Veteran Coach Mike MacIntyre Joins Mississippi State Staff

Mississippi State adds veteran head coach Mike MacIntyre to its staff, bringing experience and defensive expertise to the Bulldogs.

Nov 18, 2023; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; FIU Panthers head coach Mike MacIntyre talks to officials during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Longtime head coach Mike MacIntyre will join the Mississippi State football staff as a defensive assistant coach.

He made his name initially at San Jose State, where he took a program on life support from one win to a 10-2 season three years later in 2012. 

He stepped up from that with the Colorado job from 2013 to 2018. It took three years to get there, but the 10-4 season in 2016 was among the program’s best in decades until Deion Sanders took over.

In 2022 he took on the head coaching role at FIU with a slew of interesting moments among the three straight 4-8 seasons before being let go.

He spent years in the NFL in various assistant roles, before getting the San Jose State gig, and spent as the defensive coordinator at Duke, Ole Miss and Memphis.

Now he gets to try helping defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler improve a Mississippi State D that had problems last year.

Sources: Mississippi State is hiring longtime college head coach Mike MacIntyre in a defensive analyst role. He’s the former head coach at San Jose State, Colorado and FIU. He’s also worked as a DC at Memphis, Ole Miss and Duke. pic.twitter.com/3Nbp9qPDTV

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 31, 2025

The Bulldogs were dead last in the SEC - and 125th in the nation - in total defense allowing 456 yards and 34 points per game.

There was no pass rush - Mississippi State was second-to-last in the nation with just 42 sacks to go along with just 47 tackles for loss.

The Bulldogs were the worst in the SEC in takeaways, last in pass efficiency defense, last against the run allowing 217 yards per game, last in fourth down defense, and among the worst in the nation in third down stops allowing teams to convert just 47% of their chances.

MacIntyre is a specialist at cranking up great pass defenses and getting great defensive back play. Expect an instant boost.