Why Mississippi State Fired Its Football Coach After 11 Games

Zach Arnett was the coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team for less than a year.

By Brian Jones

The Mississippi State Bulldogs football team will enter a new era for the 2024 football season. Before the 2023 season came to an end, Mississippi State University announced it had fired Zach Arnett after being promoted to head coach last year. Arnett took over for Mike Leach who died on Dec. 12, 2022, at the age of 61. Shortly after the announcement, Mississippi State athletics director Zac Selmon explained to reporters why he made the move to fire Arnett after 11 games. 

"We thought at this point of the season, we needed just a jolt of energy − a jolt of juice," Selmon said, per the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger.   "It's also comfort in knowing you have somebody like Coach (Greg) Knox that has the experience before." Knox took over as the interim head coach after Arnett was fired. 

For the 2023 season, Arnett went away for the Air Raid offense Leach installed and went with a pro-style system. The Bulldogs have been without their quarterback Will Rogers during the second half of the season, leading to them having a 4-6 record after last Saturday's game. Arnett will get $4 million from Mississippi State as part of its buyout. However, it's subject to mitigation if he gets another coaching job, according to ESPN. 

"I want to sincerely thank Zach Arnett for his hard work and service to the university and our football program. I will be forever grateful to Zach for how he stepped up after the untimely death of head coach Mike Leach," Mississippi State president Mark Keenum said. "We asked him in those difficult hours to lead our team, protect our Top 25 recruiting class, and take us to a ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Illinois. Zach accomplished those things, and our fans should respect and appreciate him for that tremendous service to MSU. All of us at Mississippi State wish Zach and his wonderful family the very best. I know that he will go on to enjoy an outstanding career in coaching."  

Arnett, 37, has been with Mississippi State since 2020. He began his coaching career in 2011 at San Diego State as a graduate assistant and became the linebackers coach in 2014. In 2018, Arnett, who played college football at New Mexico was promoted to defensive coordinator.  

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