Paul Finebaum gave high praise to new Mississippi State coach Zach Arnett, and said the coach who took over following the death of Mike Leach handled the transition “flawlessly.”

Speaking on “McElroy and Cubelic In the morning” on WJOX, Finebaum said few coaches came into such a difficult situation when they became a head coach.

“I think he’s brought in some good coaches, I don’t think the expectations are through the roof,” Finebaum said. “They’re never as high at State as they are at Auburn or Alabama, or even Ole Miss perhaps. But I think he’s at a really good spot and he’s done the most important thing. I think he went out and won that game, the bowl game against Illinois in honor of Coach Leach, that’s the most important thing.”

Arnett, 36, was Leach’s defensive coordinator from 2020 to 2022. In December, he was promoted to head coach shortly after Leach passed away because of complications from a heart condition. Arnett has said he wouldn’t try to duplicate Leach, who was a pioneer in coaching, and most known for developing the Air Raid offense that spread around multiple levels of football.