Brent Venables issues statement on Jeff Lebby being a candidate at Mississippi State

The Mississippi State Bulldogs are currently searching for a new head coach to lead their football program. One name that’s been a hot commodity across the college football landscape is Oklahoma Sooners’ offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

On Friday afternoon, Sooners’ head coach Brent Venables issued a statement on Lebby being a candidate for the head coaching position in Starkville.

“I want all my guys to have opportunity and I will support them in any way I can….I’m all for my guys having opportunities.” Venables said via George Stoia III of SoonerScoop.com.

Jeff Lebby coaching career profile

It’s certainly not a surprise to see Lebby garner interest for some head coaching positions across the country. Under his watch, the Oklahoma offense has averaged over 40 points per game this season, ranking them fourth in the country in that stat category.

The Sooners finished their regular season with a 10-2 overall record this year. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel has had another impressive year with Lebby as his offensive coordinator. This season, he’s completed 69.9% of his passes, while throwing for 3,260 yards and tossing in 27 touchdowns to five interceptions.

The Oklahoma offense did have underwhelming performances against Kansas and Oklahoma State this year. After those games, Lebby was heavily criticized by the local media in Norman. In December of 2021, Lebby signed a contract with the Sooners that was for three years, $5.7 million.

Lebby has coached at a number of schools during his career, including Baylor, UCF, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma. While coaching at Baylor, he worked under his father-in-law, Art Briles.

While at UCF, Lebby coached quarterbacks McKenzie Milton and Dillon Gabriel to highly, highly successful seasons. In 2018, Milton finished sixth place in the Heisman Trophy voting, throwing for over 2,600 yards, while tossing in 25 touchdowns with six interceptions.

From 2020-2021, Lebby spent time under Lane Kiffin as the offensive coordinator with Ole Miss. In his first season there as the Rebels’ OC, the team ranked eighth in total offense.

Lebby began his coaching career with the Oklahoma Sooners, back in 2002-2006. He worked there as a student assistant, where he would eventually meet his future boss with the UCF Knights, Josh Heupel. Heupel is currently the head coach for the Tennessee Volunteers.

In his playing career, Lebby played his high school football at Andrews High School (Texas). He ended up earning all-state honors his senior year and signing with the Oklahoma Sooners. But an injury ended his college football playing career prematurely.