Former Mississippi State Head Coach Zach Arnett Hired At Ole Miss

Former Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett is heading to Ole Miss in an analyst role.

Another coaching move is happening in the Magnolia State, this time with a familiar face heading to an in-state rival.

Ole Miss is hiring former Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett in an analyst role on Lane Kiffin's coaching staff, according to multiple reports.

Arnett served as the defensive coordinator for Mississippi State from 2020 to 2022 under head coach Mike Leach. After Leach's death in December of 2022, Arnett was named the interim head coach for the Bulldogs. After leading the team to a bowl victory over Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl, the school named Arnett their permanent head coach moving forward.

However, his tenure as head coach of the Bulldogs was short lived. He was fired in November of 2023 after going 4-6 in his lone season as head coach. It was one of the first major coaching changes in the SEC as well as one of the shortest tenures for a Bulldogs head coach in program history. 

After his firing, senior offensive analyst Greg Knox was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, and the team finished with a 5-7 record. The Bulldogs would later name Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby as the school's new head coach, who coincidentally, has previously worked with Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.

Outside of Mississippi State, Arnett has previously coached at San Diego State from 2011 to 2019, where he served as a GA and eventually became the school's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach before joining Leach's staff in Starkville.