Michigan State, Pat Fitzgerald Make Another Key Move with GM Hire

EAST LANSING, Mich. — General managers are a newer thing in college football, but they are now one of the most hires a head coach can make.

Michigan State’s Pat Fitzgerald has appeared to have found the Spartans’ new GM. The role will reportedly go to former Toledo director of player personnel and general manager Bryan Gasser, a source inside the athletic administration has confirmed to Spartan Nation. He was reportedly set to follow former Rockets head coach Jason Candle to UConn, but will be headed to East Lansing instead.

Gasser’s Resume

Fitzgerald and Gasser do have a connection, as Gasser was an offensive analyst on the Northwestern staff in 2022. He then joined the Toledo staff in April 2023 as the general manager, according to his LinkedIn page.

Gasser has helped oversee the construction of one of the top teams in the MAC. The Rockets finished with the conference’s best recruiting class in 2024 and 2025, according to 247Sports. The same site also says that Toledo had the most talented roster in the MAC as well.

Across Gasser’s three seasons at Toledo, the Rockets compiled a record of 27-12. They went 18-6 during MAC conference play and also had wins over power conference foes Mississippi State and Pitt during the 2024 season.

Gasser also has a litany of on-field coaching experience, which certainly helps in his role in identifying talent. He has also been the offensive coordinator at Akron, the wide receivers coach at Iowa State, and also had an earlier stint at Toledo coaching WRs and tight ends.

Themes of Fitzgerald’s Hirings

Michigan State Spartans head coach Pat Fitzgerald addresses fans during a men's basketball game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at the Breslin Center. Fitzgerald had been formally introduced earlier that day. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

The big theme from Fitzgerald’s hirings is that all of them have experience coaching either around the Big Ten, or at least the Midwest. This one is another one that holds up.

Max Bullough played at Michigan State and was coaching linebackers at Notre Dame. Winston DeLattiboudere played defensive lineman at Minnesota and then coached that unit for the Golden Gophers. Joel Welsh has had strength and conditioning jobs at both Iowa and Central Michigan. LeVar Woods has played and coached at Iowa for decades. Now, Fitzgerald is adding Gasser, who has been around the Midwest for nearly his entire career and has been on a Fitzgerald staff before.

A big reason why people have been drawn to Fitzgerald is his innate knowledge of the area and the Big Ten. That was a reason Jonathan Smith was never a fit in East Lansing. The message certainly appears to have been received by Fitzgerald, because he’s surrounding himself with other people who fit to that.

Greg Williams, left, shakes hands with Michigan State's new football coach Pat Fitzgerald during the coach's introductory press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at the Tom Izzo Football Building in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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