Mississippi State is bringing in some serious offensive firepower. On December 10th, the Bulldogs officially announced the hiring of Bush Hamdan as their new associate head coach for offense. The 39-year-old is a 17-year coaching veteran with experience at both the college and NFL levels. This marks another piece of the puzzle falling into place for head coach Jeff Lebby, who’s been busy reshaping his staff after Mississippi State’s 5-7 season kept them out of bowl contention. 

Who is Bush Hamdan?

Bush Hamdan was born in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on February 10, 1986. He grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and eventually made his way to Boise State, where he played quarterback from 2004 to 2008 under legendary coach Chris Petersen. Hamdan wasn’t a starter, but he was voted team captain twice. He earned the 2008 “Bronco Excellence” award for integrity and leadership. His biggest contribution might’ve been mentoring Kellen Moore, who went on to become one of the most prolific quarterbacks in college football history. Hamdan also had a hand in calling the famous “Statue Left” play that won the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. So, he’s got some legendary moments under his belt, even if they weren’t on the field.​

After graduating with a degree in communications in 2008, Hamdan dove straight into coaching and started as a student assistant at Colorado in 2009. He worked with offensive coordinator Erik Kiesau, and that kicked off what can only be described as a whirlwind career. From 2009 to 2017, Hamdan bounced around to nine different jobs in nine years. The stops featured Maryland, Sacramento State, Florida, Davidson, Arkansas State, Washington, and then the Atlanta Falcons. 

Who are Bush Hamdan’s wife and children?

Bush Hamdan is married to Brita Hamdan. The couple has been together for several years, though specific details about their relationship timeline aren’t publicly available. 

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Bush and Brita Hamdan have three children: Sedona, Archer, and Sahar. 

Who are Bush Hamdan’s parents?

Bush Hamdan comes from a fascinating multicultural background. His father, Latif Hamdan, is of Palestinian descent and works as a nuclear engineer. His mother, Laila, is from Pakistan. Bush was born in Kuwait City, where his father was working at the time. The family lived there until Bush was about five years old, when they were fortunately on vacation in San Diego during the 1991 Gulf War, when Iraq invaded Kuwait. 

The invasion destroyed their family home and possessions. So they stayed in the United States, eventually settling in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Bush’s mother took a job cutting hair to help support the family during this transition period. Bush also has an older brother, Gibran Hamdan, who was a seventh-round pick in the 2003 NFL Draft and had a journeyman career as a quarterback in the NFL and CFL.

What is Bush Hamdan’s contract & salary?

Bush Hamdan’s contract at Kentucky for the 2024 season paid him $1.25 million. That figure made him the second-highest paid assistant on Mark Stoops’ staff, behind only associate head coach Vince Marrow, who made $1.3 million. This was a serious upgrade from his stint at Boise State. According to the Idaho Statesman, at Boise State, he earned $460,000 for the 2024 season. 

However, details about his new contract at Mississippi State haven’t been publicly disclosed yet. The announcement just dropped on December 10th, so the financial terms are likely still being finalized or haven’t been released to the public. 

As for career earnings, there’s no concrete public information available about Bush Hamdan’s total career earnings or year-by-year salary breakdown from his earlier stops. 

Bush Hamdan’s Career

Hamdan’s resume reads like a coaching nomad’s dream, or nightmare. After his student assistant gig at Colorado, he landed at Maryland as an offensive intern in 2010, where he worked with freshman quarterback Danny O’Brien. O’Brien broke nearly every freshman passing record at Maryland and earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors. This got Hamdan promoted to quarterbacks coach for the 2010 Military Bowl after James Franklin left for Vanderbilt. 

From there, he coached tight ends at Sacramento State in 2011 before making the jump to the SEC as Florida’s wide receivers coach in 2012. That Gators squad went 11-2 and appeared in the 2013 Sugar Bowl. Four of his receivers eventually made it to the NFL.

His big break came when Washington promoted him to wide receivers coach and passing coordinator in 2016, which opened the door to the NFL. In 2017, the Atlanta Falcons hired him as quarterbacks coach, where he worked with Matt Ryan under offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. But Washington fired him after the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl. And he moved on to Missouri, where he coached wide receivers and quarterbacks under Eli Drinkwitz from 2020 to 2022. 

In 2023, he returned to his alma mater, Boise State, as offensive coordinator before Kentucky came calling in 2024. He spent two years in Lexington before getting caught in the coaching shuffle when Kentucky moved on from Mark Stoops.​

Now Hamdan’s headed to Starkville. Mississippi State fans are hoping he can bring some offensive juice to the Bulldogs squad that desperately needs it. He’s expected to work with the quarterbacks while Jeff Lebby handles the play-calling duties, which should take some pressure off and let him focus on development.