STARKVILLE — Joe Moorhead isn’t going anywhere — at least not yet.
After New Jersey Advanced Media reported earlier this week that Moorhead was a top candidate for the vacant coaching job at Rutgers, he addressed the rumors on “The Paul Finebaum Show” Friday — which was shot at The Junction just outside Davis Wade Stadium.
“It’s not something that is under consideration,” Moorhead said. “My focus is here at Mississippi State. This is where we want to be and what we want to do.”
Finebaum also grilled Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen regarding the matter — though Cohen was less than straightforward with his answer.
“Let me get this right, Paul, you’re saying because something is getting reported something is going on?” Cohen said. “We live in different worlds, Paul. I hear things from all over the place.”
Rutgers fired coach Chris Ash Sept. 29 following the Scarlet Knights’ 1-3 start to the season. Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile is currently serving as the interim coach.
While Moorhead doesn’t have any direct ties to Rutgers, he does have plenty of experience in the northeast.
A Pittsburgh native, he spent four years as the head coach at Fordham –his alma mater — before becoming the offensive coordinator at Penn State for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
Prior to Fordham, Moorhead spent three years as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UCONN between 2009 and 2011. He was also a graduate assistant at Pitt during the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
Moorhead and the Bulldogs take on No. 2 LSU Saturday at 2:30
“I would say this, my entire focus is on what we need to do to be successful and compete against a very good LSU team and what we need to do to turn this into a championship program,” he said Friday on Finebaum’s show.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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