Remembering Mississippi State Legends: Jackie Sherrill

Jackie Sherrill ushered in a new era for Bulldogs fans and showed that it is possible to win big in Starkville.

Jackie Sherrill is one of the most appreciated coaches in Mississippi State football history.

Before his coaching days, Sherrill was recruited and played under the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama. He played from 1962-1965 and was a part of two National Champion teams.

After serving as a graduate assistant, defensive back coach and defensive coordinator at a few different schools, he finally got his first head coaching job at Washington State. Sherrill finished 3-8 in his first and only year with the Cougars.

Sherrill served as the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at Pitt from 1973 to 1975. In 1976, Pitt won the National Championship under head coach Johnny Majors after finishing 12-0 with a win in the Sugar Bowl.

After leading Pitt to a title, Majors returned to his alma mater to become the head coach of Tennessee. Pitt decided to hire Jackie Sherill at just 33 years old.

Pitt did not miss a beat when he took over as head coach, finishing with a 9-2 record in his first year. After posting an 8-4 record in his second year, he had three straight seasons with a record of 11-1.

Sherrill won his last game at Pitt, beating Georgia and Herschel Walker 24-20 in the Sugar Bowl. He only spent five years at Pitt, but he finished with a record of 50-9 and coached the legendary Dan Marino.

From Pitt, Sherrill moved south and took over Texas A&M. There was no instant success in College Station as the Aggies were merely 16-16 from 1982-1984.

As Texas A&M eventually turned around, Mississippi State struggled and looked for answers. The Bulldogs beat the Bear in 1980 in Jackson but limped to a 56-68 record from 1980-1990 while also being 3-8 in the all-important Egg Bowl.

All was well in College Station with two 10-2 seasons and a 9-3 season from 1985-1987. The Aggies were riding high, but the NCAA put the school under probation for two years in 1988, citing improper employment, extra benefits, unethical conduct and lack of institutional control as the reasons.

Sherrill was not personally found guilty but decided to step down after the 1988 season. For two seasons, he was away from the sidelines, but another school in maroon and white was looking for someone to revive their program.

MSU fired Rocky Felker after the 1990 season, which saw the Bulldogs struggle through their fourth-straight losing season. It was time for a new era of Bulldog football, the Jackie Sherrill era.

The new era brought much excitement and a change in the Egg Bowl. In 1991, the Egg Bowl moved back to on-campus, and Sherrill emphasized this game because he knew how much it meant to the Mississippi State fanbase. He never referred to Ole Miss as “Ole Miss.” He just called it “Mississippi.”

The first year of the new era was exciting, and the Bulldogs finished with a 7-5 record and with a couple of big home wins against Texas (13-6) and Ole Miss (24-9). The Bulldogs finished with another 7-5 record in 1992. Sherrill struggled to find consistency in the program.

From 1993-1995 MSU had two three-win seasons with an eight-win season in '94. After starting the 96 seasons 3-5, things seemed bleak, but that all changed when Sherrill upset his alma mater Alabama by a score of 17-16 in Starkville. He claimed his first win over the Tide and the first win for the Bulldogs since the iconic 1980 win in Jackson Memorial Stadium.

They also capped the '96 season off with a win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. The 1997 season was a success, and Mississippi State finished with a 7-4 record and another victory over Alabama.

Sherrill used JUCO recruiting very heavily. It's similar to how coaches recruit the portal in 2023. Going through the JUCO ranks brought in a lot of stars, including Robert Bean, Fred Smoot and JJ Johnson.

The 1998 season was a historical season for Mississippi State. It was the third season with the late Joe Lee Dunn serving as the defensive coordinator. The influence of Dunn can still be seen in Davis Wade Stadium, as current Bulldogs head coach Zach Arnett runs the same aggressive, blitz-heavy 3-3-5 defense.

In '98, the Bulldogs bested Alabama again with a 26-14 victory for their third straight win over the Tide. This set up for a huge Arkansas game. If the Bulldogs could win that, they would control their destiny for the SEC West title going into the Egg Bowl. MSU won 22-21 with a game-winning kick from Brian Hazelwood.

MSU won the Egg Bowl the next week, 24-6, and claimed the only SEC West title in Mississippi State history. The Bulldogs clashed with Tennessee in Atlanta for the SEC title.

MSU lost to the eventual National Champions by a score of 24-14, but early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs had the 14-10 lead after a Kevin Prentiss punt return touchdown. MSU fell short in the Cotton Bowl to Texas as well, 38-11, but Sherrill showed fans everywhere that Mississippi State could win big, and he wasn't done yet.

It is always hard to follow up on a legendary season, but 1999 was better. “The Year of the Comeback” is how Bulldog fans accurately described it. Sherrill and the Bulldogs started the year 8-0 with comeback wins over Kentucky, LSU and Auburn.

However, with back-to-back losses to Arkansas and Alabama, there was no chance to repeat as SEC West champs. The 1999 Egg Bowl is an iconic game in college football's best rivalry, with the Bulldogs winning 23-20. 

At the start of the new millennium, it was a downward spiral for Sherill. After an 8-4 season in 2000, the Bulldogs limped to an 8-27 record in his last three seasons (2001-2003).

Jackie did not go out on top, but he forever changed football for MSU and Mississippi. He is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 75 wins.

Jackie Sherill is a college football legend with a record of 179-121-4 while leading three different programs to 10-win seasons. Sylvester Croom, Dan Mullen, Mike Leach and now Zach Arnett can all thank Mississippi State legend Jackie Sherrill for showing what is possible in Starkville.