Former Mississippi State Assistant Coach Jeff Phelps Reportedly Headed to FCS Destination

Former Mississippi State defensive line coach Jeff Phelps is reportedly headed to the FCS.

Former Mississippi State defensive line coach Jeff Phelps is joining the North Dakota State Bison to replace Kody Morgan, according to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Phelps previously spent the last three seasons under late MSU head coach Mike Leach, who passed away in December of 2022. 

He originally began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ball State (in 1999, followed by three seasons at DePauw (2000-02), where he coached the running backs for two seasons before serving as the linebackers coach Jon the other side of the ball.

That was followed by a three-year stint at Hillsdale (Mich.) College, where he coached the defensive line from 2003-05 before heading over to NIU. Later on, Phelps was a University of Minnesota assistant from 2011-16 with the Gophers before going on to coach at Washington State.

One of Phelps' best years in his coaching career came in 2017, when he oversaw a defensive line that produced 45.5 tackles for loss and 20.0 sacks, as the Cougars defense ranked in the top-20 in eight different statistical categories.

Phelps also played an essential role into the development of Hercules Mata’afa, as the redshirt junior earned Consensus All-America honors and was named 2017 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year. 

Mata’afa recorded 10.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss and was also named the Associated Press Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

With the move by NDSU, defensive tackles coach Nick Goeser, who was over the defensive line after defensive ends coach Buddha Williams departed for Colorado State, will no longer hold that role.