New Michigan State CO-DC Mike Tressel Talks About His New Job!

Q. What was your reaction that you and Harlon [Barnett] would be co defensive coordinators?

MIKE TRESSEL: First, excitement. I'm excited to be able to remain part of this family, excited to be able remain on Coach Dantonio's staff because he's the best in America to work for and excited to continue to be a part of this great defense and a great group of kids we have playing so hard for us.

Q. Mike, is this something that you guys had ever discussed even informally in the past, this possibility?

MIKE TRESSEL: I don't think that we specifically discussed it, but we do know as assistants on the staff with Dantonio, if we do a great job, he's going to be loyal to us. And if we continue to be loyal to this program, the opportunities will come.

Q. What happened offensively with the co coordinators working, did that set the table for this possibility?

MIKE TRESSEL: I'm absolutely sure it did. I'm sure as head coach if you look at one side of the ball and see a model that's working out, think maybe there's a better chance it will work out on both sides of the ball. So that only helped us, I'm assuming.

Q. Do you know yet who is calling plays, who's going to be where, who's coaching special teams?

MIKE TRESSEL: Right now we're trying to focus on Baylor and this bowl game, and Coach Narduzzi is the coordinator. I do know Harlon and myself work well together. I know Coach Dantonio feels comfortable with us being together 11 years, so we'll sit down and have a conversation.

Q. You on the field, him in the box, though, right, the whole time?

MIKE TRESSEL: I really don't have any idea. I don't know why we would change. But you got to look at who ends up as the new member of the staff and makes decisions based on that.

Q. One of the things Coach Narduzzi talked about is explaining working with you guys why he's thinking of certain things so that when your day came, then you would understand exactly why he was thinking certain things. Can you talk about that sort of process of learning to be a defensive coordinator before you are a defensive coordinator?

MIKE TRESSEL: Well, Pat is very detailed. You talk about a game plan and it is cut and dry. We're going to work every facet, and this is how we look at things. And these are the details we're going to go through regardless of whether we've played this team seven times before.

So we have a pretty good feel in terms of attention to detail and the process we're going to go through, and there's no doubt we talked about the reason for every decision that we make. So we understand the reasons behind these decisions.

Q. He's obviously a big part of the soul of the defense and the emotion. How do you find a way to replace that, and do you worry about that?

MIKE TRESSEL: There's no way he's a bigger part of the soul of the defense because he's the defensive coordinator. I can tell you this: Harlon and I will both bring a lot of energy and passion, and that's what Pat always did. Bring a lot of energy and passion, and I think the guys will respond because they have pride in being part of the defense.

Q. How did you find out about the promotion and how did you share that news with your family? What was the excitement and the emotion like?

MIKE TRESSEL: We're happy and there's been a whole slew of texts saying congratulations. And probably the texts that make me feel best are all the ones that say "well deserved," "you deserve this opportunity" and that makes you want to go and work that much harder.

How did I find out? To be honest, Coach Dantonio you're hopeful for opportunities when these situations occur. But it just sort of fell in place not long before it was announced. And, again, informal discussions and hopeful. But in terms of being finalized, just recently. I shot a text to my family, and next thing I know it's all over the Internet.

Q. Are there bittersweet feelings at all? He's moving to a bigger job. You guys get promoted. But 11 years together. Are you going to kind of lose that closeness?

MIKE TRESSEL: Well, I hope we don't lose our closeness. You have kids that grow up with you and then they go off to college, but you don't lose the closeness with your kids.

We've been together 11 years so Pat is part of my family and we'll stay close but certainly not 100 hours a week in the same meeting room. Obviously that's not the case, but I'm sure we'll stay close.

Q. How much does Dantonio play a factor for you guys in making this transition? It's absolutely his defense, first and foremost. How much does having him around help you guys make that transition into co coordinators?

MIKE TRESSEL: Dantonio is the defensive mind, no doubt about it. We do have a lot of background in both Pat Narduzzi and Coach Mark Dantonio. And Coach D has been in our meeting room a lot over 11 years. So I think he's excited to get his hands on defense a little bit more. I'm sure he will. But he always has and we've got good defensive minds still sitting in the room.

Q. With this last game as a group together, where would you rank this as among the top challenges you guys have faced together, this Baylor offense?

MIKE TRESSEL: It's at the top. No doubt about it. They're number one in the nation in scoring and yards, and they've moved so darn quickly. They do what they do. That's the one thing. If you were aiming to press pause before every play, you know exactly what you have to defend and what you have to do.

But people aren't able to think that quickly. And the mental toughness, I think, is a bigger challenge to this game than it has been before this season, or in my memory.

Q. Pat came out and told us today, you want to take away the short stuff you're going to make them throw deep. They want to throw deep. It's like you're both getting what you want out of the matchup. Seems like there's not many secrets going on in this game?

MIKE TRESSEL: That's what people say about your defense. We've obviously been successful. When you play Michigan State, you know what you're going to get. You're going to get pressed corners. You know how they're going to align.

They probably feel the same way. Hey, if we were to press pause on the film, we know what we're going to get. Well, I guess we'll see who executes better.

Q. You have great corners. Is there a chance you might lose another first rounder this year? Is that something you worry about next year when it comes to your defense?

MIKE TRESSEL: You need to have the next man up. That's the thing about college football. There's always somebody moving, and the next guy has to step into place. And we feel like we recruit the type of guys in our program, and some will have to step up. Greg Jones leaves, somebody needs to step up. Max Bullough leaves, somebody needs to step up. You say that about corner or defensive ends or whatever.

Q. What was the first conversation when you found out you'd both gotten the announcement?

MIKE TRESSEL: We're both good friends. We're both happy for each other. Right now it's business as usual. We're focused on Pat as defensive coordinator this week, and we're trying to find a way to slow down Baylor's offense.

So I don't think it's really hit us yet because right now it's business as usual.

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