Zach Arnett will be promoted to full-time head football coach at Mississippi State after serving as the program’s defensive coordinator for the last three seasons under Mike Leach, sources have confirmed to CBS Sports, Barrett Sallee. Arnett is among the most respected defensive minds in the country and came to Starkville, Mississippi after nine years on the San Diego State team.
Arnett, 36, has never coached before and will be baptized by fire at the SEC. But with the Bulldogs needing stability after the Leach’s sudden deathArnett was the most obvious choice on the team.
He had previously been named the program’s interim head coach for the ReliaQuest Bowl against Illinois, and has consistently orchestrated quality defensive units for the Bulldogs. With the program also looking for its next athletic director following the departure of John Cohen to Auburn, Mississippi State was in no position to conduct a head coach search, especially with National Signing Day looming next week.
Leach died on Monday night at the age of 61 from complications from a heart condition. He has led Mississippi State to a 19-17 mark over the past three seasons. Arnett played a key role in Leach’s teams, both in game planning and recruiting.
stable presence
Arnett can be a constant presence at a tragic time for the Mississippi family. The loss of an active Power Five trainer is unprecedented in the game’s modern era, and mourning the loss of Leach will be a process for all. Having a familiar face like Arnett around should help stabilize the team during a tumultuous period.
With the transfer portal open and members of the Bulldogs’ recruiting class likely looking for answers amid Leach’s unexpected death, promoting from within made sense. Arnett is not a charity case, however. While he is still a few years away from landing a major head coaching opportunity under normal circumstances, he has established himself as one of the brightest defensive minds in the sport.
youth movement
Arnett is just the latest young defensive coordinator to land a Power Five job after signings like Dan Lanning and Marcus Freeman had successful rookie seasons in 2022 at Oregon and Notre Dame, respectively. About that, Purdue just hired Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, 36, to replace Jeff Brohm.
Lanning, also 36, led Oregon to a 9-3 mark and reached No. 6 in the AP Top 25 this season after serving as Georgia’s defensive coordinator for three seasons. Likewise, Freeman – you guessed it, also 36 – led Notre Dame to an 8-4 regular season, which included an eight-game, nine-game winning streak after a rocky start to the season for the Fighting Irish.
Both were considered somewhat risky choices considering their youth and lack of head coaching experience. But after the departure of Mario Cristobal from Oregon to Miami and the departure of Brian Kelly from Notre Dame to LSU, Lanning and Freeman showed great promise.
Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class is ranked No. 3 nationally under Freeman ahead of next Wednesday’s National Signing Day, while Oregon’s is ranked No. 12 — first in the Pac-12 — under Lanning.
Another former Power Five defensive coordinator, Duke’s Mike Elko, landed the head coaching job at Duke last offseason after working at Texas A&M for four seasons and guided the Blue Devils to an 8-4 record by winning the ACC Coach of the Year. Arnett will look to follow the mold of last season’s Three and become the latest young defensive coordinator to thrive in a head coaching opportunity.
defensive driving
This will mark the first time since Jackie Sherrill’s 1991-2003 tenure that the Bulldogs will be led by a coach with a defensive pedigree. Sylvester Croom, Dan Mullen, Joe Moorhead and Leach were coaches with offensive backgrounds.
After playing linebacker at New Mexico from 2005 to 2008, Arnett began coaching at San Diego State under Rocky Long. With Arnett as one of the youngest defensive coordinators in the nation in 2018, the Aztecs ranked 21st nationally in total defense. The following season, the Aztecs historically dominated under Arnett’s leadership, ranking 5th in total defense and 2nd in scoring defense, allowing just 12.7 points per game.
Arnett’s defensive units at Mississippi State were not as statistically impressive, but that was partially due to the offensive system the Bulldogs used under Leach. Air Raid is not always the most attractive setup for defensive coordinators to work with because of the pressure that fast shooting can put on the defense. But Arnett’s Bulldogs have been consistently stable. This year’s 8-4 squad is ranked 39th nationally in total defense and tied for 21st in forced turnovers.