Jon Gruden wants to coach in the SEC, but is Mississippi State a realistic choice?

Every college football program is in the grind portion of preseason practices, including Mississippi State.

However, its still the preseason and talking season isnt quite over with yet.

And this is sure to get plenty of peoples attention.

Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden visited the Georgia Bulldogs preseason camp this week and spoke to the team.

One portion of his speech is sure to raise the eyebrow of one or two SEC athletic directors.

(Note: If youre familiar with Gruden, this wont surprise you, but the video linked above has more than one or two swear words in it.

Other than that, its actually a pretty good motivational speech.) The only reason I really came here was I want to coach again, Gruden said.

Im being honest with you, and I do not b******* either.

I want to coach again.

Id die to coach in the SEC.

I would love it.

I would f****** love it.

Gruden said that in front of the only SEC coach who shouldnt be worried about their job security, Kirby Smart.

But there are 15 other SEC coaches who, if Gruden is serious, probably had an internal uh-oh moment.

For some, that moment is warranted.

The first four coaches that come to mind are Arkansas Sam Pittman, Auburns Hugh Freeze, Kentuckys Mark Stoops and Oklahomas Brent Venables.

The Razorbacks may decide to follow the mens basketball path and hire a very-recognizable coach in the hopes of replicating that recruiting success.

If Freeze isnt successful with this roster, hell be gone before the calendar flips to December.

The Wildcats might realize Stoops has it his ceiling at Kentucky.

Oklahoma fans wanted Bob Stoops because he consistently only lost two games each season and didnt go undefeated, so their patience level is pretty low already.

But there are others.

What if Alabama misses out on the College Football Playoff again? Is Kellen DeBoer safe? What about Brian Kelly at LSU? Nine and 10-win seasons are nice, but expectations are a lot higher in Baton Rogue.

Will Florida fans actually manage to get Billy Napier fired this season if the Gators stumble out of the gates? What if the offseason drama Tennessee endured (i.e., Nico Iamaleava) is more deep-rooted than we know and the season ends disastrously? If anyone has the money to throw at Gruden, its Texas A&M.

Unless theyre still paying off Jimbo Fisher.

Then, maybe not.

Thats more than half of the SEC that could be looking for a new coach next season.

You may have noticed one school in particular not listed above.

In fact there are five schools not mentioned above: Texas (crazy stuff happens, but not this crazy), Ole Miss (can you imagine Gruden and Lane Kiffin trading barbs in press conferences?), Missouri and Vanderbilt (neither of which are big enough to land a big name like Gruden).

That leaves Mississippi State.

Let me just be very blunt.

Jeff Lebby is not on a hot seat.

He walked into a bad situation that cant be fixed in one or two seasons.

As long as Zac Selmon is the athletic director, Lebby will be given the time needed to build Mississippi State into a competitive SEC team.

Yes, everyone wants to see the Bulldogs play better and win more than two games in 2025 and there are a lot of reasons to expect that to happen.

But, no, Gruden wont be ringing any cowbells anytime soon.

DAWG FEED:.

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