The Mississippi State Bulldogs have a successor for Mike Leach. The school reportedly is in agreement with defensive coordinator Zach Arnett, who will now take over the coaching reins for Mississippi State football, per Pete Thamel of ESPN.

Mississippi State has agreed to terms to promote defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to head coach, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. He will replace Mike Leach, who died Monday night. Arnett agreed to a four-year deal that has yet to be signed but is expected to be formalized in the upcoming days, sources said.

Arnett has been with Mississippi State football since the 2020 season and will now be in charge of a team that clinched bowl eligibility in 2022 under Leach, who tragically died Monday at the age of 61 due to heart condition complications.

Mississippi State football finished the 2022 regular season with an 8-4 record and punctuated it with a 24-22 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels in the Egg Bowl on the road.

With Arnett as the team's defensive architect, Mississippi State football managed to ranked fifth this season in the SEC in terms of total defense with just 350.3 total yards allowed per game and seventh in the conference with 24.2 points given up per contest. Moreover, the Bulldogs' stop unit was 39th in the nation in total defense.

Mississippi State's swift decision to give the keys to Arnett also came just before the Bulldogs play against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the ReliaQuest Bowl this coming January at Raymond James Stadium down in Tampa, Florida.