Mississippi State fires head football coach Zach Arnett

Mississippi State Director of Athletics Zac Selmon announced Monday that head football coach Zach Arnett has been fired.

“As part of my thorough and continued evaluation, I have determined that a change in leadership is necessary to move our football program forward and position it for the highest level of success,” Selmon said in a statement.

Selmon said the decision to fire Arnett was because the progress and on-field results under him have not met the standard required for Mississippi State to achieve its expected level of success.

His firing comes on the heels of a 51-10 loss at Texas A&M to drop the Bulldogs to 1-6 in conference play.

The search for Mississippi State’s head coach is already underway. In the meantime, MSU senior analyst Greg Knox will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2023.

Arnett was promoted to head coach Dec. 15, 2022 following the tragic death of Mike Leach. He won the ReliaQuest Bowl in his first game as head coach, then went on to go 4-6 through ten games this season — winning just one SEC game.

“I will be forever grateful to Zach for how he stepped up after the untimely death of head coach Mike Leach. We asked him in those difficult hours to lead our team, protect our Top 25 recruiting class, and take us to a ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Illinois. Zach accomplished those things, and our fans should respect and appreciate him for that tremendous service to MSU,” Selmon said. “All of us at Mississippi State wish Zach and his wonderful family the very best. I know that he will go on to enjoy an outstanding career in coaching.”