Mississippi State’s Zach Arnett Gets Fired Before End of First Year

After just one season, Zach Arnett was sacked as head football coach at Mississippi State.

🚨BREAKING: Mississippi State has fired head coach Zach Arnett, @RossDellenger reports. https://t.co/VmOhwsgSrh pic.twitter.com/7XriQuXh2Y

— On3 (@On3sports) November 13, 2023

The Beginning

Following the unexpected death of Mike Leach in December, Arnett—who had been the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator for three seasons—was promoted to the position of head coach. The university was also looking for a new athletic director when Arnett was hired since John Cohen had left a little over a month before to take a position at Auburn.

The decision came after Mississippi State lost 51-10 by Texas A&M, which recently fired coach Jimbo Fisher.

Season Struggles

SEC competition hasn’t been kind to Arnett’s team. Mississippi State started the season 2-0 and with a win against the Arizona Wildcats. Mississippi State hasn’t been competitive in any of their previous games. Their lone conference victory came in a 7-3 slugfest against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

“As part of my thorough and continued evaluation, I have determined that a change in leadership is necessary to move our football program forward and position it for the highest level of success,” said Mississippi State Director of Athletics Zac Selmon in a press release. “I have the utmost respect for Zach Arnett and am incredibly appreciative of the effort he put forth in leading our football program. However, the progress and on-field results have not been of the standard required for Mississippi State to achieve the level of success we need and expect.”

The Bulldogs’ offense has been weak this season. In their last four games, they have scored 33 points overall. In their seven SEC games, they have only scored more than 17 points once.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay abandoned Leach’s Air Raid strategy in favor of a more pro style. During the second half of the season, an injury to experienced quarterback Will Rogers also caused problems for the Bulldogs.

Looking forward

Greg Knox, who previously served as interim coach at Mississippi State and Florida, will serve as interim coach. By comparison, Arnett’s acquisition was not large.

Some potential candidates to replace Arnett are Tulane’s Willie Fritz, Liberty’s Jamey Chadwell, UNLV’s Barry Odom, Kansas’ Lance Leipold, Troy’s Jon Sumrall, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore. Mississippi State will owe him nearly $4 million, but that amount will be diminished if he finds another job. As a highly respected coordinator, Arnett will most likely get the chance to lead another program in a near future. Meanwhile, Mississippi will work on finding a better fit for their program.