SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

New Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby comments on his relationship with Tennessee HC Josh Heupel

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Zach Ragan | Last updated 11/29/23

Mississippi State hired Jeff Lebby, who was previously the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, to serve as the program's head football coach this week.

Lebby replaces Zach Arnett who was fired after less than a year as the Bulldogs' head coach.

Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel, who will face Lebby in 2024 when UT and Mississippi State face off in Knoxville, is extremely familiar with Lebby.

Heupel and Lebby first met when Heupel was an assistant coach at Oklahoma and Lebby was a student assistant.

Lebby later served as Heupel's quarterbacks coach at UCF in 2018 and as his offensive coordinator in 2019 before leaving to join Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss as the Rebels' offensive coordinator.

Earlier this week, Lebby joined Paul Finebaum to discuss his new role as the head coach at Mississippi State and he was asked about his relationship with Heupel.

"Obviously, think fondly of Coach Heup," said Lebby. "He's been a dear friend of mine and [I] have so much respect for him. Obviously, having an opportunity to work for him there at UCF and him giving me the opportunity to be an offensive coordinator and to coach the quarterbacks. And what he did for my growth from a quarterbacks standpoint and being able to coach the position, develop these guys at a really high level, being able to fix guys fundamentally and making sure that we're owning our process every single day. So much credit, obviously to Heup, for giving me the opportunity to do what I'm doing right now."

It's clear that Lebby thinks highly of Heupel. It should be an interesting matchup when they face off against each other next fall for the first time as head coaches.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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