Jeff Lebby opens up on coaching journey, 'dream come true' at Mississippi State

Growing up, Jeff Lebby had a front-row seat to the life of a football coach. His father, Mike, was a notable high school football coach in Texas for whom he played as a highly touted offensive line prospect.

A college injury cut Lebby’s playing career short, and it led him to follow in his father’s footsteps as a student assistant at Oklahoma under Bob Stoops from 2002-06. That was the beginning of his coaching journey, and after more than 20 years as an assistant coach, Lebby is getting his first opportunity as a head coach at Mississippi State.

Now leading a program for the first time, Lebby said he wants to make sure his players keep that same perspective. He doesn’t want them to forget where the road began.

“So much of who I am today is because of how I saw how my dad operated every single day.”@Coach_Leb joined Dusty & Danny in the Morning to express his plan to lead the Mississippi State football team in his first experience as a Head Coach. pic.twitter.com/1KzOS6SI33

— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) March 6, 2024

“I said it in my very first team meeting the night I got here. For me, this is, it’s a dream come true,” Lebby said on SiriusXM College. “And I told the guys, the best part about it is the dream’s just starting.

“For me, I have, I’ve thought about it for a long time, wanted to have an opportunity to do exactly what I’m getting able to do right now. I try to impress upon the guys nonstop not forgetting where we come from.”

Jeff Lebby: ‘I want our people in our building to enjoy walking in those double doors’

After his four years at Oklahoma, Lebby went to the high school ranks as the offensive line and tight ends coach at Victoria Memorial High School in Texas. Then, Baylor came calling, and he stayed with the Bears from 2008-16. Following a year as the offensive coordinator at Southeastern, he latched on for two years at UCF as the quarterbacks coach and eventually offensive coordinator from 2018-19.

Lebby returned to the Power Conference ranks in 2020 as Ole Miss’ offensive coordinator, and he returned to Oklahoma in the same role under Brent Venables for the last two years. Now, he’s a first-time head coach at Mississippi State, and he’s applying what he learned watching his dad lead a high school program.

Those lessons are crucial as Lebby instills his culture in Starkville.

“So much of who I am today and my day-to-day and our day-to-day here as a program is because I saw how my dad operated every single day,” Lebby said. “Growing up in the fieldhouse and seeing him interact with his players every day and working incredibly hard. But man, having fun and to do it every single day and finding ways to have great perspectives, having a thankful spirit, being grateful for our opportunity.

“And again, because we know it’s supposed to be really dang hard and it’s gonna be really hard. But man, I want our people in our building to enjoy walking in those double doors as we’re trying to go chase it every day together.”

Lebby is currently getting ready for his first spring practice as Mississippi State head coach. That begins Thursday and ends with the Maroon-White spring game on April 15.