STARKVILLE — Standing behind the podium in the Golding Family Media Center beneath Davis Wade Stadium on Friday, Mississippi State Athletic Director John Cohen addressed reporters just hours after coach Joe Moorhead’s firing was made official.

Though major details were not disclosed, Cohen achknowledged the recent fight between junior linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader and a string of off the field incidents were part of the decision to relieve Moorhead of his duties but not the deciding factor.

“I coached long enough myself to know wins and losses matter — Joe did win 14 games,” he said in response to a question from The Dispatch as to why he made the change now. “In this case, it goes a little bit beyond just wins and losses. Although, I want to state for sure that wins and losses matter. There were some other issues at stake here that we had to consider.”

Following his opening statements and a dip into the reasoning behind Moorhead’s firing, Cohen thrice alluded to the word “fit” in reference to making the second football coaching hire of his three-year run as athletic director. And while he stayed general in his responses, he did offer a fairly thorough definition of what he’ll look for in his new leading man without putting a timetable on the decision.

“Mississippi State is a unique place,” he said. “We’ll never waver in the qualities that made us successful. We’re a blue-collar, competitive, hard-nosed football team, and we play in the best division in the best conference in the entire country. We carry a chip on our shoulder, and we have to outwork other people.”

“We will identify someone that will develop our student-athletes on and off the field, and we will identify somebody who will hold all of our student-athletes in football accountable,” he said. “We are family. We will find a head coach who connects with the most passionate fanbase in all of college football.”

Of note, Cohen would not comment on whether the school has had contact with Louisiana coach Billy Napier. Napier — whose name has been floated around since Moorhead’s seat initially heated up in October following a loss to Tennessee — is currently preparing his squad for a matchup with Miami (Ohio) in Monday’s Lendingtree Bowl after guiding the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 10-3 record this year. Louisiana also announced Thursday he had signed a two-year extension with the school — though details of the deal have not been released.

“We’re not going to comment on any of our candidates,” Cohen said when asked about Napier, a former assistant at Alabama, Clemson and Arizona State. “I appreciate you asking that question, but I can tell you how in the early stages of this, the amount of interest this has drawn from outstanding coaches from one coast to the other has been incredible. I shouldn’t be surprised, because this is an elite football program, and we’re going to get the right guy.”

One name likely off the board as a potential candidate is interim coach Tony Hughes. Cohen said he doesn’t expect Hughes to apply for the full-time position and that he’s planning to use a national search firm to aid in the process.

“It’s difficult — there’s no question about that,” he said of making a coaching change. “But in the end, it comes down to doing what’s right for our institution and what’s right for our student-athletes and what’s right for our staff and what’s right for our fans. That’s what it comes down to.”

Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.