Who makes sense for Mississippi State? 247Sports' national experts weigh in on Bulldogs' coaching search

It feels surprising that Chadwell has not jumped up to the Power Five ranks already. Chadwell's innovative spread-option offense has worked wonders at the Group of Five level across two different stops (Libery is undefeated), and there's an argument to be made that State should lean into an atypical offensive scheme.

"You have to be different to win in Starkville," said 247Sports national college football expert Brad Crawford. "The Bulldogs struck gold with Dan Mullen and Mike Leach, two innovative offensive minds. There's potential that Jamey Chadwell could get that fire re-ignited down there. He's won at every stop with rapid-fire offenses. I like the small-town feel, too, after being the man at Coastal and Liberty. He would embrace the transfer portal and on the recruiting trail, could sign guys that were a system fit, followed by development. Chadwell's a diamond in the rough. He's overdue for a Power Five opportunity and would be on the low end in terms of costs."

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Said 247Sports national analyst Clint Brewster: "I like Chadwell's ability to develop quarterbacks and run a high-profile offense." 

Given Mississippi State's current standing in the SEC landscape, 247Sports' Chris Hummer echoed the Chadwell sentiment.

"Mississippi State is inherently disadvantaged compared to a lot of its other SEC peers simply because it doesn't recruit at a similar level as some of the top dogs in the league," Hummer said. "So you need someone, like Dan Mullen before, who erases that gap with scheme. And few coaches have a more effective scheme than Chadwell, whose spread option scheme is one of the most well respected in college football. Plus, Chadwell wins. He won Charleston Southern. He won at Coastal Carolina. He's winning at Liberty. I think he could win in Starkville, too." 

Chadwell could turn around the Bulldogs right away, but let's bring Lebby into the mix in the interest of variety. Lebby has experience in the SEC as Ole Miss' offensive coordinator under Lane Kiffin from 2020 through 2021, and he would bring a pass-happy scheme back to Starkville if hired.

There's always risk when a program hires a coordinator to serve as its head coach, but Lebby has produced top offenses at every stop. Mississippi State needs to make sure it develops its quarterbacks and puts them in the best position to succeed, as it's harder to to build out an overall roster with enough talent — especially in the trenches — to win the SEC West. If State goes the coordinator route, it should look at Lebby.

Said Brewster: "I like the idea of having an offensive head coach at Mississippi State with the athletes at your disposal in the state."

As Mississippi State tries to navigate a future in a more crowded SEC landscape, it could do a lot worse than turn to somebody it knows can win big in Starkville. 

"Dan Mullen would be a smart re-hire" Brewster said. "He was a winner at Mississippi State and understands what it takes at a place like that. You know what you're getting with him and I think the last two seasons off from football were good for Mullen. He's still young at 51-years-old with a lot of energy. That's the direction I would go."

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Mullen went 69-46 in nine seasons at Mississippi State, with a 5-2 record in bowl games and 5-4 mark vs. Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. He left for Florida after the 2017 season. 

If Selmon insists on hiring a sitting head coach, he has some options close to home. Sumrall has coached in the South for the last 10 years and has experience in the state of Mississippi too at Ole Miss. He's 20-4 at Troy, albeit over a sample size of only two seasons.

"Troy’s Jon Sumrall is a name to keep in mind for the Mississippi State job," said 247Sports college football analyst Blake Brockermeyer. "Sumrall has excelled at Troy in just a few seasons and has an excellent track record as a developer and defensive mind at a school that is going to need both. Sumrall is a North Alabama guy and was a defensive coordinator at Kentucky under Mark Stoops so has lots of experience recruiting in the south and the SEC. Sumrall has also coached at Ole Miss."

SMU has provided a pipeline of head coaches to the Power Five level in recent years with varying results. While Sonny Dykes has been a hit at TCU, Chad Morris failed miserably at Arkansas. Lashlee has done a solid job at SMU, although Dykes certainly set him up well.

"It seems like there is no shortage of candidates with some type of tie to Mississippi State," said Andrew Ivins, 247Sports' director of scouting. "I would assume the folks in Starkville want to zag from what they had in Zach Arnett, which means getting someone with some head coaching experience that can put up points (the Bulldogs are dead last right now in the SEC when it comes to scoring offense). What about Rhett Lashlee? He’s 15-8 since arriving at SMU – more notably, 6-0 in the American this season – and he’s known for his offensive prowess with the Mustangs currently ranking No. 10 nationally in total offense. I think the big question with Lashlee would be whether or not he could recruit in-state and navigate the fruitful junior college scene, but he’s had plenty of success adding talent via the transfer portal at SMU (see Elijah Roberts) and Miami (De’Eriq King and Charleston Rambo)."

While Schumann could perhaps draw some interest for the Texas A&M job, he makes more sense here as the Aggies figure to go with a sitting head coach. There's no questioning Schumann's success at Georgia, nor his status as one of the sport's top up-and-comers.

"For the sake of avoiding retreads like Dan Mullen, I'll go with a name that has undoubtedly benefited from Dan Lanning's success in Eugene in Georgia DC Glenn Schumann," said 247Sports national recruiting analyst Cooper Petagna. "Although it's fair to question if Schumann is ready for this type of job at this point in his career, his former colleague in Eugene has provided more than a couple of reasons why the Bulldogs should take a shot on a young up-and-comer from the Kirby Smart coaching tree.

"Known as a strong recruiter during his time in Athens, Schumann has helped put together the nation's most talented linebacker room since joining Kirby Smart's ranks in 2016 and is very highly respected in the coaching ranks for his defensive intellect. A cerebral mind that's been forged by the powers of the SEC, it's fair to assume Schumann only knows one way to build a roster and that's at the point of attack. Although the arrival of Schumann in Starkville would come with some question marks, there's no reason for Mississippi State not to try and find lightning in a bottle with another young and tenacious Georgia defensive coordinator."

Along the lines of Crawford's point, 247Sports college football analyst Bud Elliott said State needs to do something unusual or different. That doesn't necessarily mean a triple-option offense, as Leach showed that the Air Raid can work in the SEC.

"Mississippi State should probably try to get into the Big 12, It has never been competitive in the SEC. While the athletics administrators benefit from the huge SEC checks, fans can't really enjoy the constant beatdowns and the feeling that even their best possible teams can't win a conference title, right? That said, State is more effective with a coach who will run a very weird, creative offense predicated on tricking people, like Mike Leach or Paul Johnson. Any interview candidate who thinks that an approach emphasizing a physical run game, when just about every team in the league has better players than you, should be disregarded."