“The Ninja” will return to Starkville to face the man he hired: John Cohen.
Greg Byrne left Mississippi State in 2010 for the same position at Arizona. He spent two years in the Bryan Building as the associate A.D., then two as the head man, and really changed the culture of the athletic department.
Byrne’s first responsibility as Mississippi State athletic director was to hire a new baseball coach in 2008. He actually wasn’t even technically the athletic director yet, as Larry Templeton didn’t formerly leave his post until July 1, 2008. Cohen was hired on June 7th.