Joe Moorhead was fired after just two seasons as head football coach at Mississippi State. The decision to let him go continues to baffle him to this day considering the embarrassingly low bar for success in Starkville.
He went scorched earth on the Bulldogs during a recent interview with Adam Breneman.
Moorhead was hired by Mississippi State in 2018 after two years as the offensive coordinator at Penn State and four successful years as the head coach at Fordham. It was a very good hire for a program that typically finishes near the bottom of the SEC and just lost Dan Mullen to Florida.
Things went pretty well in Year 1. The Bulldogs won eight games.
Year 2 was not quite as successful, but Moorhead still took his team to a bowl game. He is one of just three coaches to win 14 college football games in his first two seasons since the conclusion of World War II. Mullen and Jackie Sherrill were the others.
Despite what looked like a successful start on paper, Moorhead was fired in 2020. Ole Miss hired Lane Kiffin and panicked its biggest rival into making a change. Mike Leach took over not long thereafter.
Joe Moorehead still doesn’t get it.
Athletic director John Cohen chose to make a change at head coach not long after a reportedly ugly fight took place between players in the locker room. Mississippi State starting quarterback Garrett Shrader was unable to play in the Music City Bowl because of a nasty eye injury sustained in the scuffle.
Cohen said that in the case of Moorhead’s ouster, it went “a little bit beyond just wins and losses” and referenced “other issues at stake” and a “series of events” that he took into account. The brawl was not “the factor” but “one of several factors.” Culture was a concern.
In addition, Moorhead went 6-7 with one of the best rosters in program history, including a defense that had three first round picks. That must be noted. His team probably should’ve been much better.
Still, Moorhead won 14 games in two years and beat the Rebels in 2018 and 2019.
He is a good coach. He won games.
The 50-year-old recently discussed his brief tenure at Mississippi State on the NEXT UP podcast. Cohen’s decision to cut him loose baffles Moorhead to this day.
In doing so, he revealed the incredibly low bar for success.
To be fair, the Bulldogs are a bottom-of-the-league team. Mississippi State is not a powerhouse program.
Still, Joe Moorhead revealed that the only expectations are to reach a bowl game and beat Ole Miss. That’s it. A 6-6 year with a win over the Rebels is a success.
Not a College Football Playoff bid. Not a national championship.
Embarrassing!!