Mississippi State targeting Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby as next head coach, per report

According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo!, Mississippi State is “targeting” Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby to be their next head coach. Dellenger reports that the deal is not completely done but Lebby is expected to be the guy in Starkville.

“Mississippi State is targeting Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby as its next coach, sources tell @YahooSports,” Dellenger said. “Deal not done, but discussions are expected to result in a hire. Lebby is a former assistant under offensive minds like Art Briles, Gus Malzahn, and Lane Kiffin.”

Lebby will become a head coach for the first time in his career, previously being an offensive coordinator on three different staffs over the past four seasons. He is known for his Veer And Shoot scheme, learned under former Baylor head coach Art Briles — who happens to be Lebby’s father-in-law.

As Dellenger mentioned, Lebby does experience working under Kiffin and was once on the other side of the Egg Bowl. For two seasons, Ole Miss employed Lebby as their offensive coordinator but when Oklahoma came calling, it was too hard to pass up his alma mater.

Mississippi State fans will remember the Egg Bowl performances, with Ole Miss having 31 points in both matchups, resulting in wins. The 2020 match saw the Rebels go for 550 yards, 387 of which came in the air through Matt Corral.

Everyone in Starkville hopes those types of numbers, and the two wins, are a good omen in the rivalry moving forward. Going up against one of his old mentors will cause a fascinating matchup around Thanksgiving time as well.

Jeff Lebby fresh off two seasons with Oklahoma, Dillon Gabriel

More recently — from a statistical standpoint, Oklahoma was one of the best offenses in the country this season. The Sooners are third in scoring, averaging 43.2 points per game. Five different times was Lebby able to get at least 50 points on the board, with the latest being a 69-point thriller against TCU.

Dillon Gabriel was brought along with Lebby to Oklahoma, with the two having a connection during their times at UCF. Lebby was also instrumental in the recruitment of Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Jackson Arnold, who is considered the future of the Sooners’ offense.

Mississippi State recently saw Will Rogers enter the NCAA transfer portal after spending four seasons with the program. If/when Lebby is officially hired, figuring out the quarterback position will be one of his first priorities.