Zach Arnett
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Mississippi State |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 1–0 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | September 10, 1986 Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Playing career | |
| 2005–2008 | New Mexico |
| Position(s) | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2011–2013 | San Diego State (GA) |
| 2014–2017 | San Diego State (LB) |
| 2018–2019 | San Diego State (DC/LB) |
| 2020 | Mississippi State (DC/LB) |
| 2021–2022 | Mississippi State (DC/S) |
| 2022–present | Mississippi State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 1–0 |
| Bowls | 1-0 |
Zachary Arnett (born September 10, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach at Mississippi State University. He previously served as the defensive coordinator and as position coach at Mississippi State from 2020 to 2022.
Arnett played college football at the University of New Mexico as a linebacker from 2005 to 2008. Prior to his tenure at Mississippi State, he held various assistant coaching positions at San Diego State University from 2011 to 2019.
Playing career
Arnett attended La Cueva High School[1] and was a two-sport athlete in football and baseball. He originally accepted an offer to play for the New Mexico Lobos baseball team, but he earned a scholarship to the football team in the summer of 2005. He excelled on the field and in the classroom during his college career, earning six forced fumbles and was a first-team Academic All-American in 2008.[2]
Coaching career
San Diego State
After being away from football for two years, he became a graduate assistant at San Diego State under his New Mexico head coach Rocky Long. Within three years, he was promoted to linebackers coach. His linebacker unit produced five different All-Mountain West selections, including 3-time All-Mountain West selection Calvin Munson.[3] In 2018, he was promoted again, this time to defensive coordinator. Under him, San Diego State ranked 32nd in total defense in 2018 and 2nd in 2019, which was a 30-place gain from the year before.[4][5]
Mississippi State
On January 11, 2020, Arnett was named the new defensive coordinator at Syracuse. However, the stint with Syracuse was short-lived, as he was hired as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach by Mississippi State on January 22, 2020.[6] He would inherit a defense that ranked 73rd in total defense and losing seven starters. Before the 2021 season, Arnett interviewed with big programs like Oregon, LSU, and Texas for their defensive coordinator vacancies, before ultimately deciding to stay at Mississippi State.
Arnett was named interim head coach at Mississippi State after Mike Leach was hospitalized on December 11, 2022.[7][8] After Leach's death, Arnett was named full-time head coach on December 15, 2022.[9]
Personal life
Arnett is married with two children.[10]
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State Bulldogs (Southeastern Conference) (2022–present) | |||||||||
| 2022 | Mississippi State | 1–0 | 0–0 | W ReliaQuest[a] | 19 | 20 | |||
| 2023 | Mississippi State | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Mississippi State: | 1–0 | 0–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 1–0 | ||||||||
- ^ Arnett coached the Bulldogs in the ReliaQuest Bowl following the death of head coach Mike Leach on December 12, 2022.
References
- ^ Sickenger, Ken. "Success Has Been A Constant Companion of La Cueva's Zach Arnett". Albuquerque Journal.
- ^ Wilmes, Collin. "Get to Know New Defensive Coordinator Zach Arnett". SB Nation: For Whom the Cowbell Tolls.
- ^ "Zach Arnett". SDSU Athletics.
- ^ "2019 College Football Team Defense".
- ^ "2018 College Football Team Defense".
- ^ "Zach Arnett". Mississippi State Athletics.
- ^ Sallee, Barrett (December 12, 2022). "Mississippi State coach Mike Leach hospitalized in 'critical condition' with 'personal health issue'". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ^ "Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach still in critical condition". ESPN. December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ^ "Zach Arnett Named Mississippi State's 35th Head Football Coach". Retrieved December 16, 2022.
- ^ "Zach Arnett – Mississippi State profile". Mississippi State Bulldogs. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
External links
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- 1986 births
- Living people
- American football linebackers
- La Cueva High School alumni
- Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches
- New Mexico Lobos football players
- San Diego State Aztecs football coaches
- People from Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Coaches of American football from New Mexico
- Players of American football from New Mexico
- College football coach stubs