Rebs at Work: New addition Zach Arnett and other Ole Miss football coaches this spring
Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin has made an off-season habit of overhauling not only his roster, but coaching staff as well.
The pre-spring months of 2024 were no different.
Kiffin brought in former Rebel defensive back Bryan Brown as co-defensive coordinator alongside Pete Golding. Brown served previously as the DC at both Cincinnati and Louisville. But Kiffin didn’t stop at Brown.
If anything, he borrowed a few more pages from the Nick Saban staff-building playbook. Kiffin also landed a pair of accomplished coaches as analysts, among them Zach Arnett. Arnett was the head coach of the Rebels’ in-state rival, Mississippi State, last season.
“I think that shows people wanting to come here and be a part of it,” Kiffin said. Kiffin is entering his fifth Ole Miss season. The Rebels won a program-record 11 overall games in 2023-24.
“We don’t just hire anybody because they were coaches. It’s people that we think are really knowledgeable in the (SEC) and as coaches in general. (Arnett) was a really good fit in that way. He came down (and) met with myself and coach Golding. Excited to put him in the defensive room, especially with conference knowledge.”
Ivey League: How Keith Carter took his Ole Miss love from the court to the front office
Another addition was former New York Giants head coach Joe Judge.
Judge, most recently, was the assistant head coach of the New England Patriots last season. He, too, is a one-time Mississippi State coach.
Arnett and Brown are a few of the coaches highlighted in the included video. Others are Golding and running backs coach Kevin Smith. The Rebels earlier this month wrapped spring football practices with the rebranded ‘Grove Bowl Games.’
“It’s a two-way street,” Kiffin said of hiring big-name coaches as analysts. “Both ways. You give people opportunities and they get to come learn from you and it’s exciting.”
