Page 11 - Mark Keenum News Today

No. 24 Mississippi State is promoting defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to head coach to replace Mike Leach, who died suddenly of a heart condition earlier this week.

No. 24 Mississippi State is promoting defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to head coach to replace Mike Leach, who died suddenly of a heart condition.

Mississippi State football named Zach Arnett is permanent head coach on Thursday. He signed a four-year deal with a $3 million salary plus incentives.

Promotion to head Mississippi State coach will raise Zach Arnett’s contract to four years at $3.0 million annually.

No. 24 Mississippi State is promoting defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to head coach to replace Mike Leach, who died suddenly of a heart condition earlier this week.

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — No. 24 Mississippi State will be playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Illinois on Jan. 2 in Tampa, Florida.

Mississippi State Universitys football team said it will still play in its bowl game in January despite the death of the teams head coach, Mike Leach, Monday evening.

Mike Leach died weeks before the team heads to a bowl game and the program is already searching for a permanent athletic director.

Mike Leach would have been too much for some schools. Like Kevin Kelley in Arkansas high schools, his penchant for sophisticated offense worked against him in pursuit of coaching on a higher level.

Gruff, pioneering and unfiltered, Mississippi States Mike Leach was one of the most influential football coaches of this or any generation. His bound