Jeff Lebby Agrees to Five-Year Deal with Mississippi State
Just two days after Jeff Lebby started to pop up as a “serious candidate” for Mississippi State’s opening, the Oklahoma offensive coordinator is set to join the Bulldogs as their next head coach on a five-year deal, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Lebby now becomes a head coach for the first time in his career, previously being an offensive coordinator on three different staffs over the past four seasons (UCF, Ole Miss, Oklahoma). He learned his offensive scheme under former Baylor head coach Art Briles — who happens to be Lebby’s father-in-law.
The Mississippi State job has been open for nearly two weeks. The program fired Zach Arnett after less than one season as head coach, just under a year since he took over the Bulldogs after the tragic passing of Mike Leach from a heart issue.
But it was a tough spot for Arnett, who was taking over a program in an impossible spot after the passing of Leach, and was still relatively green in the coaching ranks.
While Lebby has helped Oklahoma to a 10-2 regular season, including running an offense that is ranked first in points per game and yards per game, he has drawn the ire of many Oklahoma fans throughout the season, especially after back-to-back losses to Kansas and Oklahoma State.
Lebby has ties to The Magnolia State, as he spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons as the Ole Miss offensive coordinator, before he took the same position at Oklahoma under Brent Venables.
