Mississippi State football coach hot board: 8 replacements for Zach Arnett

STARKVILLE, MS - OCTOBER 04: General view of Davis Wade Stadium during the third quarter of a game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Texas A&M Aggies on October 4, 2014 in Starkville, Mississippi. Mississippi State won the game 48-31. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
STARKVILLE, MS - OCTOBER 04: General view of Davis Wade Stadium during the third quarter of a game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Texas A&M Aggies on October 4, 2014 in Starkville, Mississippi. Mississippi State won the game 48-31. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
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After losing in dreadful fashion to the Texas A&M Aggies, the Mississippi State football program is searching to replace Zach Arnett at head coach.

The Mississippi State football program shook things up when the Bulldogs decided to move on from head football coach Zach Arnett in less than one full season of leading the MSU football program.

The move seemed shocking to some outside of Starkville, but this has been an odd situation from the start. Arnett was promoted to head coach last year following the sudden tragic passing of Mike Leach. When he took over, Arnett took control of a 9-win team with high expectations and a lot returning on the offensive side of the ball.

And with some choices that were made, things unraveled in a hurry under the first-year head coach.

After overhauling the offensive coaching staff and system, Arnett struggled to build on the success of the previous regime. Arnett moved on from the Air Raid coaching staff that was present in Starkville and then started hiring offensive position coaches before hiring an offensive coordinator.

Mississippi State football fires Zach Arnett, needs new head coach

MSU sputtered on offense, is now 4-6 on the season, and will likely see its 13-year bowl streak end this season. The university’s leadership decided it was time for a change and for the brief Zach Arnett era to end.

While some will see the move as controversial, it was likely the right decision given everything that was going on. It’s okay for MSU to hit the reset button and move forward.

Now the Bulldogs need a new head coach to move forward. Let’s start looking at coaches (in no particular order):