MSU's Pat Fitzgerald Getting Massive Budget for Assistant Coaches, Staff
In this story:
More details on the type of resources new head football coach Pat Fitzgerald will get at Michigan State have been revealed.
Fitzgerald officially signed his full contract on Friday after MSU's Board of Trustees formally approved his hiring earlier that day, and that contract stipulates that he will have an annual budget of $12.12 million to put his staff together. That includes assistant coaches, analysts, recruiting operations, strength and conditioning staff, and even creative media. An assistant coaching pool that large is potentially the largest in college football history.
That is a $1.37 million increase from the budget that Jonathan Smith received: $10.75 million. Michigan State may have been willing to up Fitzgerald's assistant pool, since his annual salary is lower than Smith's.
Fitzgerald is guaranteed to make $5 million for the 2026 season, though his contract has tons of incentives, whereas Smith's salary for '26 would've been $7.45 million. Smith's total buyout is still going to cost MSU $6.5 million per year until after 2030.
More Details
Another part of Fitzgerald's contract is that it makes it pretty clear that the ultimate decision to hire assistant coaches lies with Michigan State athletic director J Batt. Smith's contract had some similar language in that final approval went to the AD (Batt or formerly Alan Haller), but the wording in Fitzgerald's is more explicit about it.
Fitzgerald is still going to have the freedom to pick his staff, but his choices "are subject to and contingent upon a review of the applicant's background and experience, including a previous employer reference check, criminal background check, and any history of NCAA violations."
Four different staff positions are known to be filled. Fitzgerald hired former Notre Dame linebackers coach Max Bullough, a former MSU linebacker himself, to coach the position and be a co-defensive coordinator alongside Joe Rossi, who was retained. Bullough is also reportedly bringing Notre Dame graduate assistant Tre Reader with him to be the assistant linebackers coach. Michigan State is also retaining safeties coach James Adams from the 2025 staff.
Some of Fitzgerald's next steps will be in filling out the rest of his staff, with the most important decision to make before the transfer portal opens on Jan. 2 being the hiring of an offensive coordinator. Choices of position coaches are also crucial, since a lot of players have closer relationships with those coaches than the head coach, as they often do a lot of the recruiting and day-to-day coaching.
Keep up with all our content when you follow the official Spartan Nation page on Facebook, Spartan Nation, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be sure to share your thoughts on MSU's big budget for Pat Fitzgerald when you join our community group, Go Green Go White, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE. Don't forget to give us a follow on X @MSUSpartansOnSI as well.
Never again miss one major story related to your beloved Spartans when you sign up for our 100% FREE newsletter that comes straight to your email with the latest news. SIGN UP HERE NOW
A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
Follow jacobcotsonika