Jon Gruden wants to coach in the SEC, but is Mississippi State a realistic choice?

Jon Gruden wants in the SEC coaching ranks but Mississippi State’s Jeff Lebby can continue building the program without job concerns.

Las Vegas Raiders manager Jon Gruden (right) interacts with the players before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Allegiant Stadium. | Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

Every college football program is in the grind portion of preseason practices, including Mississippi State.

However, it’s still the preseason and talking season isn’t quite over with yet. And this is sure to get plenty of people’s attention.

Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden visited the Georgia Bulldogs’ preseason camp this week and spoke to the team. One portion of his speech is sure to raise the eyebrow of one or two SEC athletic directors.

(Note: If you’re familiar with Gruden, this won’t surprise you, but the video linked above has more than one or two swear words in it. Other than that, it’s actually a pretty good motivational speech.)

“The only reason I really came here was I want to coach again,” Gruden said. “I’m being honest with you, and I do not b******* either. I want to coach again. I’d die to coach in the SEC. I would love it. I would f****** love it.”

“I’d die to coach in the SEC…I would f—king love it”

Coming this fall - Grumors: The NIL edition pic.twitter.com/STqyUxJJgg

— zach ragan (@zachTNT) August 9, 2025

Gruden said that in front of the only SEC coach who shouldn’t be worried about their job security, Kirby Smart. But there are 15 other SEC coaches who, if Gruden is serious, probably had an internal “uh-oh” moment.

For some, that moment is warranted.

The first four coaches that come to mind are Arkansas’ Sam Pittman, Auburn’s Hugh Freeze, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops and Oklahoma’s Brent Venables.

• The Razorbacks may decide to follow the men’s basketball path and hire a very-recognizable coach in the hopes of replicating that recruiting success.
• If Freeze isn’t successful with this roster, he’ll be gone before the calendar flips to December.
• The Wildcats might realize Stoops has it his ceiling at Kentucky.
• Oklahoma fans wanted Bob Stoops because he consistently only lost two games each season and didn’t go undefeated, so their patience level is pretty low already.

But there are others.

What if Alabama misses out on the College Football Playoff again? Is Kellen DeBoer safe?

What about Brian Kelly at LSU? Nine and 10-win seasons are nice, but expectations are a lot higher in Baton Rogue.

Will Florida fans actually manage to get Billy Napier fired this season if the Gators stumble out of the gates?

What if the offseason drama Tennessee endured (i.e., Nico Iamaleava) is more deep-rooted than we know and the season ends disastrously?

If anyone has the money to throw at Gruden, it’s Texas A&M. Unless they’re still paying off Jimbo Fisher. Then, maybe not.

That’s more than half of the SEC that could be looking for a new coach next season.

You may have noticed one school in particular not listed above. In fact there are five schools not mentioned above: Texas (crazy stuff happens, but not this crazy), Ole Miss (can you imagine Gruden and Lane Kiffin trading barbs in press conferences?), Missouri and Vanderbilt (neither of which are big enough to land a big name like Gruden).

That leaves Mississippi State.

Let me just be very blunt.

Jeff Lebby is not on a hot seat.

He walked into a bad situation that can’t be fixed in one or two seasons. As long as Zac Selmon is the athletic director, Lebby will be given the time needed to build Mississippi State into a competitive SEC team.

Yes, everyone wants to see the Bulldogs play better and win more than two games in 2025 and there are a lot of reasons to expect that to happen.

But, no, Gruden won’t be ringing any cowbells anytime soon.