Mississippi State Football Promotes Matt Brock to Defensive Coordinator

Brock called the plays for the Bulldogs' defense in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

Mississippi State has officially hired Matt Brock to serve as the Bulldogs' newest defensive coordinator. 

Head coach Zach Arnett made the announcement on Wednesday morning. Arnett served as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator for three seasons before being promoted to the team's head coaching position following Mike Leach's unexpected death last month. 

Brock has been a member of the program's coaching staff since 2020 when he was initially hired to serve as a special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. Before joining the staff at MSU, Brock was an assistant under Leach at Washington State. He has also worked as an assistant at Bowling Green, Texas Tech and Baker University in Kansas. 

Since his hiring, Brock has transitioned to working primarily with all of MSU's linebackers: a group that saw plenty of success in 2022. Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson finished the year with 114 and 113 tackles, respectively, making them the only pair of teammates in the Power 5 to finish in first and second place in their conference. Linebacker Tyrus Wheat also had an impressive year and declared for the 2023 NFL Draft on Sunday. 

Brock called the plays for Mississippi State's defense against Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday. The Bulldogs went on to win by a score of 19-10 after a dominant defensive performance that held the Fighting Illini to just 22 rushing yards and one touchdown. The unit totaled seven sacks and 10 tackles-for-loss, and Marcus Banks returned a fumble for a 60-yard touchdown on the final play of the game.

Arnett is expected to make more coaching changes in the coming weeks.

Let’s get to work, @Coach_MBrock 💪#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/bSP7Yly9n5

— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) January 4, 2023