La Cueva, UNM alum Zach Arnett hired by Ole Miss

Albuquerque native and former Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett has been hired as an analyst at Ole Miss.

Arnett, 37, was fired by Mississippi State in November 2023 with two games left in his first season as head coach. He served as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator for three seasons before he was promoted to the head job.

The news of his hiring at Mississippi was first reported by OMSpirit’s Zach Berry on Wednesday morning before being confirmed by Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.

“I’ve had a lot of respect for Zach and thought they did a great job over there in Starkville during his time on defense and caused people problems,” Kiffin told the Clarion Ledger on Wednesday. “So, (it) had been in discussions. Actually today I think is his first day.”

Born and raised in Albuquerque, Arnett won state titles in baseball and football at La Cueva High School and initially enrolled at UNM on a baseball scholarship in 2005. Then-head coach Rocky Long offered him a spot on the football team and he excelled over four seasons with the Lobos, earning first team Academic All-American honors as a senior linebacker in 2008.

After spending a few years away from football, Arnett joined Long’s staff at San Diego State in 2011, working as a graduate assistant for three seasons before serving as the Aztecs’ linebackers coach from 2014-17.

He was promoted to defensive coordinator the following season and led the second-best scoring defense in the country (12.7 points allowed per game) in 2019 as San Diego State clinched a division title.

Arnett was initially hired as the defensive coordinator at Syracuse in January 2020 but resigned less than two weeks later to take the same role at Mississippi State. Over three seasons in Starkville, Miss., Arnett’s defenses allowed 25.7 points per game as the program’s fortunes steadily improved.

After the Bulldogs finished 8-4 in 2022, Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach suffered a fatal heart attack on Dec. 11. In the wake of Leach’s death, Arnett was named the interim head coach and signed a four-year contract as the program’s permanent head coach on Dec. 14, eventually leading Mississippi State to a 19-10 win in the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl and a 24th-ranked finish in the AP Top 25 poll.

Mississippi State started 2-0 under Arnett in 2023 before offensive struggles (the Bulldogs averaged an SEC-worst 21.8 points per game) led to two separate three-game skids in conference play. He was dismissed on Nov. 13 following a 51-10 loss at Texas A&M, finishing with a 5-6 record.

Months later, he shifted loyalties in one of college football’s most heated rivalries.

“The motive was this is somebody that I’ve always thought does a really unique defensive scheme and causes people a lot of problems for years over there,” Kiffin told the Clarion Ledger on Wednesday. “So that was a big part of it. Then after that, yeah, there’s knowledge of recruiting in the state.

“I don’t know how much of that is a big benefit, but it’s just good to have him over here.”