Getting To Know Matt Barnes
December 27, 2023 | Football, Joel Coleman
New Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby has collectively hired one of the top coaching staffs in all of college football.
In an effort to get to know Lebby's assistant coaches a little better, they each sat down with HailState.com staff writers Joel Coleman and Logan Lowery for a series of interviews that will be released over the coming days.
The interview series continues with co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Matt Barnes.
Q: What made this the right move for you to come from Memphis to Mississippi State?
Barnes: "[The hospitality] has been part of it. Everyone here in Starkville has been so welcoming. It's a chance for us to be in a little bit smaller town and raise my son and grow our family here. It was something that was too good to miss out on.
"Family is a huge part of it, and when I got a call from Coach Lebby asking me if I'd consider coming down, I know Jeff to be a wonderful family man and that was his pitch to me – we're going to do this thing the right way. Our kids will be in the building and at practices and that type of thing. A lot of people talk about having a family atmosphere, but it certainly feels that way already here."
Q: As you work alongside defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler, what would you like the fanbase to know about what you expect the defense to look like?
Barnes: "Certainly Coach Hutzler will be the leader of what we do schematically, and he'll drive that forward for us, but we anticipate being multiple. I don't know in this day in age if you can just line up in any one thing and expect to be consistently successful. But we want to be attacking. We want to make offenses left-handed as best we can. We need to be able to create takeaways and have a ball-hawking secondary. That's what we're looking forward to.
Q: What will the dynamic be like as far as you and Coach Hutzler working hand in hand?
Barnes: "We've worked together at another stop in the past and have remained very close friends since then. We're great because we can have true, honest dialogue as far as what we need to do differently or consideration of ideas and things like that. So, we're very close, and we're like-minded people. Again, it's Coach Hutzler's defense and I'm here to support him in any way that I can."
Q: What's your impressions of the safeties you're inheriting? Do you go into the spring giving those guys a fresh slate?
Barnes: "Yes. Certainly, the slate is clean for everybody. But I have had the chance to go back and watch some of the guys we anticipate returning and I'm really excited about those guys. We've got some older guys and some guys that have a few years left to play, which is exciting with the chance to be able to coach them long term. But it's a really talented group. I think it's a hungry group and I'm excited to get to work with them."
Q: As a guy that coaches on the defensive side, what's your thoughts on Coach Lebby's offense?
Barnes: "I've watched it enough to know I'm thankful I haven't had to call plays against him. He is a wonderful human being and that's really what drove my wife and I here, but boy, is he talented on the offensive side of the ball. They can score a lot of points in a real big hurry. I'm glad that we'll be able to see it every day in practice so that when we get to Saturday, it feels like [opponents] aren't moving as fast."
Q: You said you'd worked with Coach Hutzler before, but this is a new staff. How has that dynamic gone and how well are you all fitting in together?
Barnes: "There were a couple of other folks in the building I've had the pleasure of working with before, which always makes things a little bit easier. But I think just the nature of the person that gravitates towards this position to work with Coach Lebby, I think you're seeing a lot of like-minded people who are all searching for that family environment. But also, the chance to do it in the best conference in college football with one of the brightest, up-and-coming new head coaches in football at any level.
"So, you're seeing a group that's meshing together and coming together very quickly here. I think you can look forward to a great staff dynamic."
Q: You join a program here at MSU that has such a reputation for putting guys in the NFL and many of those are on the defensive side. How big of a selling point for you was that and do you enjoy being able to have that when you go out on the recruiting trail?
Barnes: "Absolutely. When you're going to recruit top-tier players, those players see themselves in four or five or six years being high-round draft picks in the NFL and having success in the NFL. So, being able to display a proven track record of that here at Mississippi State, and obviously in this conference, it goes a long way. It certainly makes the recruiting sales pitch that much easier."
Q: Whether it's a high schooler or someone out of the transfer portal, what does a safety need to look like to play for you?
Barnes: "We want people that have the ability to change games. We want guys who have a proven track record of making big-time plays in critical situations. They come in all shapes and sizes and from all different parts of the country, but consistently, we want those guys that go out there and make those game-changing, game-winning, big-time, ball-hawking, aggressive plays."
Q: What got you into coaching? Tell us a bit about your journey.
Barnes: "It's been a long time coming for me. I sort of knew I wanted to coach probably before I even knew what it all entailed. I can remember being a little kid and lining up my action figures in real formations playing 11-on-11 and trying to block the runs up the right way and hit the runs up the right way. I just always gravitated toward that side of things in football – the schematics.
"As I got a little bit older, I started to read more and really pay attention to what coaches were doing and saying. Then I had the opportunity to play college football and wore those coaches out. I spent a lot of time in their offices and just picking their brain. I tried to research everything I could. I had some people that really helped me along the way. I certainly wouldn't be here without them. It's been a very long time coming for me, and it feels like I'm truly living a dream having the opportunity to be here in the SEC."