Top 5 Zach Arnett replacements to take charge of Mississippi State coaching job ft. Mike Elko

The Mississippi State Bulldogs fired coach Zach Arnett on Monday. Arnett took over as coach for the Bulldogs' bowl game last season following the passing of coach Mike Leach.

He entered the 2023 season as the full-time coach, which was his first time being a head coach in college football. Ultimately, the Bulldogs have been poor in the SEC as they are 4-6, but 1-6 in conference play. Following the Bulldogs' 51-10 loss to Texas A&M, the school fired Arnett on Monday.

Let's take a look at five potential replacements to be Mississippi State's next head coach.

Top 5 replacements for Zach Arnett at Mississippi

#5, Glenn Schumann

Glenn Schumann has been talked about as a future head coach for quite some time and this off-season seems like when it will finally happen. Schumann is serving as the co-defensive coordinator of the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia is the reigning back-to-back national champs and could very well win three in a row, as the school is led by their defense.

#4, Kliff Kingsbury

Kliff Kingsbury is currently serving as a senior analyst with the USC Trojans, but many expect him to serve as a head coach in college football again. Kingsbury is known as an offensive guru and although he struggled in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, he has had success in college football.

He coached Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech while also being the offensive coordinator of Texas A&M during Johnny Manziel's Heisman-winning season. Mississippi State has a terrible offense so hiring an offensive mind like Kingsbury makes sense.

#3, Urban Meyer

Despite Urban Meyer retiring from coaching, he did return in 2021 in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars. With that, Meyer has continued to be linked to coaching jobs in college football and Mississippi State should be interested in him.

Meyer has proven he can turn a program around and win national titles. Returning to the SEC also makes a lot of sense as it would result in a big payday and a chance to turn another school around.

#2, Kalen DeBoer

Kalen DeBoer is the coach of Washington

Kalen DeBoer is currently leading the Washington Huskies to a 10-0 record. They are frontrunners to win the Pac-12, and potentially get into the college football playoff.

However, with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. off to the NFL, there have been a lot of rumors that DeBoer will be leaving Washington. With plenty of schools needing a new head coach, the offensive wizard will be in line for a big payday and Mississippi State should be interested.

#1, Mike Elko

Mike Elko is the head coach at Duke

Mike Elko is in his second season as head coach of the Duke Blue Devils. Since taking over, Duke is 15-8 and Elko has been linked to bigger schools, with Texas A&M who fired Jimbo Fisher on Sunday a possibility. However, if the Aggies pass on Elko, he likely would be a candidate for Mississippi State.

He's coached in the SEC before as Texas A&M's defensive coordinator, so returning to the conference makes sense.