Zach Arnett looks to have his offensive coordinator as Mississippi State is close to an agreement with Appalachian State OC Kevin Barbay, according to SI's Ross Dellenger.

Barbay served as the offensive coordinator at Central Michigan in 2021 before heading to Appalachian State in 2022 and led a Top 35 scoring offense nationally both seasons.

During his lone season at Appalachian State, Barbay led the 23rd-ranked scoring offense in college football at 34.9 points per game. The Mountaineers passed for 250.9 yards per game and rushed for 204.4.

Barbay's offense proved to be effective against Power-5 competition, as Appalachian State scored 61 points in a loss to North Carolina, while they rushed for 181 yards in a 17-14 win at Texas A&M.

Central Michigan's 2021 offense threw for 265.4 yards per game and ran for 180.0 while scoring 32.3 points per game. Under Head Coach Jim McElwain, the Chippewas finished with a 9-4 record, including a victory over Washington State in the Sun Bowl.

Before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021, Barbay served as Central Michigan's wide receivers coach and associate head coach from 2019-20.

A 2002 Grambling State graduate, Barbay began coaching in 2003 as the wide receivers coach at Monsignor Kelly High School in Beaumont, Texas. He joined the staff at Baylor as a graduate assistant in 2006, and he then served as the QB/WR coach at Texas A&M Commerce (2007-08) and the tight ends coach at North Texas in 2009.

He became the head football coach and athletic director at Warren High School in San Antonio in 2010 before returning to the college ranks as the WR/Special Teams coach at Lamar from 2012-13. He then served as the Director of Player Personnel at Colorado State (2014) and the Director of Player Development at Florida (2015-17) before returning back to the field as the offensive coordinator at Stephen F. Austin in 2018.

Mississippi State promoted Zach Arnett to head coach after Mike Leach's unfortunate passing, and Arnett has revamped the coaching staff. Barbay inherits two offensive coaches, with Chad Bumphis coaching the wide receivers and Will Friend as the offensive line coach.

Arnett has also promoted Matt Brock to be the team's defensive coordinator and hired David Turner to coach the defensive line. Cornerbacks coach Darcel McBath and special teams coordinator Eric Mele are both expected to remain on the staff.