Mississippi State Basketball: 7 candidates to replace Ben Howland as head coach

Andy Kennedy

This would be a weird one, but based on how things are going right now it’s absolutely a possibility. The rivalry between Ole Miss and Mississippi State is certainly a big deal, even if it doesn’t get the attention that things like the Iron Bowl or Duke-North Carolina get. Still, hiring a former longtime Ole Miss head coach to take over at Mississippi State would still be pretty weird.

A Mississippi native, Kennedy played at and coached at UAB, later beginning his full-time head coaching career with Ole Miss in 2006. He spent twelve seasons leading the Rebels, taking them to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and a decent run of success. After a few years out of the game, he bounced back as head coach at his alma mater, taking UAB to the NCAA Tournament this season, a fantastic turnaround.

Kennedy might be content to stay at his alma mater, but he is certainly an appealing candidate to return to the SEC. While he didn’t exactly light up the record books at Ole Miss, he always had solid teams that played hard and he put the Rebels program in a good place. Mississippi State doesn’t want to be buried in the new-look SEC and Kennedy’s experience is a key resource to prevent that from happening.