Did Michigan State Wait Too Long to Decide Smith's Future?

The Michigan State Spartans are at a crossroads as a football program.

MSU is 3-8 and faces the Maryland Terrapins at Ford Field on Saturday evening. A win doesn’t mean much other than avoiding an embarrassing winless Big Ten slate.

Fans are barely paying attention to the game; most are instead focused on what happens after the contest, which is nearly meaningless.

Spartan Nation is waiting on the university to decide on Jonathan Smith’s future as head coach. MSU has been strangely quiet throughout the season as the team dropped game after game.

With the season concluding after the Spartans’ game against the Terrapins, many fans expect a decision on whether Smith will coach MSU in 2026 or if Athletic Director J Batt will fire him and look for a new coach.

But did Batt wait too long to decide on Smith’s future?

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith prepares to take the field with the team before the game against Penn State on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Let’s dive into the potential consequences of waiting until season’s end to figure out whether Smith should stay or go.

Jonathan Smith's future at MSU

So many notable head coaching opportunities opened throughout the season, including Penn State, LSU, Arkansas, and Florida. The Spartans would have had a tough time competing with those openings if they had fired Smith during the season.

Now that those programs have had time to vet head coaching candidates, MSU would be far behind if it fired Smith in a few days. That doesn’t even mention Auburn, UCLA, or California.

Many of MSU’s possible top candidates would be off the board by Sunday morning if Smith is fired after the Maryland game, leaving the Spartans desperate for a head coach, like they were in 2020 when Mark Dantonio retired out of the blue.

Former Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio looks on before the game against Indiana on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Spartans are trying to regain relevance in the college football landscape, and making another uninspiring hire would not help them return to competitiveness in the Big Ten.

There will still be good head coaching candidates out there, but MSU may have missed the mark on finding a home run hire by waiting this long.

With that being the case, Batt may have wanted one or two specific candidates who may go off the board once the hiring cycle kicks into gear. If that is true, he may be better off keeping Smith for at least another year and infusing more money into the program.

Michigan State Director of Athletics J Batt watches a play against Western Michigan form the sideline during the second half at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Friday, August 29, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Smith has not had the financial support in the last two years that he can get from Batt this offseason. Getting another season and an influx of cash seems like the likeliest outcome at this point.

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