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Report: Mississippi State safeties coach Matt Barnes to join Maryland staff

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones03/01/26PaulJonesOn3

Spring practice is only a couple of weeks away and now Mississippi State finds itself with two openings on Jeff Lebby’s staff. On Sunday it was reported that Mississippi State safeties coach Matt Barnes is expected to join the Maryland staff as the special teams coordinator. Matt Zenitz was he first to report the news.

Mississippi State is still in need of a wide receivers’ coach, as well. In January, Lebby hired Bush Hamden as the receivers coach to replace Chad Bumphis. However, Hamden’s stay in Starkville didn’t last long as Hamden joined the Miami Dolphins’ staff last month as quarterbacks coach.

Barnes has been State’s co-defensive coordinator in 2024 and 2025 before Matt Brock took the co-defensive coordinator title in January.

Before arriving at Mississippi State, Barnes was the defensive coordinator at Memphis in 2022 and 2023.

Barnes also spent several years on the Ohio State staff, as well. In 2021, Barnes was the defensive backs coach at Ohio State and was also the Ohio State special teams coordinator in 2019 and 2020.

Barnes’ other Power 4 jobs included the special teams coordinator at Maryland from 2016-2018. He has also served on the staffs at Michigan (2015) and Florida (2012-14) in the Power 4 ranks.

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