This felt inevitable, didn't it? Zach Arnett took over the Mississippi State program following the unfortunate passing of former head coach Mike Leach. Arnett will not even get the chance to finish out his first year at the helm.
Mississippi State, with new Athletic Director Zac Selmon leading the way, will look to usher in a new era of Bulldogs football heading into 2024 as the Bulldogs fired Arnett on Monday. The first-year head coach is the second SEC firing in two days after Jimbo Fisher was let go by Texas A&M on Sunday.
This season, Mississippi State has fallen to just 4-6 on the season which is good enough for sixth place in the very difficult SEC West. MSU's best victory of the season came against the Arizona Wildcats in Week 2 of the college football season. The Bulldogs needed overtime to take home the victory, but then lost three straight games.
Following yet another three-game skid, Selmon decided to pull the plug on Arnett. The Bulldogs have two games against in-state rivals Southern Mississippi and Ole Miss left on the schedule with senior offensive analyst Greg Knox taking over the final couple weeks of the 2023 campaign.
So, Mississippi State will now look to replace Arnett. Despite being in the SEC, it's difficult to call Mississippi State a prime landing spot. However, the right hire could make all the difference. Is there a coach who could help the Bulldogs to their first conference title since 1941?
7. Lance Leipold, Kansas Jayhawks head coach
Let's go with the home run hire to start, shall we? What Lance Leipold has done at Kansas is akin to what Mike Elko is doing at Duke and what James Franklin did at Vanderbilt. Leipold has taken a school that was a college football bottom dweller and turned it into a contender.
Leipold and the Jayhawks suffered a bad loss this past week to Texas Tech, but KU is still sitting at 7-3 on the season with a victory over the Oklahoma Sooners; a team that will be joining the SEC in 2024.
Lance Leipold led Kansas to a bowl game in his second year in Lawrence and is sure to take the Jayhawks bowling once again this season. Leipold will be highly sought-after this winter, and Mississippi State's early dismissal of Zach Arnett may give the Bulldgos a headstart.
6. Joe Judge, New England Patriots assistant
Let's have a bit of fun, shall we? This selection is a bit off the wall, but not as much as it would seem. Joe Judge is currently roaming the sidelines with Bill Belichick in the NFL, and has head coaching experience in the league himself. Judge was the New York Giants head coach from 2020-2021.
But, Judge originally got his feet wet coaching for his alma mater -- Mississippi State. Judge was a graduate assistant for the Bulldogs during Sylvester Croom's tenure as the head man in Starkville.
Judge has experience in the SEC as an assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama (2009-2011) and under Belichick (2015-2019, 2022-present). This is an outside-the-box hire, but don't be shocked if Judge's name comes up in the conversation.
5. Dan Mullen, former Mississippi State head coach
There's that old saying that goes, "The grass isn't always greener on the other side." Dan Mullen found that out the hard way. After a very successful tenure as the Mississippi State head coach from 2009-2017, Mullen was lured away by the University of Florida.
Having coached in Gainesville under Urban Meyer, Mullen saw an opportunity to return to the Gators and lead Florida back to the promised land. But, after posting a 5-6 record in 2021, Mullen was relieved of his duties as the head coach of the Gators.
Dan Mullen is currently an analyst for ESPN and, if he's got the itch, Mississippi State may welcome him back with open arms. There's another famous saying: "You don't know what you've got until it's gone." Bulldog fans have found that out the hard way, as the team had just two losing seasons with Mullen at the helm.
4. Jon Sumrall, Troy Trojans head coach
The SEC roots go deep for Jon Sumrall. Having played for the University of Kentucky from 2002-2004 and coached at UK and Ole Miss, it seems as if Sumrall could feel right at home in Starkville.
Sumrall is a defensive-minded coach and has Troy in line to win back-to-back Sun Belt titles and head to a bowl game once again in 2023. Sumrall won the Coach of the Year Award in the conference last season and is currently 20-4 as a head coach.
This would be a slick pick up on the part of new AD Zac Selmon, because if Mississippi State doesn't get Sumrall, another program will.
3. Jamey Chadwell, Liberty Flames head coach
Jamey Chadwell is another coach outside the Power 5 conferences who is sure to get some play this year when more and more jobs become available.
Chadwell is well-regarded for his offensive schemes that made him a success at Coastal Carolina and now at Liberty. Mississippi State will always have trouble recruiting among the big boys in the Southeastern Conference, so perhaps Chadwell can different ways to beat the SEC competition.
Liberty is undefeated this season, and Chadwell is receiving $4 million per season, so the 46-year-old won't come cheap. But Chadwell's 40-6 win-loss record over the past four seasons speaks for itself. This would be a smart hire for the Mississippi football program.
2. Jeff Lebby, Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator
Jeff Lebby is an interesting name to watch. There is, of course, the Oklahoma connection here. Lebby is the current offensive coordinator for Brent Venables at OU, and MSU's new athletic director came from the Oklahoma program.
Zac Selmon was a high-ranking member of the University of Oklahoma's athletic department for quite some time. He's also the nephew of Sooners legend Lee Roy Selmon. That OU connection could certainly garner Lebby some consideration.
There's also the fact that Lebby has coached in the SEC previously as well. The 39-year-old worked under Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss from 2020-2021 before taking his current gig at Oklahoma.
1. Rhett Lashlee, SMU Mustangs head coach
Rhett Lashlee offers even more SEC ties. The former Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback may want to wait out Sam Pittman's likely termination and return to his alma mater. But if Arkansas fails to pick up the phone, perhaps Lashlee could become the head man for his former SEC rival.
Lashlee has led the Mustangs to a very successful 15-8 record since he's been in charge in Dallas. Lashlee comes from the Gus Mahlzan coaching tree, so you know that style of play would work in the SEC.
Rhett Lashlee may be a bit more under-the-radar than the other coaches on the list, and with SMU jumping to the ACC next season, he may do well to stay put rather than enter the fray in the Southeastern Conference.
