A seismic tremor rocked the college football world on Sunday when the Texas A&M Aggies bit the bullet and cut ties with head coach Jimbo Fisher. The move triggered a reported $77 million buyout for the former Florida State Seminoles skipper who has struggled since leaving Tallahassee for College Station.
But that was not the only firing to happen following Week 11, as the Mississippi State Bulldogs also canned their head coach, Zach Arnett, on Monday. In the wake of the big news, a former Florida Gators coach has once again quietly risen for the occasion.
Now a senior offensive analyst with MSU, Greg Knox was tapped to take the reins for the final two games of the Bulldogs’ 2023 campaign. The role of interim head coach is far from unfamiliar to the 60-year-old coach.
Knox first worked for the Mississippi State Bulldogs from 2009 to 2017 alongside former Gators coach Dan Mullen. After Mullen left for Gainesville before the end of his final season in Starkville, the then-running backs coach and special teams coordinator led MSU to a 31-27 win over the Louisville Cardinals in the TaxSlayer Bowl as the interim HC.
Coincidentally, Knox would also coach Florida after Mullen was fired following a stretch that put the Gator Nation over the brink. He went 1-1 in Florida’s final two games after being elevated from the same role he had at Mississippi State — running backs coach and special teams coordinator — into the interim position.
His win came against the Florida State Seminoles at home while the loss came against the UCF Knights in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Now, Knox has a chance once again to prove himself on the sideline as the head honcho with a second stint for Mississippi State. While the program is mathematically eliminated from bowl game contention, there are still things the team can build on with some solid showings to wrap up the schedule.
It will be a tough road ahead for Knox but he has proven to be a fighter. Plus, after all, the third time is the charm — maybe he can parlay this opportunity into a full-time HC gig.
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