Mississippi State is parting ways with defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler, who ESPN reported Saturday morning had been informed he will not be returning next season.
Hutzler was brought to Starkville alongside head coach Jeff Lebby and has coached the defense for the first two seasons of Lebby’s tenure. While the offensive-minded Lebby has jumpstarted Mississippi State’s offense – taking the Bulldogs to ninth in scoring and total yards in 2025 amongst SEC teams after previously ranking in the cellar of the conference – the defense has seen minimal improvement under Huntzler’s leadership.
The Bulldogs ranked last in yards per game allowed and points per game allowed in 2024 before ranking second-to-last in both categories in 2025.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel, who broke the news of Hutzler’s firing, broke arguably even bigger news alongside the Hutzler report: Mississippi State is now expected to target former head coach Zach Arnett to be the team’s next defensive coordinator.
Sources: Mississippi State defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler has been informed he’s not returning for the Bulldogs next season. Mississippi State is expected to target former head coach and DC Zach Arnett to be the defensive coordinator. pic.twitter.com/YiMOxXn0hT
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 6, 2025
Arnett was Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator under the late Mike Leach from 2020-22 and consistently had the unit ranking in the top five of the SEC in total defense, rushing defense, and forced turnovers. He was promoted to head coach after Leach’s passing in December 2022 but was fired 10 games into 2023 with a 4-6 record.
After his firing from Mississippi State, Arnett was hired as an analyst by in-state rival Ole Miss and worked in the role for the 2024 season. He was then hired to be Dan Mullen’s defensive coordinator at UNLV but resigning months into the job for personal reasons and later accepted a job for the 2025 season as an analyst at Florida State.