Moorhead not leaving cupboard bare in Starkville

After two seasons, and a 14-12 record, Mississippi State has fired Joe Moorhead as their head football coach. We saw Ole Miss relieve Matt Luke of his duties after three seasons as the head coach, and some felt the final straw there was back-to-back losses to Moorhead and the Bulldogs in the Egg Bowl.

Moorhead was a well-liked head coach on the recruiting trail. He was described as “personable” and “a fun guy to be around” when recruits were asked to describe him.

Including the 21 signees in the Early Signing Period last month, over the three recruiting classes Moorhead was involved with, Mississippi State signed 16 four-star prospects.

MORE: Does firing give Kiffin a leg up in recruiting? | Mississippi State's 2020 class

Whoever takes over in Starkville has another solid class coming in, with cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, running back Jo’Quavious Marks, wide receiver Malik Heath and defensive end Jordan Davis leading the way.

With 21 signees in, there will not be a lot of work left for the future coaching staff to do between Jan. 14 and Feb. 5. There are very few slots remaining, maybe four at the most.

Before the coaching change, a few of the top targets remaining for Mississippi State were offensive lineman Marcus Henderson and Jalen St. John and in-state athlete Alex Adams. You would expect the next coach to make McKinnley Jackson, the top prospect in the state, a priority too.

The next staff will mainly hit the road later this month identifying 2021 and 2022 targets, then working to get them on campus. With the 2020 class all but wrapped up, the focus will be on underclassmen, building relationships, getting them on campus and developing the new culture in Starkville.

Some of the signees have shared their reaction to the Moorhead news through social media and those seem to be taking it as well as they can.

How soon will Mississippi State Director of Athletics John Cohen act, and hire the next coach? You can expect it to happen pretty quickly. SEC Network analyst Gene Chizik’s name has been out there a lot already, and he knows the SEC very well. Lafayette head coach Billy Napier is another name to keep an eye on. Todd Grantham, who used to be the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, now that at Florida has been another one with some chatter around it.

Whoever gets the job will quickly get on the phone with the 2020 signees, targets and look to close out this class strong in the coming weeks.

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