Anonymous opposing coach presents possible concern with Zach Arnett hire

Following the tragic death of head coach Mike Leach last year, Mississippi State decided to hire defensive coordinator Zach Arnett from within the program to lead the Bulldogs moving forward.

Arnett has been on Mississippi State’s staff since 2020 making him more than familiar with the ins and outs of the program. He was named the team’s interim head coach heading into the Bulldogs’ bowl game to end the season, leading Mississippi State to a 19-10 win over Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

But now that he’s been promoted to head coach, an anonymous coach in the SEC expressed a certain level of concern regarding the hire to Athlon magazine.

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“I think the logic (of hiring Zach Arnett) was that you can’t run a Mike Leach system or a Leach-type system without Mike or one of his OC guys, so he went in a completely different direction. The problem is that there’s a ton of staff turnover, and now you don’t have the talent level in personnel to run anything else, at least for this season.”

Including Arnett, Mississippi State retained or promoted six of its coaches from last year’s staff, maintaining a solid, familiar core from last season. But new coaches at certain spots raise a level of concern for this anonymous coach, including newly hired offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay.

“They need to message expectations and build the new offensive identity. The App guy (Kevin Barbay) is solid, but they’re going to struggle at first. The defense might look really different too. Leach never cared what you did as long as he got the ball back. Turnovers and touchdowns were fine, just not a 10-play drive. Arnett will have a lot more freedom.”

There’s no question that Mississippi State’s offense will look much different than their air raid scheme of the past, but does that necessarily mean a drop off in success?

Barbay’s offense at Appalachian State averaged 34.9 points per game last season, and at his previous stop at Central Michigan, his offense averaged 32.3. Both of those totals surpass the Bulldogs’ points per game averages in each of their last five seasons with a balanced attack, which has the potential to translate to the SEC conference.

The Bulldogs did have 24 players enter the transfer portal this offseason, and it will definitely be interesting to see how Arnett manages his new-look roster and coaching staff in his first ever season as a head coach in college football’s most competitive conference.