Jeff Lebby 'excited' about new Bulldog staffers

Since the regular season ended on Black Friday for Mississippi State, it’s been nonstop action behind the scenes for Jeff Lebby.

It’s no different just about anywhere around the country these days, but Mississippi State has especially been moving and shaking. Lebby and the staff had to seal up the 2026 signing class and have continued to work the transfer portal and the current roster for retention. On top of that, the coach accepted a surprise bowl invitation as the Bulldogs prepare to take on Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

In the middle of all of that, the staffing on campus is influx. Lebby fired defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler and replaced him with former DC and head coach Zach Arnett, wide receivers coach Chad Bumphis was let go and more pieces have been added the last few days.

Arnett was the big addition to the team with Lebby finalizing that deal on Sunday. Arnett was a shocking pickup for the Bulldogs after the University fired him following the 2023 season. That was his one season as a head coach for the Bulldogs as State went 5-7 after the death of coach Mike Leach and Arnett was promoted to head coach.

“I think it says a lot about his time here and how much he loves Mississippi State,” Lebby said of Arnett. “It’s a little outside the box, but as I went through the process, it was about getting a guy that understood Mississippi State and who we are as a University. He had an incredible experience coaching in this conference and having an incredible amount of success coaching it.

“I coached against Zach and had to prepare for it. It was not fun and really tough throughout the week. That’s what I want on that side of the ball. I thought what he did was play to his personnel and put guys in position of success.”

Lebby explains Arnett’s role during bowl prep

What Arnett brings is proven success at State. As DC for the Bulldogs, Arnett’s unit was top six in the SEC in total defense every season he was on campus. Even as the head coach, the Bulldogs finished in the top half of the league.

The man in charge of that 2023 defense is also on his way back as former DC and linebackers coach Matt Brock was announced as the new Co-DC of the State defense. Brock just had two successful seasons leading UConn’s unit and is set to make his return.

State also announced the additions of former Starkville and East Mississippi DC Kevie Thompson to the staff helping with defensive backs. Lebby is adding an offensive piece as former Boise State and Kentucky offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan brings a wealth of experience and will be the Associate Head Coach for Offense.

“There was great excitement for him to come back which Is exciting for me. He’s a guy that’s coordinated and had a ton of opportunities and he decided to come back and be our co-DC and linebacker coach which is a huge get for us,” Lebby said.

“Kevie Thompson is another guy we’ve added to our staff and is a guy from our state. He’s had incredible recruiting ties and has been known as a great recruiter. He went to Oklahoma State last year and comes back home and he’s excited to be back home.

“Bush has coordinated in so many different spots and has coached receivers, QBs and in the NFL. His experience in coordinating and coaching multiple positions at great places brings a ton of value. That’s a huge get for us.”

Arnett, Hamdan and Thompson were already involved in State’s prep for Wake Forest at Wednesday’s practice, though their roles right now are surveying the roster.

Arnett especially won’t be utilized in any playcalling or game planning in the day-to-day. However, this has been a beneficial start to his 2026 process.

“For Zach, it’s being able to go out and watch these guys at practice every day. The evaluation of our current roster is a huge advantage for us. He has the ability to be in the building and know exactly what holes we have from a roster standpoint instead of just talking about it. Zach is out there in the middle with the scout team and getting those guys ready to roll,” Lebby said.

“He’s not  incredibly involved from a gameplan standpoint because we didn’t feel it was fair to the kids to throw all of those changes on them. But being able to evaluate our roster and create relationships has been really natural and really good.”