STARKVILLE, Miss. — Jeff Lebby ducks into a nearby open room as construction workers loudly clang away in his office as part of a summer remodel.
This is where we’d typically make the obvious comparison to what Lebby inherited as Mississippi State’s new coach, but it wouldn’t be the appropriate analogy. Mississippi State football didn’t need a remodel when Lebby arrived, it needed an emotional rebuild.
Lebby is the Bulldogs’ third coach in as many seasons. The players who stuck with Mississippi State first had to deal with the trauma of losing an adored coach, Mike Leach, who passed away on Dec. 12, 2022, due to complications of a heart condition. As the team tried to heal, defensive coordinator Zach Arnett got promoted to the big job, completely changed the Bulldogs’ signature offensive approach under Leach and was fired after a single 5-7 season.
Coaching changes are part of the sport, but no one prepares you for the sudden loss of a beloved figure like Leach, perhaps the most unique character in all the best ways that college football has ever seen. No one did things like Leach, which made him great and refreshing, but that style would always make the transition to the next person challenging. It’d be a lot for anyone to go through, especially a group of 20-something college students with the media spotlight on the entire experience.
It’s a tricky experience for a first-time coach to navigate, too. How do you get buy-in from a group that’s still working through the trauma? To get the whole operation moving in the same direction when you’re their third voice in as many years preaching a grand new vision?
For Lebby, it was about meeting them where they were. He scheduled meetings with every player on the team to understand what…
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