My Two Cents: What Mark Dantonio's Retirement Means for Indiana
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — You could see this one coming, and now it has arrived. After 13 years and a great deal of success, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio announced his retirement on Tuesday.
There's trouble brewing at Michigan State, where Dantonio stepped down just one day after details of a lawsuit alleging he committed NCAA violations were made public. It has to be serious, or he wouldn't have quit just a day before National Signing Day.
Combine those allegations with a program that has been slipping on the field the past few years, and this move makes a lot of sense. Many Spartans fans, I'm sure, are thrilled with the news of his departure.
Thrilled despite the fact that Dantonio has won more football games than anyone, replacing the great Duffy Daugherty at the top of the list last season. Dantonio, 63, posted a record of 114–57 in East Lansing, and the Spartans won three Big Ten titles under his leadership.
What's the move mean for Indiana? It's just a guess in the long-term, depending on the hire, but it the short-term, it's great.
We spent a lot of time this past season talking about the the line of demarcation in the brutal Big Ten East, and what it would take for Indiana to break past the big four — Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State. Even though Indiana lost to all four teams this year — including to Michigan State in the final few seconds in East Lansing, the Hoosiers did finish ahead of the Spartans in the standings, finishing fourth.
And the two teams are trending in the opposite direction. Michigan State has been a mess offensively the past few years, and Dantonio has refused to budge in making changes, simply reassigning roles to current coaches instead of hiring new guys from outside the program.
Indiana, meanwhile, won eight games for the first time in 26 years and has a program that's heading in the right direction. Most of their starters are back, and there is optimism for what lies ahead. That's not the case in East Lansing.
In the Big Ten pecking order, now's the time for Indiana to leapfrog the Spartans — and stay there. That's how slow growth works in a program. Move up a spot, then find a way at some point to compete with Michigan and Penn State a little better.
It's going to be interesting to see what blows up at Michigan State, which has been a powder keg for a few years now.
According to several Sports Illustrated stories, attorneys for former Michigan State recruiting coordinator Curtis Blackwell filed court documents Thursday saying Dantonio may have “revealed major NCAA violations” and may have perjured himself in a deposition. (Blackwell is currently suing Dantonio and other Michigan State officials for wrongful termination and unlawful arrest.) Details of those potential NCAA violations were revealed in court documents filed Monday night by one of Blackwell’s lawyers.
The alleged violations include arranging jobs for players’ parents and illegal off-campus recruiting visits by Blackwell. Dantonio denies any wrongdoing.
The NCAA will come swooping into East Lansing for sure, because that athletic department has a huge target on its back after the entire Larry Nasser/USA gymnastics mess. There are plenty of NCAA higher-ups that would love to put the hammer down on Michigan State, and do it without having to worry about touching Tom Izzo's basketball program, which has had a few black eyes lately, too.
It's going to be interesting to see how many recruits bail on the Spartans now, especially with signing day on Wednesday.
Indiana might see a real recruiting uptick in the 2021 class because the Hoosiers have done very well recruiting there lately, led by assistant head coach and running backs coach Mike Hart, a former Michigan legend himself. With the Spartans in disarray, that might mean good things for the Hoosiers.
Mike Tressel, Michigan State’s defensive coordinator and assistant head coach, will serve as the interim coach while the school searches for a replacement. He is the nephew of former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel.
It's going to be interesting to see which direction the Spartans will go with this hire. They have been engrained in the Dantonio way for 13 years now, and change is clearly needed.
But how much change? For that, we'll have to wait and see.
While they figure it out, though, it's time for Indiana to pounce. Moving up in the pecking order is a big thing, and getting ahead of the Spartans is the first step in that progression.
Dysfunction reins in East Lansing, and in Bloomington, Tom Allen is set with a new seven-year contract, a great core group of young players and a solid coaching staff that's ready to grow together.
It's the perfect time to take the next step. And that means when Michigan State comes to Bloomington on Oct. 24, the Hoosiers will need to make that ascension up the Big Ten standings a little more permanent.
