Mussatto: In hiring Jeff Lebby as head coach, Mississippi State does OU football a favor

Jeff Lebby landed in Starkville, Mississippi, a little after 8 p.m. Sunday.

The former University of Oklahoma offensive coordinator, named Sunday as Mississippi State’s new head coach, walked onto the tarmac to the clang of cowbells. Bulldogs fans celebrated. Lebby is a bright offensive mind, after all, and the start of a new era brings excitement.

But did anyone at Mississippi State check the cargo hold? Lebby, the son-in-law of Art Briles, doesn’t travel light. All of the baggage Lebby brought to Norman was shipped to Starkville. And for that the Sooners should be thankful.

Mississippi State did Oklahoma a favor.

By hiring Lebby, an OU alum, the Bulldogs rid the Sooners of a hire Brent Venables should never have made. That OU’s administration should’ve never OK’d. There’s a lesson to be learned. Stay away from the Art Briles coaching tree. Stay away from the Art Briles family tree. Go find another tree, preferably one that’s not rotting.

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Briles failed time and again to respond appropriately, to respond humanely, to 52 rape allegations against 31 of his players at Baylor. There is no more disgraced name in college football than his.

Lebby’s mistake was not being the son-in-law of Briles, but in being one of Briles’ biggest public backers.

Lebby’s Xs and Os acumen was not the issue. The Sooners averaged 502 yards per game this season, tops in the Big 12. But OU’s offense thrived before Lebby’s arrival and there’s no reason to think it won’t continue to thrive.

Mississippi State graciously gave OU a redo. To hire an offensive coordinator who knows how to read a situation.

Lebby failed on that front when Briles was seen, in OU gear, on Owen Field after the Southern Methodist University game in September. When pressed about it after the game, Lebby doubled down by saying “that’s my father-in-law. That’s the grandfather to my two kids.”

Can’t argue with Lebby’s facts, but Lebby’s lack of awareness was jarring. Maybe hang out with your father-in-law everywhere but on a college campus.

The next day, Lebby apologized for the “distraction” Briles had caused.

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“It shouldn’t have happened,” OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said in a statement, “and it was my expectation it never would, based on boundaries we previously set.”

Not that they worked in Norman, but what kind of boundaries will be in place in Starkville?

Heck, maybe this is much ado about nothing. It’s the SEC, after all. If Hugh Freeze, as sleazy as they come, can be the head coach at Auburn, then Lebby’s ties to Briles will be no big deal.

By the way, have fun in the SEC, Sooners. It’s a completely reasonable place.

The biggest mystery in all of this is why Mississippi State athletic director Zac Selmon, a son and nephew of Sooner legends, is not only repeating OU’s mistake in hiring Lebby, but doubling down on it by hiring Lebby as a head coach. It’s Selmon’s first big splash after being hired in January.

“I am confident that Jeff is the perfect leader for the next exciting chapter of Mississippi State football,” Selmon said in a release. “He will bring an exciting brand of football, elite student-athlete development and a winning culture to Starkville, all while doing so with high integrity.”

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We’ll see about that last part.

Selmon, who worked under Castiglione in OU’s athletics administration, is bright and well respected. But why anyone would want to sign up for the unease and public relations headaches Lebby brings is beyond me.

If Lebby wins at Mississippi State — no small task — all will be forgiven.

But if Lebby loses, this is the type of hire that can stain an administrator’s career.

It’s one thing to make a bad hire. It’s another to make a bad hire with baggage.

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football loses Jeff Lebby, but Mississippi State does Sooners favor