Mississippi State fired Joe Moorhead on Friday after just two football seasons, making the unusual decision to dismiss a coach after a bowl game.
The Bulldogs went 14-12 under Moorhead, who was previously the offensive coordinator at Penn State. He was hired after the 2017 season when Dan Mullen left Mississippi State for Florida.
Mississippi State reached bowl eligibility with a one-point victory against rival Ole Miss in the regular-season finale on Thanksgiving night. The Bulldogs then lost 38-28 to Louisville in the Music City Bowl on Monday to finish 6-7.
"In this case, it goes a little bit beyond just wins and losses, although I want to state for sure that wins and losses matter," athletic director John Cohen said at a news conference. "There were some other issues at stake that we had to consider."
Leading up to the bowl game in Nashville, there were reports of a post-practice fight between freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader and starting linebacker Willie Gay that left Shrader injured.
Moorhead didn't confirm a fight or details of Shrader's injury, but he did say before the game that the two players had spoken to each other and the matter was addressed internally. Shrader had been slated to start but did not play against Louisville.
"Is it the (only) factor? No," Cohen said regarding how much of an impact the reports of a fight had on his decision. "But it is a factor, one of several factors."
Cohen said associate head coach Tony Hughes will take over on an interim basis while the school searches for a permanent successor. Cohen said he would hire a search firm "to get us some background information" but added that the search firm would "have no bearing on candidates or decisions to be made."
During the news conference, Cohen discussed the attributes he will seek in a coach.
"It's going to have to start with discipline," Cohen said. "It's going to have to start with having a hard edge. It's going to start with helping student-athletes grow both on and off the field. It's going to start with somebody who has a passion for Mississippi State specifically."
The coaching change will be the 18th in the Football Bowl Subdivision this season, the fourth in the Southeastern Conference - after none last season - and the third in the SEC West. All the previous FBS openings were filled before the start of the early national signing period for high school recruits on Dec. 18.
Cohen said he had contacted all of Mississippi State's signees since firing Moorhead.
Moorhead is the third Power Five conference coach to be fired since November after only two seasons on the job, joining Willie Taggart (Florida State) and Chad Morris (Arkansas). Moorhead was fired despite being just the second Mississippi State coach to reach a bowl each of his first two seasons, matching a feat Jackie Sherrill completed in 1992.
However, Moorhead couldn't quickly build on the momentum established by Mullen, whose 69-46 record in nine seasons at Mississippi State included a 33-18 mark over his last four years.
Moorhead took over a team with high expectations in 2018, but the Bulldogs finished a disappointing 8-5 despite having a defense that featured three future first-round draft picks and allowed the fewest yards per game of any FBS team.
He followed that up with a losing season, though he led Mississippi State to a 10th straight bowl appearance.
The Bulldogs had 10 players withheld from eight games this season because of NCAA violations involving an academic tutor. That same NCAA investigation also resulted in Mississippi State vacating an unspecified number of wins from 2018.
"Sometimes at the end of your career, you think you're going to write a book and talk about a season, talk about your career and each season is a chapter," Moorhead said after the Music City Bowl. "This season was a book in and of itself. Certainly 6-7 was not the outcome we desired."
Moorhead, a Pittsburgh native who had mostly worked in the northeastern region of the country, seemed an odd geographical fit when hired by Cohen. As he discussed his search for Moorhead's replacement, Cohen said he wouldn't make Southern roots or an SEC background a prerequisite for taking over in Starkville, but the AD also emphasized finding a coach who is the "best fit for Mississippi State University" and noted it is a "unique place."
"We're a blue-collar, competitive, hard-nosed football team," Cohen said. "We play in the best division in the best conference in the entire country. We carry a chip on our shoulder, and we have to outwork other people."
Moorhead arrived at Mississippi State with his star on the rise. He had a reputation for designing creative offenses and developing quality quarterbacks. In his two seasons at Penn State, the Nittany Lions finished in the top two in the Big Ten in yards per play.
Before that he was the coach for four seasons at Fordham, his alma mater, and went 38-13 with three Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances.
"I want to say clearly that Joe Moorhead is a terrific man and an outstanding coach," Cohen said. "I certainly wish the best of Coach Moorhead and his family in the future. He will have a bright future in coaching down the road."
The offensive success never came in Starkville for Moorhead, and the Bulldogs struggled for consistency at quarterback.
The win against Ole Miss seemed to ensure another season for Moorhead, even though it was anything but an ordinary victory. Mississippi State nearly blew a late lead, but Rebels receiver Elijah Moore was flagged for pretending to urinate in the end zone after scoring a potential tying touchdown in the final minute. Ole Miss kicker Luke Logan then missed a longer-than-usual extra-point try.
Three days later, Ole Miss fired coach Matt Luke, then hired Lane Kiffin less than a week later to replace him.
Now Mississippi State is looking for a new coach, too.