It can’t be easy for anyone involved with the Mississippi State Bulldogs to move on so quickly following the tragic passing of Mike Leach after he spent the last three years on campus.
But the Bulldogs football team doesn’t have much of a choice to continue making business decisions, hiring Zach Arnett as head coach, with an upcoming date to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl game on Jan. 2 against Illinois.
Arnett, who also joined the program in 2020, the same year as Leach, is being promoted from linebackers coach/defensive coordinator to the head coaching role, effective immediately.
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Looking at Zach Arnett’s coaching background
Being that the Bulldogs had to make a decision on short notice, Arnett seems like the perfect choice. But by signing the defensive-minded coach to a four-year contract, it signals his job is quite secure for at least 2023.
Hiring Arnett seems like a natural fit, and one source close to ESPN believes Mississippi State’s newest coach will help continue building off the strong success Leach enjoyed with the Bulldogs.
“The school wants to give the players a strong leader to help them through the grieving process and give them stability,” a source told ESPN. “Zach is the guy for that. Zach embodies MSU and understands it, and he’s going to build on the foundation that Coach Leach set.”
Anonymous source to ESPN on Mississippi State’s hiring of Zach Arnett
Arnett operates a 3-3-5 defensive scheme with three down linemen, three linebackers, and five defensive backs. It’s not a bad approach to take in the SEC, where speed reigns supreme.
It showed, with the Bulldogs’ defensive unit finishing in the top five of total defense in Arnett’s first two seasons on the job. Other programs have also tried to pry Arnett away in recent years, but now he gets to continue what he started, even if that means trying to fill the very large shoes Leach suddenly and unexpectedly left behind.
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