Mississippi State promoting Zach Arnett as coach: Bulldogs elevating defensive coordinator to top role

Zach Arnett can be promoted to full-time head soccer coach at Mississippi State after serving as this system’s defensive coordinator for the previous three seasons underneath Mike Leach, sources confirmed to CBS Sports activities’ Barrett Sallee. Arnett is among the many nation’s most extremely revered defensive minds and got here to Starkville, Mississippi, after 9 years on employees at San Diego State.

Arnett, 36, has by no means served a head coach earlier than and can be underneath a baptism by hearth within the SEC. However with the Bulldogs in want of stability following the sudden dying of Leach, Arnett was the obvious selection on employees. 

He had already been named this system’s interim head coach for the ReliaQuest Bowl in opposition to Illinois, and has persistently orchestrated high quality defensive items for the Bulldogs. With this system additionally searching for its subsequent athletic director following the departure of John Cohen for Auburn, Mississippi State was in no place to conduct a training search, particularly with early Nationwide Signing Day approaching subsequent week.

Leach died Monday evening at age 61 of problems from a coronary heart situation. He led Mississippi State to a 19-17 mark over the previous three seasons. Arnett performed a key function on Leach’s staffs each in game-planning and recruting.

Steadying presence

Arnett could be a steadying presence at a tragic time for the Mississippi State household. The lack of an lively Energy 5 coach is unprecedented within the trendy period of the sport, and mourning Leach’s loss can be a course of for everybody. Having a well-known face in Arnett round ought to assist stabilize the staff throughout a tumultuous time.

With the switch portal open and members of the Bulldogs’ recruiting class possible looking for solutions amid Leach’s sudden dying, selling from inside made sense. Arnett isn’t any charity case, although. Whereas he might have nonetheless been a couple of years away from touchdown a big-time head teaching alternative underneath regular circumstances, he is established himself as one of many brightest younger defensive minds within the sport.

Youth motion

Arnett is simply the most recent younger defensive coordinator to get a shot at a Energy 5 job after hires similar to Dan Lanning and Marcus Freeman loved profitable debut seasons in 2022 at Oregon and Notre Dame, respectively. In the meantime, Purdue simply employed Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, 36, to switch Jeff Brohm.

Lanning, additionally 36, led Oregon to a 9-3 mark and as excessive as a No. 6 within the AP Prime 25 this season after serving as Georgia’s defensive coordinator for 3 seasons. Equally, Freeman — you guessed it, additionally 36 — led Notre Dame to an 8-4 common season that included a stretch of eight wins in 9 video games after a tough begin to the season for the Combating Irish.

Each have been thought to be considerably dangerous selections contemplating their youth and lack of head teaching expertise. However within the wake of Mario Cristobal’s exit from Oregon for Miami and Brian Kelly’s departure from Notre Dame to LSU, Lanning and Freeman have proven loads of promise.

Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class is ranked No. 3 nationally underneath Freeman forward of subsequent Wednesday’s early Nationwide Signing Day whereas Oregon’s is ranked No. 12 — first within the Pac-12 — underneath Lanning.

One other former Energy 5 defensive coordinator, Mike Elko of Duke, landed the pinnacle teaching job at Duke final offseason after working at Texas A&M for 4 seasons and guided the Blue Devils to an 8-4 report whereas profitable ACC Coach of the 12 months. Arnett will try to comply with in that mildew of these three from final season and turn out to be the most recent younger defensive coordinator to thrive in a head teaching alternative.

Defensive course

It will mark the primary time since Jackie Sherrill’s tenure from 1991-2003 that the Bulldogs can be led by a coach with a defensive pedigree. Sylvester Croom, Dan Mullen, Joe Moorhead and Leach have been every coaches with offensive backgrounds.

After enjoying linebacker at New Mexico from 2005-08, Arnett lower his tooth as a coach at San Diego State underneath Rocky Lengthy. With Arnett as one of many nation’s youngest defensive coordinators in 2018, the Aztecs ranked No. 21 nationally in whole protection. The next season, the Aztecs have been traditionally dominant underneath Arnett’s management, rating No. 5 in whole protection and No. 2 in scoring protection by permitting simply 12.7 factors per recreation.

Arnett’s defensive items at Mississippi State have not been fairly so statistically spectacular, however that is partially due to the offensive system the Bulldogs ran underneath Leach. The Air Raid is not all the time probably the most engaging scheme for defensive coordinators to work underneath due to the strain that fast three-and-outs can placed on the protection. However Arnett’s Bulldogs have been persistently regular. This yr’s 8-4 squad ranks No. 39 nationally in whole protection and tied for No. 21 turnovers compelled.