Jeff Lebby, a dynamic play caller and the mastermind behind many of college football’s most feared offenses, has been named the 36th head football coach in Mississippi State history, Director of Athletics Zac Selmon announced Sunday.
Lebby is set to arrive at George M. Bryan Airport in Starkville on Sunday night at 8 p.m. CT. Fans are encouraged to attend and welcome the Lebby family to Starkville. Lebby will be introduced at a celebration Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. CT outside the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex. The event is open to the public and will be followed by a press conference for the media inside of the Seal Complex.
“As we continue to invest in excellence at Mississippi State, the future of our football program is incredibly bright with the addition of Jeff Lebby at the helm,” Selmon said. “I am confident that Jeff is the perfect leader for the next exciting chapter of Mississippi State football. He will bring an exciting brand of football, elite studentathlete development, and a winning culture to Starkville, all while doing so with high integrity. He is a dynamic recruiter who will attract an elite coaching staff and the nation’s top talent. There is no doubt in my mind that Jeff’s leadership, vision, and resilient work ethic will take this program to incredible heights. We could not be more excited to welcome Jeff, his wife Staley, and their children Kora and Kane to the Mississippi State family. It is a great time to be a Bulldog and only going to get better.”
One of college football’s top offensive minds, Lebby has orchestrated high-octane offenses at every stop of his career, including Oklahoma, Ole Miss and UCF.
Most recently in 2023, Lebby’s prolific unit is one of only three in the country to rank inside the top six nationally in total offense, scoring offense and passing offense. LSU and Oregon are the others.
“I want to commend MSU Athletics Director Zac Selmon for leading a very comprehensive and thorough national search that produced Coach Jeff Lebby as our new head football coach at Mississippi State University,” MSU President Mark E. Keenum said. “Coach Lebby is one of the most innovative offensive minds in college football and I look forward to him leading our football program to the standard our loyal Bulldog fan base wants and deserves.”
An elite recruiter and dynamic talent developer, Lebby’s offenses are known for lighting up the scoreboard and racking up yards. Since becoming an offensive coordinator at the FBS level in 2019, he has led all active offensive coordinators in 50+ point games (14). His 2023 unit at Oklahoma has scored 65+ points three times (most in the FBS) and sits at No. 3 nationally in scoring offense (43.2 ppg).
“Being the head coach at Mississippi State is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Lebby said. “My family and I are fired up to engrain ourselves in this community, build relationships with our players, and hit the recruiting trail. This is a special place with special people and a football program with a storied tradition. I couldn’t be more thrilled to add our dynamic offensive scheme to an NFL powerhouse with a nationally regarded history of elite defensive play. I am truly honored and appreciative of Athletics Director Zac Selmon and President Dr. Mark Keenum for this special opportunity. I can’t wait to lead Mississippi State football into the future, while competing in college football’s premier conference. Hail State!”
The offensive maestro’s units have finished in the top six nationally in total offense three times over the last five seasons, including No. 2 with UCF in 2019 (540.5 ypg) and then No. 3 with Ole Miss in 2020 (555.5 ypg). Oklahoma finished the 2023 regular season with the nation’s No. 4 ranked offense (502.4 ppg).
Since 2019, Lebby’s scheme has produced five individual 3,000yard passing seasons and four individual 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
Explosive plays have been a trademark of Lebby-coached offenses. His units have ranked inside the top 25 in that category in each of his five seasons coordinating offenses: Plays of 20+ Yards From Scrimmage 2023: 73 – Oklahoma (No. 9 in FBS) 2022: 75 – Oklahoma (No. 25 in FBS) 2021: 74 – Ole Miss (No. 17 in FBS) 2020: 71 – Ole Miss (No. 9 in FBS) 2019: 95 – UCF (No. 6 in FBS) COACHING HISTORY 2022-Present: Oklahoma (Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks) 2020-21: Ole Miss (Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks) 2019: UCF (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks) 2018: UCF (Quarterbacks/ Passing Game Coordinator) 2017: Southeastern (Offensive Coordinator) 2015-16: Baylor (Passing Game/Offensive Recruiting Coordinator) 2012-16: Baylor (Running Backs) 2008-11: Baylor (Assistant Director of Football Operations) 2007: Victoria (Texas) Memorial HS (Offensive Line/Tight Ends Coach) 2003-06: Oklahoma (Student Assistant)
