This is where the coaching carousel starts to pick up speed, as underachieving programs are looking to make a move to prepare to start recruiting the moment their season comes to an end next weekend. On consecutive days, two SEC schools made changes at the helm. The first was Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M on Sunday morning.
Zach Arnett was let go at Mississippi State with far less fanfare on Monday night.
Arnett was into his first full season, taking over after the sudden passing of Mike Leach, who passed away on December 12, 2022. The Bulldogs were preparing for their ReliaQuest Bowl matchup against Illinois on January 2. After their 19-10 victory, Arnett was given a four-year, $12 million contract in the offseason. His firing will require Mississippi State to pay half of his salary, and whichever school signs him next picking up the remainder.
Arnett finished 5-6 over his 11 games in Starkville. The Bulldogs rank 108th out of 133 Division I teams with 21.4 points per game, with 48 of those coming in the season-opening victory over I-AA Southeast Louisiana.
Being the defensive coordinator for the past three years under Leach made the interim tag a bit easier to remove from Arnett after Leach’s passing. Despite knowing the program and players, Arnett decided to change the offense to a more pro style set, rather than the run and gun style that Leach used for three consecutive bowl appearances.
Barring upsets over Southern Miss and Ole Miss the final two weeks, this will break the Bulldogs’ 13-year bowl streak. Even when Dan Mullen left before the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl to take the job at Florida, the Bulldogs found a way to knock off Louisville, then did not miss a beat when Dan Moorehead took over in 2018. The Eagles are 14-point favorites on Saturday, and I shudder to think of the spread that Ole Miss will be on Thanksgiving night.
The irony here is that Arnett was fired after losing 51-10 on Saturday…to Fisher. Texas A&M will owe Fisher $77.5 million in a buyout, the largest in college football history.
Mississippi State sits at 1-6 in the SEC, tied with Arkansas for second-worst, only behind winless Vanderbilt (0-7).
The Bulldogs seemed to come off the tracks when senior starting quarterback Will Rogers went down against Western Michigan on October 7 with a shoulder injury. Rogers, who threw for 3713 yards, 34 TDs and only six interceptions in 2022, has a quarterback rating of just 46.2, which is 101st amongst starters in D-I. Against Alabama and LSU, the lone ranked teams the Bulldogs have played to this point, Rogers threw for a combined 210 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, and was sacked eight times. In fact, the 487 yards he threw for against Western Michigan was the only time this year Rogers has thrown for more than 250 yards.
Arnett was given so much worse than a raw deal, and this is a flawed move in every way from Mississippi State. He was tasked with coaching a bowl game after a tragedy, leading the recruitment trail, and being the head man of the program all within a six-week period. For the school not to give at least a second season, knowing that the Egg Bowl may be as one-sided as the 2008 edition, where the Rebels pitched a 45-0 shutout, is more of a cop-out than what happened with Fisher.
Yes, some of this may lay at the feet of Arnett for changing the offensive scheme, but having these players now with a third head coach in 11 months goes beyond a coaching carousel, or even a roller coaster. With a new Athletic Director at Mississippi State as well, the clock may already be ticking for when we can have this conversation again.
-JC24
Being the defensive coordinator for the past three years under Leach made the interim tag a bit easier to remove from Arnett after Leach’s passing. Despite knowing the program and players, Arnett decided to change the offense to a more pro style set, rather than the run and gun style that Leach used for three consecutive bowl appearances.
Barring upsets over Southern Miss and Ole Miss the final two weeks, this will break the Bulldogs’ 13-year bowl streak. Even when Dan Mullen left before the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl to take the job at Florida, the Bulldogs found a way to knock off Louisville, then did not miss a beat when Dan Moorehead took over in 2018. The Eagles are 14-point favorites on Saturday, and I shudder to think of the spread that Ole Miss will be on Thanksgiving night.
The irony here is that Arnett was fired after losing 51-10 on Saturday…to Fisher. Texas A&M will owe Fisher $77.5 million in a buyout, the largest in college football history.
Mississippi State sits at 1-6 in the SEC, tied with Arkansas for second-worst, only behind winless Vanderbilt (0-7).
The Bulldogs seemed to come off the tracks when senior starting quarterback Will Rogers went down against Western Michigan on October 7 with a shoulder injury. Rogers, who threw for 3713 yards, 34 TDs and only six interceptions in 2022, has a quarterback rating of just 46.2, which is 101st amongst starters in D-I. Against Alabama and LSU, the lone ranked teams the Bulldogs have played to this point, Rogers threw for a combined 210 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, and was sacked eight times. In fact, the 487 yards he threw for against Western Michigan was the only time this year Rogers has thrown for more than 250 yards.
Arnett was given so much worse than a raw deal, and this is a flawed move in every way from Mississippi State. He was tasked with coaching a bowl game after a tragedy, leading the recruitment trail, and being the head man of the program all within a six-week period. For the school not to give at least a second season, knowing that the Egg Bowl may be as one-sided as the 2008 edition, where the Rebels pitched a 45-0 shutout, is more of a cop-out than what happened with Fisher.
Yes, some of this may lay at the feet of Arnett for changing the offensive scheme, but having these players now with a third head coach in 11 months goes beyond a coaching carousel, or even a roller coaster. With a new Athletic Director at Mississippi State as well, the clock may already be ticking for when we can have this conversation again.
-JC24