Zach Arnett’s hot seat talk heats up as he lands on another CFB writer’s hot seat list

As the Mississippi State football team continues to struggle, first year coach Zach Arnett has landed on another hot seat list. 

After winning nine games a season ago, the Mississippi State football team is off to an awful start. The Bulldogs are 3-3, but they’ve been challenged at times they really shouldn’t have been struggling.

MSU’s offense has been wildly inconsistent and the Bulldogs’ defense is porous, to say the least. The Bulldogs are at the bottom of the SEC in ESPN’s FPI and State has been looking miserable every time the Bulldogs have taken the field.

And because State had major issues with teams like Arizona and Western Michigan (and then lost to vulnerable and imperfect LSU, South Carolina, and Alabama teams), Zach Arnett has found himself under a lot of scrutiny.

As MSU has struggled, Arnett has found his name among those listed on Adam Rittenberg’s coaching hot seat list. And Rittenberg has been talking to some sources when digging into this. An agent reportedly chatted with Rittenberg about Arnett’s buyout situation:

"“But Arnett, who had never been a head coach, received a very moderate contract — $3 million annually, the lowest salary in the SEC, which is 50% guaranteed if the school makes a change. His deal is limited to four years by Mississippi State law. “By SEC standards, it wouldn’t cost them really anything [to make a change],” a coaching agent said."

Mississippi State football first year head coach Zach Arnett placed on another hot seat list

And while there are some Mississippi State football fans who understandably don’t want to have a conversation about possibly firing a head coach who is in his first season, it’s got to be acknowledged that this is a conversation that is being had on a national level.

This isn’t the first time Arnett’s name has ended up on a hot seat list. It wasn’t that long ago that Andy Staples brought up MSU’s current head coach when discussing buyouts and possible hot seat situations.

This is a conversation that will be had and will almost certainly continue to get even louder if the Bulldogs continue to struggle.

Mississippi State isn’t exactly expected to have a ton of success for the remainder of the year and if the Bulldogs only win the remaining game they’re expected to win, then Arnett’s situation will get real interesting real quick.