Mississippi State fires head coach Joe Moorhead

Mississippi State took a step back this season in a year that ended with a disappointing bowl loss against Louisville, and it appears head coach Joe Moorhead is taking the fall.

Moorhead has been fired after just two seasons with the Bulldogs, Stadium’s Brett McMurphy reports. The dismissal comes on the heels of a report that Mississippi State was considering parting ways with Moorhead due to off-field issues involving his players.

A source told McMurphy that school officials never considered Moorhead “a great fit” at Mississippi State.

“Coach Moorhead was a highly-respected offensive coordinator at Penn State, but as a head coach with the Bulldogs, it’s been lackluster,” the source said. “It could be the strength of the conference or even the expectations, but it clearly wasn’t clicking.”

Mississippi State blew a 14-0 lead in the Music City Bowl against Louisville earlier this week, finishing the season 6-7 after going 8-6 last year. Moorhead had no experience as the head coach of an FBS program before Mississippi State hired him.

One of the off-field issues that reflected poorly on Moorhead was a fight between quarterback Garrett Shrader and linebacker Willie Gay. Shrader missed the game against Louisville due to a broken orbital bone. Gay had previously been suspended by the team for academic fraud and ejected from a game once for fighting.

Louisiana coach Billy Napier has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Moorhead.