Mississippi State fired Zach Arnett 12 days ago and finished its 2023 season 48 hours ago.
Now, the Bulldogs are closing in on their next candidate.
Per Yahoo!'s Ross Dellenger and with sources confirming to FootballScoop that he is a top target, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby is the frontrunner for the State job.
A former offensive coordinator at UCF under Josh Heupel, Ole Miss under Lane Kiffin and, most recently, the past two seasons with Brent Venables at Oklahoma, Lebby is poised to become a first-time head coach -- if the two sides can iron out a final deal.
Into the late hours of Saturday night, that deal was said to not yet be at the finish line.
Additionally, State officials have interviewed a number of candidates in this search.
They first targeted Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell and advanced far enough into the process with Chadwell that salary figures were discussed, multiple sources told FootballScoop.
Additionally, State officials have talked at length to Troy head coach Jon Sumrall, Tulane's Willie Fritz and North Carolina State veteran head man Dave Doeren.
The Bulldogs fired Arnett with two games left in their 2023 season and just 10 games into Arnett's full-time tenure at the helm.
A noted defensive coordinator, Arnett had ascended to the full-time head coaching post last January after beloved State coach Mike Leach suddenly died of tragic circumstances and Arnett led the Bulldogs to a win against Illinois in the postseason.
Lebby has been a multi-time selection as a Broyles Award semifinalist, given annually to college football's top assistant coach.
Saturday night update> Lane Kiffin had some fun with the news.
Lane Kiffin just RTed this 😂💀 pic.twitter.com/ztS2JSkfpw
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 26, 2023