Reply With QuoteAnd just how much $$$$ are you willing to give to buy out Lebby and pay for a new coach and staff? Lots of folks willing to say what we should do if, but not willing to step up to the plate with $$$$.
Note: I am NOT calling for Lebby to be fired ... yet. I am totally willing to give him until the end of this season to see if he can turn things around. But if we do finish 4-8 (0-8), I think we have to pull the trigger. I researched and only found 3 examples in the last 20 years of an FBS school bringing back a coach after 2 straight winless years in the conference, whether it was his first two years or not:
- Ted Roof went 0-8 at Duke in both 2005 and 2006, then was brought back to go 0-8 again in 2007 and get fired.
- Randy Edsall went 0-8 at UConn in 2018 and 2019, then didn't play at all in 2020 and was fired after just 2 games in 2021.
- Trent Miles went 0-7 and 0-8 in 2013 and 2014 at Georgia State, before improving and making a bowl in 2015 but then regressing and getting fired midseason in 2016. Those were Georgia State's first 2 years in the FBS, so it's a little more understandable why they gave him more list.
So I stand by my previous statements that no one would give Lebby a 3rd year if he starts out 0-16, and there's no reason to expect him not to be fired pretty soon after even if we did.
One major reason people don't want to fire him is because they're afraid we won't be able to hire anyone this offseason because a bunch of big-name schools will be looking for a coach. That's just not true though. Here is a list of 15 coaches who have head coaching experience (so no having to learn on the job that you don't throw in that situation last night), multiple years of success, and who aren't likely to be snatched up by Florida, Penn State, UCLA, etc. I didn't put names like James Franklin on the list. Obviously I'd love to hire him, but it's not realistic to expect us to get him. This isn't meant to be a comprehensive list. There are probably other solid hires out there that I didn't think of.
It's possible that some names on this list would turn us down to go to Arkansas or Virginia Tech or stay where they are, but I'm confident that most people here would seriously consider taking our job. We shouldn't sell ourselves short - we are an SEC school, and one of only 34 teams in the "Power Two." More importantly, I'm confident that every single name on the list would be 5-2 with our current roster, and most of them would be 6-1. This isn't a list of "greatest coaches hypothetically available," it's a list of "coaches we could probably get that would probably be an upgrade."
1. Bob Chesney - Career record of 126-51, won big at Salve Regina, Assumption, and Holy Cross, before coming to James Madison, where he is 15-5 (8-4). Seems like another Cignetti.
2. Jason Candle - Currently in his 10th year at Toledo, where he is 76-43 (48-25) with 2 conference championships and .500 or better in every season and 1 ass-kicking of an SEC school.
3. Matt Entz - 2 FCS national titles at North Dakota State with a record of 60-11 (32-7). Now the head coach at Fresno State and is 5-2 in year 1.
4. Jon Sumrall - Went 23-4 (4-2) at Troy and is now 15-6 (10-1) at Tulane. Rumored to have turned us down in late 2023, but worth a second inquiry.
5. Brent Vigen - Currently in his 5th year at Montana State, with all top 10 finishes and a 52-12 (32-3) record.
6. Brian Newberry - In his 3rd year at Navy, currently 21-10 (14-6) there. Finished 10-3 last year and is undefeated in 2025. Came up as a DC so probably not committed to being a triple option team.
7. Troy Calhoun - They've had a dropoff the last couple years, but he's been very solid over his 19 years at Air Force, with a record of 136-94 (80-62). The service academies are at a bigger recruiting disadvantage than ever in the NIL/portal era.
8. Alex Golesh - In the 3 years before he arrived at South Florida, they went 4-29. Since then, they are 19-13 (10-8) with wins over Syracuse and Flordia. THAT's how you do a turnaround. He may getting a bigger job.
9. KC Keeler - He's old for a new hire at 66, but he's 275-115 in his career, winning big at Rowan, Delaware, and Sam Houston, winning 5 D3 national titles and 2 FCS national titles. Now in his first year at Temple. Probably too old for a long-term rebuild, but it would be his chance at the biggest stage.
10. Charles Huff - 4 bowl games in 4 years at Marshall, and has instantly turned around Southern Miss in year 1 this year.
11. Jimmy Rogers - 2 seasons at South Dakota State that included an FCS national title and a semifinal, and has been surprisingly good and competitive at Washington State this year.
12. Mike Gundy - I know, I know. He's not like the rest of the names on the list. And the last 2 years were pretty bad. But you can't argue with his resume, 170-90 (102-72) at what used to be the Mississippi State of the Big 12. Only 58, so could coach for another decade. Finished ranked twice in 2020s, so it's not a long-term decline, just completely falling apart over the last 2 years.
13. Tim Polasek - Short tenure as a head coach, only in his second year. Won the FCS National Title at North Dakota State last year and is now 7-0 in year 2. Each of the last 3 NDSU coaches has moved on to the FBS ranks and continued to be good.
14. Tyson Helton - I never hear his name discussed, but he's 53-35 (37-14) at Western Kentucky and has led them to a bowl every year he's been there.
15. Ryan Silverfield - Another name people don't talk about, but 48-22 (25-18) at Memphis with a bowl every year. A bit of a red flag that his two predecessors at Memphis were both good there are failed at Power 4 jobs though.
Again, I'm NOT committed to firing Lebby yet. He deserves our support for the rest of the year. But if we do go 0-8 again, there are absolutely plausible hires out there who would have finished better than 0-8 with this exact roster.
Last edited by Quaoarsking; 10-19-2025 at 06:04 PM.
And just how much $$$$ are you willing to give to buy out Lebby and pay for a new coach and staff? Lots of folks willing to say what we should do if, but not willing to step up to the plate with $$$$.
"Live every day like it was your last one.....And one day you're gonna be right"..Willie Nelson
If he goes winless again, it has to happen. We're not the ones getting paid big bucks to figure it out. Stop making the fans accountable. We're loyally showing up to see a competitive team.
Charles Huff anyone?>???
I got ridiculed for mentioning him, but dude just winsOriginally Posted by parabrave
I mean just stop and ponder this. All we're asking is he win ONE conference game over two seasons. And that will get him another year. It's a pretty 17ing low bar.
I know it would upset a lot of people, but I think he would be a very good option. Like you said the guy is a winner and I love the energy he brings.
Golesh is the best of that group and would be the easiest for this team to transition to.
To Lebby's defense I don't think ANY recent MSU coach has had to deal with this sort of two year schedule. He's realistically had to learn quickly figure it out. In my opinion he's had 4 opportunities to show he's capable. He'll have only a few more this year imo to show he's the guy.
1. Toledo game last year. You have to win that
2. The Arizona state game this year. He won
3. Tennessee game this year. Find a way to win
4. Florida realistically both years should have been wins
5. Texas this year should be a win
6. Arkansas should be a win
Outside of that any other SEC game is just a bonus. I may be missing some games from last year. But he's starting to resemble Morehead before he was fired. However, it's just a bad time to fire & hire a new coach.
Yikes
You won't even get one of those guys if you fire the guy you just got and has improved things this much in a 1 1/2 years. I don't understand it.
This is the truth. Coaches see what we were last year compared to this year. We're riding with Lebby and if we have a QB next then we should be even better than this year.
We have a chance to beat Texas. They are favored over us by a TD at our place so in no way is it a "should win". It is an opportunity to win. Just like this past Saturday, I expect it will come down to a handful of plays that decide the game
UPig on the road is also not a "should win". Its another op to get a win. The number 4 team in the country and last undefeated SEC team just went to their place an escaped with a 3 point win. UPig had over 500 yards of offense against a D we struggled to move the ball against. We will likely be a 5-7 point dog on the road for that game. Its winnable- but in no way a "should win"
Walk like the King or walk like you don't care who the King is
We fired Joe and Arnett bc it was blatantly obvious they could not do the job. There were rumors of the team quitting on them and fights in the locker room. Both coaches showed a severe lack of understanding of what it took to win in this league.
You DO NOT see that with Jeff Lebby. Firing him after year two would be a disaster for this program.
And, btw, Joe is rumored to be fired at Akron soon.
Gosh, no kidding. It's amazing what we have been conditioned to accept. It's like a mental disease.
People just don't understand it. But this is true.
Completely disagree. We would be offering a huge salary increase and a chance to coach in the SEC rather than G5 or FCS. Most of them would take our job if we were their only P4 opportunity.
Golesh and Huff are the only 2 mentioned who move the needle for me. Golesh may end up at another SEC school this cycle
Being a fired head coach is the most lucrative job in sports too. Like why is going to the trigger happy firing squad a bad thing? Morehead and Arnett found similar level jobs as they had prior to being hired by us after being fired by us. Not like being fired by Mississippi State ruins your whole career trajectory.
"Once the game starts, it's gonna be easy." - Lebron, July 10th, 2010
"No one ever said it's gonna be easy." - Lebron, June 12th, 2011
Like Chadwell at Liberty? Who had discussions with us 2 years ago but decided to stay and is not even on the listed board now. Or Sumrall who rumored to have pulled his name for us to go to Tulane to wait for another opportunity? Hardly no one on this board wanted Jason Candle 2 years ago when I brought him up then and he is basically the same coach except they beat us last year. Oh how many on here wanted G J Kinne 2 years ago...not even mentioned now with good reason. Jeff Traylor at UTSA 2 years ago, pretty hot name but not now. It's a crap shoot and no, there is no guarantee we could pull a really good G5 coach. We couldn't 2 years ago. And if we are more attractive now to more of them, that is because Lebby has made the team look competitive and they continue to fight. The biggest glaring issue last year was the defense, he addressed that in the offseason and they are much better. We are in the middle of a rebuild. Let's see how the season ends.
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