Zach Arnett officially announced as Mississippi State's next defensive coordinator

Mississippi State football has its next defensive coordinator, and he's a familiar name to Bulldog fans. The program officially announced Zach Arnett as the replacement for Coleman Hutzler. Arnett previously served as State's DC from 2020-2022 under late HC Mike Leach. Following Leach's passing, Arnett was promoted to HC, leading the program for much of the 2023 season before being let go.

From 2020-2022, Arnett's defenses in Starkville ranked in the Top 5 of the SEC in total defense, rushing defense, and turnovers forced. In two of those three seasons they ranked in the SEC Top 5 in tackles for loss and 3rd down conversion rate allowed. His 2022 defense allowed just 23.1 PPG, the program's best mark in the last seven seasons. Following his short stint as MSU's HC, Arnett worked as an analyst for both Ole Miss and Florida State.

Why Zach Arnett makes sense as Mississippi State's next defensive coordinator

Zach Arnett checks quite a few key boxes that make him an ideal choice at defensive coordinator for Mississippi State. First and most obviously, he's done the job successfully in Starkville before, just a few seasons ago. State needed to hire a proven DC to replace Coleman Hutzler, and you couldn't find someone more proven in doing the job at State than Arnett.

Secondly, Arnett has experience operating with autonomy over the defense. When working under Mike Leach at State, Arnett was given full reign over the defense with no influence from Leach. It was truly Arnett's unit. Jeff Lebby likely isn't as totally hands-off as Leach was with the defense, but he still largely allows his DC to operate that side of the ball as he sees fit. Arnett has already shown he can succeed in that style of environment.

Finally, Arnett's defensive style should compliment Jeff Lebby's offense well. Up-tempo, quick-scoring offenses like Lebby's are typically best meshed with an aggressive, attacking defense. And anyone who has watched a Zach Arnett defense knows that aggression is the name of the game with him.

Zach Arnett's recruiting and development will have to improve

The one real knock on Zach Arnett during his previous stint in Starkville (looking past some of his decisions as a head coach) was his recruiting and development of defensive talent. Simply put, the Bulldogs were not good enough at landing SEC-caliber athletes for the defense throughout his tenure. And of the few prospects they landed that were deemed high-level, few ever became impact players.

Those struggles, frankly, played a role in the current state of the Bulldog defense. There's no questioning Arnett's ability to run an effective scheme and put a good product on the field. But at the end of the day, talent is what wins out, and if Mississippi State isn't landing good enough talent defensively, they won't get where they need to on that side of the ball. Zach Arnett will need to show he can handle that side of the job better this time around.