bulldogs struggled to put any on the board at all. 

In fact, the Commodores scored more runs in Friday's game (26) than MSU scored all weekend (15). 

But the majority of the blame shouldn't be put on the players. The players are have showcased their talents with a loaded group of freshmen that present plenty of reason for optimism, but it's clear they need better coaching to put it all together.

Lemonis is aware that he is the issue, as he addressed his faults in the post-game press conference on Friday and continued to take the flack that the media is buzzing about.

The Bulldogs play against Samford on Tuesday, and while it's not a conference game, if Mississippi can't win, then serious consideration will have to be looked at concerning the staff.

After the last game against Vanderbilt, Lemonis was asked what his starting lineup would look like for Tuesday.

"Yeah, we're not at that point yet. I mean, I have to look at the whole team. We have to meet as a group, try to figure it out. I don't know what we'll do on Tuesday yet," he said.

It's hard to imagine what sort of pressure is set on Lemonis right now with a lot to go over, and it may be a little bit early in the season to think about him losing his job.

The team does practice well and they do show a lot of fight on the field. The tension starts to rise when the basic ability to coach well is put to the test. If Lemonis simply is not a good coach, then it is very likely that he will not be returning next season, though it would be surprising to see he and the program go separate ways during the season.

 While MSU losing every conference contest to this point is not a good look, it's important to note it has only faced two SEC teams. 

Next weekend when MSU plays South Carolina, the pressure will be back on to see if Lemonis is able to successfully coach a team at this level.