Who Else Wanted Mark Hudspeth On Their Staff?
What other SEC program wanted former Louisiana Ragin' Cajun football coach Mark Hudspeth to join their football staff?
It was reported on Friday that Hudspeth is going become the new tight ends coach at Mississippi St., under new head coach Joe Moorhead.
Apparently, Hudspeth may have chosen Mississippi St. over another SEC school in the state of Mississippi, the Ole Miss Rebels.
Ole Miss reportedly was interested in Hudspeth as receivers coach.
Whether or not Ole Miss actually offered Hudspeth is uncertain, but they were definitely interested in the former Cajun head man.
Both jobs are appealing to a coach new on the staff, as both schools will have new head coaches. Because of that, you'd think that the head coach would have three years to make something happen, which is a lot better than joining a staff in which the head coach is on the hot seat.
Still, Mississippi St. looks like a great landing spot for Hudspeth, who is a native of the state, knows the SEC, know the high school talent in the area, and even knows the school, very well.
It helped Mississippi St. to hire him, if only to keep him away from their Egg Bowl rivals.
Prior to his tenure at Louisiana, Hudspeth served as passing game coordinator at Mississippi St. from 2009-2010.
Interestingly, Louisiana is scheduled to play Mississippi St. next season, on September 15, in Starkville, Mississippi.
Hudpseth was hired as the 26th coach in UL program history in December of 2010, leading Louisiana to a 9-4 record and thrilling R&L Carrier's New Orleans Bowl victory in his first season, the program's first Bowl berth since 1970.
The Ragin' Cajuns would go on to win the next three R&L Carrier New Orleans Bowls, posting 9-4 seasons in each of Hudspeth's first four seasons, including a share of the Sun Belt Conference Championship in 2013.
In 2015, it was revealed the NCAA was investigating the Louisiana football program for violations by former assistant coach David Saunders. Saunders was guilty of providing payments for recruits living and education expenses, as well as exam fraud, and failure to comply with an NCAA investigation, all committed by former assistant David Saunders.
While the NCAA did not find Coach Hudspeth culpable for the NCAA infractions, the University vacated 23 wins between 2011-2014, including two of the four R&L Carrier New Orleans Bowl championships.
After a 4-8 finish in 2015, Louisiana returned to the New Orleans Bowl in 2016, with a 6-6 record, before going 5-7 this season.
Hudspeth's record at UL was 51-38, but with vacated victories, technically finished 28-38.