STARKVILLE — When Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach showed up to work Monday, he had a new boss.

Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen resigned from his role in the morning. The move came ahead of Cohen becoming Auburn’s next AD — a move that caught many in Starkville off guard.

"I'm surprised this happened, but I'm not surprised something surprising happened," Leach said Monday. "Something surprising happens every week."

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It creates an intriguing storyline as MSU (5-3, 2-3 SEC) returns from its open date to host Auburn (3-5, 1-4) on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ESPN2). But Leach says he won't preoccupy himself with the drama.

"Whoever you're playing that particular week has a funny way of keeping you distracted," Leach said.

For the next AD, Leach's pitch is simple.

"You want him to leave you alone," Leach said. "You want him to have enough money to keep everything going in various aspects so that you're competitive with your competition."

Leach was complimentary of Cohen, though he says the two often worked opposite hours. With Cohen waking up at 4 a.m. and heading to bed at 8 p.m., Leach says they combined to keep things running 24 hours.

Leach spoke highly of his previous athletic directors, including Bill Moos at Washington State, whom Leach says deserves a call from MSU. No matter who the new person coming in is, Leach says they'll enjoy working with most of the people in the athletic department.

"It's not perfect. I would definitely purge a couple but not many," Leach said. "I mean, less here than most places. That immediately sticks it above other places."

Cohen has been Mississippi State’s AD since 2016 when he moved from coaching baseball to directing the department. Compliance director Bracky Brett is the interim AD.

"Most days I'll see him probably two or three times a day," Leach said. "So rather than chasing him down, I think I'll just wait to bump into him."

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State football's Mike Leach reacts to John Cohen leaving