Jan. 9, the college football world was sent into a tizzy when Mike Leach accepted the job as the Mississippi State football head coach. Nearly four weeks later, Leach’s staff work is complete. For now.
This past weekend, it was reported that Jason Washington had been hired as a defensive assistant. Tuesday evening, the Mississippi State football program confirmed that Washington will serve as Leach’s safeties coach.
“My family and I are excited to join Coach Leach, the staff and the Mississippi State family,” a statement from Washington began. “I’m looking forward to helping build a strong culture within our program and competing against the best in the SEC. We are thrilled and can’t wait to get rolling in Starkville.”
With Washington’s hire, Leach’s staff is now complete. The duties of all 10 on-field assistants were laid out by the program in a release.
Not surprisingly, MSU won’t have an offensive coordinator as Leach will handle play-calling duties. Leach will also coach the quarterbacks himself. Included in that quarterback room for Leach is KJ Costello, the Stanford transfer who signed with Mississippi State football Monday and will be the favorite for the starting job heading into the spring.
As previously reported, Zach Arnett will coordinate the Bulldogs’ defense.
Name-wise, the most noteworthy coaching addition is Steve Spurrier Sr. The son of Hall of Famer Steve Spurrier, the younger Spurrier will handle outside receivers.
Below are the other assistants who make up Leach’s first staff as the Mississippi State football head coach:
- Eric Mele – Running Backs
- Mason Miller – Offensive Line
- Dave Nichol – Inside Receivers
- Tony Hughes – Associate Head Coach/Nickelbacks
- Matt Brock – Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers
- Darcel McBath – Cornerbacks
- Jeff Phelps – Defensive Line
