The Mississippi State football team has found its new head coach after the tragic death of Mike Leach. According to ESPN, the school has agreed to terms to promote defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to head coach. Arnett agreed to a four-year contract that has yet to be signed but is expected to be done in the upcoming days.
“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.”
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Arnett, 36, has been Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator since 2020, the same year Leach was hired as head coach. His defense finished No. 39 nationally in total defense in 2020, which is impressive considering the Bulldogs are known for Leach’s air raid offense. In his first two seasons as defensive coordinator, Arnett’s defense finished in the top five in the SEC in total defense both years. He will make his head coaching debut on Jan. 2 when Mississippi State takes on Illinois.
“He’s been a leader in our program,” a source said. “He’s a guy that players on both sides of the ball respect. He has stepped up and led this team through this adversity, making sure that we continue to finish this season the way we started, and the way coach Leach always expected.”
Arnett played college football at New Mexico from 2005 to 2008. In 2011, the former linebacker began his coaching career when he became a graduate assistant at San Diego State. He was promoted to linebackers coach in 2014 and then moved up to defensive coordinator in 2018.
Arnett takes over for Leach who died on Monday after suffering a heart attack on Sunday. In his three seasons at Mississippi State, Leach finished with a 19-17 record including an 8-4 record this season. Before joining the Bulldogs, Leach was the head coach at Texas Tech (2000-2009) and Washington State (2012-2019). Overall, Leach tallied a 158-107 record, led Texas Tech to a Big 12 South Division title (2008), led Washington State to a Pac-12 North Division title (2018) and has won multiple Coach of the Year awards.
