Continuity is Key: Mississippi State Has Same On-Field Coaching Staff in Consecutive Seasons for First Time in Over a Decade

The Bulldogs head into the 2021 season with a strong sense of continuity -- something that shouldn't be taken for granted.

Mississippi State hasn't had a great deal of continuity in terms of its on-field coaching staff in a long time.

The Bulldogs head into the 2021 season with the same coaching staff on the field in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2007-2008.

That was back when Sylvester Croom and company were on the sidelines in Starkville. Croom himself was with the Bulldogs from 2004-2008, recording a 21-38 overall record.

As of now, the Bulldogs coaching staff includes head coach Mike Leach, associate head coach/nickelbacks coach Tony Hughes, defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Zach Arnett, special teams/outside linebackers coach Matt Brock, cornerbacks coach Darcel McBath, running backs coach Eric Mele, offensive line coach Mason Miller, inside receivers coach Dave Nichol, defensive line coach Jeff Phelps, outside receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. and safeties coach Jason Washington.

It's a positive for a young MSU team -- one of the youngest teams in college football last year and one of the youngest in 2021 as well -- to go into the upcoming season with the same coaches it had last year.

Big things could be on the horizon for the Bulldogs now that they will have had a full offseason to get the reps in on both sides of the ball --which is especially important with the Air Raid offense being so based on repetition and execution.

In addition to a solid coaching staff, MSU has some intriguing players in place with an ongoing quarterback battle that has graduate transfer quarterback Jack Abraham and Will Rogers at the forefront of it, versatile and prominent running backs in Dillon Johnson and Jo'quavious Marks, quickly rising wide receivers with pass-catchers like Austin Williams and Jaden Walley, a linebacking corps that includes Aaron Brule and one of the best (if not the best) secondaries in the country, this is shaping up to be an exciting group to watch.