After spending the past season on Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss staff, Zach Arnett is finalizing his next gig as a defensive coordinator.
Arnett, sources tell FootballScoop, is finalizing a deal to become Dowell Loggains's inaugural defensive coordinator at Appalachian State.
It's poised to be a monumental hire for Loggains.
Arnett just a couple years ago was viewed as the hottest up-and-coming defensive coordinator in college football.
He was brought to Starkville, Miss., by the late, great Mike Leach, who turned over his Mississippi State Bulldogs defense to Arnett.
After Leach's sudden death, Arnett was elevated to the head coach at Mississippi State following his team's stirring bowl victory to close the 2022 season.
Arnett lasted one full season as State's coach before he was dismissed, but he quickly landed on Kiffin's Ole Miss staff.
The Rebels posted a 12-point win last month against Arnett's former employer, State, in the annual Egg Bowl.
A former New Mexico linebacker who has deployed the famed Rocky Long defense, Arnett climbed through the coaching ranks first at San Diego State and then at Mississippi State.
Loggains, an Arkansas grad and NFL coaching veteran, was tabbed for his first collegiate head coaching post earlier this month when App State hired him to replace the fired Shawn Clark.
He previously served as offensive coordinator at his alma mater and then for Shane Beamer's South Carolina Gamecocks before he landed the AppState job this month.
The Mountaineers are set to open their 2025 season in Charlotte, N.C., against new coach Tim Albin's Charlotte 49ers.