Harlon Barnett praises Mark Dantonio: 'I'm glad he's here'

Harlon Barnett has had a desire to be a head coach in college football since his career began in 2004. A former player at Michigan State, his ultimate dream was to be the head coach of the Spartans.

Barnett is getting that opportunity now, as he fills in for the suspended Mel Tucker. A longtime defensive backs coach, Barnett has mixed feelings about the way this opportunity has come about, but he's is determined to make the most of it.

“I’m being totally honest here – I want to be the head coach at Michigan State, but not in this way, obviously," Barnett said at his first press conference as acting head coach.

"That’s always been a goal of mine. I’m a Spartan, through and through, and anybody who knows me knows that I am a Spartan. They will tell you that this dude is Green all day...I am very excited about this coming week and this opportunity to show that I’ve got.”

As this responsibility is thrust upon him, Barnett is thankful that he'll have a guy with extensive head coaching experience to rely on — the winningest coach in Michigan State Football history, Mark Dantonio.

“I’m glad he’s here. I love me some Coach D, man," Barnett said. "Coach D brings the calming presence, the wisdom, the knowledge of being a head coach – a very successful head coach, at that. He’s bringing all of that as our associate head coach. Any and all ways, he’s willing to help with us, and that’s what he’s going to do. He’s helping in all aspects of the operation.”

Barnett's relationship with Dantonio goes back to the beginning of his coaching career. Dantonio gave Barnett his first opportunity to be an assistant coach, hiring him to be Dantonio's defensive backs coach at Cincinnati.

“That was very equal, when he hired me in 2004, to me getting drafted [by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Draft] in April of 1990," Barnett said. "It was close to that. I was that excited for him to give me the opportunity to coach down at the University of Cincinnati.”

Barnett noted that he and Dantonio spent 14 consecutive seasons coaching together – three at Cincinnati, and 11 more at Michigan State. When asked, Barnett confirmed that Dantonio’s role on the coaching staff will be more about being calming influence on the staff as a whole, and less about being involved in the X’s and O’s of game strategy.

“Our staff is a really good staff – elite staff," Barnett said. "Nobody has an ego, [we’re] always trying to take in information. I think that’s what all smart guys do, in my opinion – taking in information. So, any information [Dantonio] provides, people are locked in and listening because we want the advantage. We want to win. So, everybody is open to hearing what Coach D has to say at all times.”

It will be difficult to get a true barometer on who Barnett is as a head coach during this interim period. After all, Barnett will be working with a staff and a roster that was assembled by Tucker over the last three and a half years.

Barnett will not make wholesale changes now that he's in the head chair. His job is to keep the Spartans united and focused on the task at hand.

“A lot of things are going to stay the same," Barnett said. "Tough, Discipline, Selfless, Do Your Job – those are things that are staples of Michigan State Football, since I’ve been a Spartan in 1985...Playing smart, fast and physical – that’s who we are. So, from that standpoint, that’s the foundation of it and we’re going to continue to build upon that foundation.”

Barnett will continue to coach Michigan State's safeties in practice, but in situations where he needs to take time to observe the team in its entirety, cornerbacks coach Jim Salgado and nickelbacks coach/special teams coordinator Ross Els will take on the added responsibility of working one-on-one with the Spartan safeties.

A former defensive back himself, Barnett was asked by George Blaha — the longtime play-by-play radio voice for MSU Football — if he had informed the current Spartan players of his nickname, the “Boom Stick”, or if Barnett had shown them any highlights of the big hits he delivered during his playing days.

Barnett humbly said, no, he hadn’t and that it wasn’t his style. Blaha suggested that seeing highlights of the acting head coach laying the lumber on opponents could fire up the current crop of Spartans.

After 21 years of coaching college football, 15 of those in East Lansing, Barnett is getting the chance to be the guy calling the shots. The opportunity comes at the school he loves, albeit under unfortunate and unceremonious circumstances.

Still, those circumstances have not dimmed Barnett's gratefulness to be entrusted with Michigan State's football program during these trying times.

“I’m looking forward to this, this great opportunity that I’m having and let’s go," he said. "It’s a great opportunity. I’ve had a desire to be a head coach since I became a college coach, and I’m very grateful for this opportunity.”

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