Mississippi State football coaching staff tracker for Jeff Lebby in 2026 season
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STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football was quick to make changes to its coaching staff after the regular season ended.
The Bulldogs and coach Jeff Lebby fired defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler on Dec. 6. He was replaced by Zach Arnett, who was the MSU coach in 2023.
Other assistant coaches have been hired on offense and defense as MSU aims to build off its 5-8 season. It’s a stark difference from one year ago when Lebby only fired one assistant coach after the 2-10 record in 2024.
Here are all the hires Lebby has made so far for his 2026 coaching staff.
Who did Jeff Lebby hire for Mississippi State’s staff in 2026?
Kevin Johns, offensive assistant coach
Johns was hired on Dec. 28 after one season as Oklahoma State’s quarterbacks coach. He has plenty of experience as an offensive coordinator at Indiana, Western Michigan, Texas Tech, Memphis and Duke. Mississippi State has not said if he will be coaching a specific position group.
Ty Warren, defensive line coach
Warren was hired on Dec. 28 after one season as the Rice defensive line coach. Before that, he was the defensive line coach at Stephen F. Austin from 2023-24. Warren played in the NFL from 2003-12 for the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.
Lebby said after the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Jan. 2 that 2025 defensive line coach David Turner will be in a new role with the program for 2026, but didn’t give specifcs.
Desmond Lindsey, assistant wide receivers coach
Lindsey was hired on Dec. 28 after one season as UTEP’s outside wide receivers coach. He has experience as a wide receivers coach at Southern Miss and Memphis.
Chad Bumphis, MSU’s wide receivers coach the last three seasons, was hired by Utah for the same role.
Bush Hamdan, assistant head coach for offense
Hamdan was hired on Dec. 10 to assist Lebby with MSU’s offense. He was Kentucky’s offensive coordinator for the last two seasons. Hamdan has also been an FBS offensive coordinator at Washington (2018-19) and Boise State (2023).
Matt Brock, linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator
Brock is returning to Mississippi State with Arnett. He was an assistant coach at MSU from 2020-23, including as the defensive coordinator for Arnett in 2023. Brock has spent that last two seasons as UConn’s defensive coordinator. His hire was announced Dec. 10.
Kevie Thompson, assistant defensive backs/nickels coach
Thompson was hired on Dec. 9 from Oklahoma State. He has an extensive Mississippi background, playing at Jones College and Southern Miss before breaking into coaching in Mississippi high schools. He was East Mississippi State Community College’s defensive coordinator from 2022-24.
Zach Arnett, defensive coordinator
Arnett was hired on Dec. 6, returning to Mississippi State after being the defensive coordinator from 2020-22 He was the MSU coach in 2023 after Mike Leach died, but was fired midseason. Arnett was an analyst at Ole Miss in 2024 and at Florida State in 2025.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State football coaching staff tracker for 2026, Jeff Lebby
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