.No matter how much you refuse to admit it, head coaches are the pillars of any program. Yes, definitely the athletes do their part. But you can do without one good player but can you do without a good head coach? Never! That’s the point the former Mississippi State HC Joe Moorhead tried to prove.

After all, it has been five years since Mississippi State got rid of Moorhead. Apparently, after his departure, all looked fine. But Moorhead brings to the table some stats while demanding justice for taking the program from darkness towards light.

Joe Moorhead reflects on his historic Mississippi State stint

Back in 2020, Mississippi State’s athletic director, John Cohen faced the press. He informed that the program is looking for a new head coach. Cohen stated, “One who is the best fit for Mississippi State University.” The AD specifically used the word “best.” So it was obvious that Moorhead failed to reach the program’s standards. So they decided to fire him after he had served only for two seasons. Looks like, even today, the former HC carries the burden. But is there any self-doubt? Absolutely not. Rather, Moorhead is ready to find the answer behind his termination. 

In a conversation with Adam Breneman, the now Akron HC opened up, “Yeah. There’s a ton of reflecting…You know I took over a job where the prior head coach had averaged seven wins a season for nine years.” Well, that’s true. Moorehead won 14 games. As per the history, he is one of three coaches since the conclusion of World War II to have done that in his first two seasons at Mississippi State. The other two are Jackie Sherrill and Dan Mullen. But what was the reason behind Moorhead’s dismissal?

Well, we don’t the exact reason but it can be said that there has been an issue with his discipline after a fight kept freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader out of the Music City Bowl. Due to that, Louisville landed a 38-28 loss on the Mississippi State. But to Moorhead, he had been a successful coach as he was able to tick off his three goals. Those were getting a bowl game every year, beating Ole Miss, and improving recruiting.

As the former Mississippi State HC sounded confident, “We went to two bowls. We were undefeated against Ole Miss and I think we had the two highest-rated recruiting classes in school history. Or maybe the closest.” Not just this. He outperformed his successors, Mike Leach and Zach Arnett who as Moorhead pointed out, “combined after me went 24 and 24.” But so what? Somewhere, he still feels the pain. As Moorhead ended with, “I’m obviously upset with the way it ended because I had done as good as the guy prior to me and better than the two after me and ended up without a job. That’s life in college football.” However, now that he is with Akron, his future still looks uncertain. 

A fresh start with Akron

Moorhead’s Akron squad played arguably their best game of his tenure in a 21-14 overtime win, last November. Under him, they capped in three victories out of five games. However, time for a reality check. Even amidst the victories, the fact remains that Moorhead is 8-28 which is a good enough reason for his program to use it as a reason to make a change after three years. Meanwhile, Akron did witness some stirring changes in its staff roster.

For instance, last November, the athletic director Charles Guthrie, and the school mutually agreed to part ways. It was then Moorhead broke his silence. “Well, I see my future being walking out of this room and going into my office where I’ve got about 15 family and friends and enjoying the heck out of this win. Watch our kids be excited about everything, and then we’ll come in and work forward for next year,” shared the former Penn State and Oregon offensive coordinator.

However, as of now, Moorhead is only focusing on adequate resources to compete consistently. In that case, he has got enough support from Akron. Joe Moorhead stated, “I’m just excited about what we’ve been able to do, and come in here despite the resources – or lack thereof – that we are provided, that we have been able to fight, and scratch, and claw and first become incredibly competitive, and now find a way to win.” But no matter how successful Moorhead’s stint is with Akron, he is yet to heal from the Mississippi State snub.