Former Mississippi State Football Coach Zach Arnett Hired by Ole Miss

After nearly four months out of a job, former Mississippi State football head coach and defensive coordinator Zach Arnett has found a new landing spot. And needless to say, most Bulldog fans won't be too pleased with his new gig.

On Wednesday, Zach Berry of On3 reported that Arnett was joining Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss coaching staff as a defensive analyst.

In today's spring practice interview, Lane Kiffin told The Rebel Walk he felt Arnett "did a great job on defense and caused people problems" and that he was "excited to put him in the defensive room with his conference knowledge."

Kiffin also suggested that the hire was far more defensively-motivated than it was to gain an edge in in-state recruiting despite Arnett's obvious ties to Mississippi and the rivalry.

Arnett came to Starkville in 2020 to serve as Mike Leach's defensive coordinator. He fielded aggressive and productive defenses out of his attacking 3-3-5 scheme during his three seasons as DC. Following the untimely passing of Mike Leach in December of 2022, Arnett was swiftly promoted to head coach, leading the Bulldogs to an emotional bowl victory over Illinois in the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl.

Arnett's lone full season as HC went disastrously. His controversial decision to abandon the Air Raid offense backfired, and the defense slipped without him running that side of the ball. Following an embarrassing 51-10 November loss to Texas A&M that dropped MSU to 4-7, Arnett was fired.

Mississippi State football fans react to Ole Miss hiring Zach Arnett

As you might expect, many Mississippi State football fans have been eager to share their opinions of Zach Arnett heading up north. Given his struggles as a HC, some are asking if he'd already been aiding the rival side.

Many were quick to point out their desire to see Arnett take over recruiting in Oxford considering the dreadful state he left Mississippi State's 2024 signing class in at the time of his firing.

Of course knowing Lane Kiffin's reputation as somewhat of an online troll, some are convinced this move was done entirely with the motives of taking a dig at Mississippi State.

I cannot lie and say I didn't get in on the fun. After watching a full season of Zach Arnett making fourth down decisions, I would not mind at all if he was given the reigns to make those calls on gameday.

If there's one thing you can count on, it's that the Egg Bowl rivalry never stops being entertaining. Zach Arnett joining the rival team only adds to the intrigue going into the 2024 season.