What Mississippi State football proved by extending Mike Leach, Zach Arnett
STARKVILLE – More than 2,000 players entered the football transfer portal this offseason. Two SEC football coaches were fired. And now schools are ditching conferences.
The new norm in collegiate athletics is instability and fluidity, and that has been the case for Mississippi State football the last five years since coach Dan Mullen left for Florida. He was replaced by Joe Moorhead, whose tenure was short-lived, and followed by Mike Leach – MSU’s third coach in four seasons.
It’s apparent athletic director John Cohen doesn’t want Mississippi State’s reputation to reflect the trends across college athletics.
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The two-year extension he gave Leach last week, locking in the coach through 2026, proves it. The contract extension awarded to defensive coordinator Zach Arnett two days after adds another layer.
Mississippi State football wants stability. It wants to follow in the footsteps of Arkansas and Ole Miss, which also gave recent extensions to coaches Sam Pittman and Lane Kiffin, both hired at the same time as Leach.
Building the foundation for consistency isn't effortless, but it started with bringing Leach to Starkville.
“You want to have the ability to develop your staff and players without a lot of distractions,” Leach said in his 2020 introductory press conference. “And, of course, that requires incredible support from the university and the administration.
Leach is known for his viral rants and Air Raid offense, but he's also a coach who spent eight seasons at Washington State and a decade at Texas Tech.
Throughout those tenures, he kept much of his staff intact.
Linebackers coach Matt Brock has been with Leach at all three stops. Six other MSU assistants followed from Washington State. Strength coach Tyson Brown, his assistants Dan Kistler and Chad Traver, and director of player personnel Brittany Thackery did, too.
The late Dave Nichol, who coached inside receivers at Mississippi State, also spent time with Leach at both previous stops. Once he departed for USC, many began to look for exterior replacements.
Leach instead stayed in house. He promoted Drew Hollingshead, who served as an offensive assistant under Leach the previous six seasons.
Leach also shuffled his staff to address flaws, particularly on special teams. He retained Brock to fully coaching linebackers while moving running backs coach Eric Mele to special teams. Jason Washington took over running backs. Arnett took control of safeties.
It wasn’t a flashy offseason for Leach, but it maintained Mississippi State’s pitch to transfer and recruits — most of which are three-stars in need of development.
“It’s great for our players to have the same faces coaching them because then you can build on what you did previously," Leach said following the February signing day. "The better people know one other the more they can get out of each other, both coaches and players.”
The foundation of stability now has Cohen's stamp, and his legacy at Mississippi State will largely go hand-in-hand with Leach's.
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Mississippi State football extended Mike Leach, Zach Arnett
