Mississippi State’s Jeff Lebby defends ‘outside the box’ defensive coordinator hire
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The Mississippi State football team hopes to rise to the top of the SEC in 2026. Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby is opening up about his squad at SEC Media Days. He says it was the right move to hire a former Mississippi State head coach to be his new defensive coordinator.
“It might seem a little outside the box, but it was all about having a guy who had lived it (and) done it,” Lebby said, per On3.
Former Bulldogs coach Zach Arnett is the new defensive coordinator. This isn’t the only program in the power 4 with a coordinator who was the former head coach. Virginia Tech’s in the same boat, as former head coach Brent Pry is now the defensive coordinator under James Franklin.
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Lebby is about to enter his third season leading the Bulldogs. He carries a lot of pressure on him going into 2026, as his last two seasons were both losing campaigns. He won just two games in 2024, before picking up five victories last season.
Arnett returns to Mississippi State this season, after working last year at Florida State. He was the Bulldogs head coach in 2023. He also served as defensive coordinator in the past with the Bulldogs, so he knows the program well.
The Bulldogs have struggled in SEC play the last few years. Mississippi State fans hope to see the team compete near the top of the league this upcoming season. This is the first college program that Lebby has led. He worked for many years as an assistant at Baylor, Oklahoma and other schools.
Mississippi State football opens their 2026 campaign against Louisiana-Monroe on September 5.
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