Mississippi State football is in the midst of a vital offseason for the program. The Bulldogs made a key move on Sunday with the hire of former Colorado offensive line coach Phil Loadholt, and as it turns out, Loadholt isn't the only member of Deion Sanders' coaching staff that Jeff Lebby is bringing to Starkville.
Colorado defensive ends coach Vincent Dancy joining Mississippi State coaching staff
Mississippi State's second coaching hire of Sunday is former Colorado defensive ends coach Vincent Dancy, who will be taking on the same role in Starkville, coaching the Bulldog edge rushers, including outside linebackers. Steve Robertson of 247 Sports first reported the news.
After initially joining Colorado’s staff as an analyst, Dancy coached the Buffaloes’ EDGE group this season and helped Colorado lead the Big 12 in sacks.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 29, 2024
Will now work with the EDGE unit at Mississippi State.
Vincent Dancy played a big role in improving the Colorado defense, which saw a better than 11 point per game improvement from 2023 to 2024. After originally coming to Colorado as a quality control coach under Deion Sanders in 2023, Dancy was promoted to defensive ends coach in 2024, and that unit took big strides under his leadership.
In 2023, the Buffalo's edge rushers combined for 11.0 sacks. That number jumped to 25.0 in 2024 with Dancy coaching that group, as Colorado became the Big 12's best pass rushing defense. The Buffalo run defense also saw big improvements, going from allowing 4.7 yards per rush in 2023 to 3.9 yards per rush in 2024.
The move to Mississippi State is a homecoming for Vincent Dancy. He's a Mississippi native who played college football at Jackson State, which is also where his coaching career began. Dancy spent three seasons as a the defensive coordinator at Mississippi Valley State before being promoted to head coach there, leading the Delta Devils for five seasons from 2018 through 2022.
With the hire of Dancy as Mississippi State's defensive ends/outside linebackers coach, veteran defensive line coach David Turner will now move to exclusively coaching State's interior defensive lineman. Defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler, who also coaches State's linebackers, will now focus on inside linebackers for position coach duties.
This looks to be another good hire for Jeff Lebby and the Bulldogs. Vincent Dancy should aid in turning around a MSU pass rush that was practically nonexistent in 2024. And with his ties to the state, he should prove to be a valuable asset in recruiting. This hire plus the transfer portal additions State has made should be key for the Bulldogs fielding an improved defense in 2025.