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Report: Mississippi State Targeting Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby for Head Coaching Vacancy

Yahoo! reports Lebby is "expected" to be hired by the Bulldogs, and a source tells AllSooners the school expects make an announcement "soon."
John E. Hoover|
Report: Mississippi State Targeting Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby for Head Coaching Vacancy
Report: Mississippi State Targeting Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby for Head Coaching Vacancy

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Oklahoma Sooners

Mississippi State “is targeting” Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby for its head coaching vacancy, according to a tweet posted Saturday night by Yahoo!’s Ross Dellenger.

Dellenger reported that the “deal is not done, but discussions are expected to result in a hire.”

A source close to the situation told AllSooners the school has “more work to do” but expects to hire a new football coach “soon.”

Lebby interviewed for the job in Starkville this week, then returned to coach the Sooners to a 69-45 victory over TCU on Friday in Norman.

"Hopefully, it was pretty clear today that my focus was on one thing," Lebby said, "and my energy and my mindset and how we wanted to go play was on one thing, and that was going 1-0 today." 

Lebby, 39, has blossomed in two seasons as the Sooners’ OC, as OU ranks among the top 10 offenses in the nation in passing offense (314.7 yards per game, No. 7), total offense (492.9, No. 7) and scoring offense (40.8 points per game). OU is also 11th nationally in third-down conversion percentage (.486) and fifth in team pass efficiency rating (172.03).

Lebby is a former OU offensive line recruit from Andrews, TX, who began his coaching career as a student assistant under Bob Stoops and was brought back by Brent Venables in December 2021.

Lebby coached at Baylor, UCF and Ole Miss under Art Briles, Josh Heupel and Lane Kiffin before returning to his alma mater.

MSU fired Zach Arnett on Nov. 13 after Arnett started 4-6 in his first season replacing the late Mike Leach.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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