What Nick Sheridan OC Hire Means for Michigan State Football
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Michigan State and Pat Fitzgerald have found their offensive coordinator.
A source has confirmed to Spartan Nation that MSU is planning to hire Nick Sheridan to the role, who is currently the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama. Sheridan, of course, will still be a bit busy with the ninth-seeded Crimson Tide's CFP run, as they beat No. 8 seed Oklahoma 34-24 on Friday. Alabama faces No. 1 Indiana during the Rose Bowl and CFP Quarterfinal on New Year's Day.
Sheridan will look to reverse the course that MSU's offense has taken in recent years. Since Kenneth Walker III left, Michigan State has ranked 96th in total offense in 2022, 125th in '23, 110th in '24, and 97th in '25. He will replace Brian Lindgren, who will depart the program with Jonathan Smith's firing.
Let's go through Sheridan's resume and discuss why he could be the one who gets the Spartans' offense going again.
Quarterback Development
One big thing that stands out about Sheridan is the success that his quarterbacks have had. Current Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson has been able to develop with Sheridan this year and last, and has immediately been fantastic during his first year as a starter. Simpson's 3,500 passing yards are the most in the SEC, as are his 28 passing touchdowns.
Sheridan also worked a lot with the QBs during his time at Indiana from 2017-21. He worked a lot with future Heisman finalist and NFL first-rounder Michael Penix Jr., though Penix dealt with a lot of injuries in Bloomington and didn't explode until he reached Washington. Sheridan was the tight ends coach on the UW staff in 2022 and 2023.
Additionally, Sheridan was a graduate assistant at Tennessee from 2014-16 after having been the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at both Western Kentucky and South Florida. There in Knoxville, Sheridan worked with future NFLer Joshua Dobbs.
If Sheridan continues to develop quarterbacks, that would be massive for MSU. Alessio Milivojevic appears to be in line to be the QB1 next year, especially with Aidan Chiles planning to enter the transfer portal. Milivojevic has three years of eligibility remaining.
Part of Michigan State's issues has been the lack of quarterback development. The Spartans have had the talent there lately --- Chiles, Sam Leavitt, Katin Houser, and back to Payton Thorne --- but the previous two coaching staffs have not done enough to make those guys better.
Leavitt and Houser are also both in the portal right now after successful stints at Arizona State and East Carolina, respectively, and are looking to move up a level.
Recruiting
Sheridan also has a nice history on the recruiting trail. He had a big individual victory this past recruiting cycle, as he is listed as the primary recruiter of quarterback Keelon Russell, the No. 2 overall recruit in the class of 2025 on the 247Sports Composite. Russell had previously been committed to SMU before flipping to 'Bama.
Additionally, Sheridan is listed as Penix's primary recruiter to Indiana --- a pretty solid talent ID, as Penix was a three-star recruit.
He also helped recruit quarterback Mike White to South Florida, who became a fifth-round NFL draft pick after eventually transferring to Western Kentucky and has been a career backup in the pros. White was outside the top 1,000 recruits in the class of 2013.
Clearly, Sheridan has an eye for potential quality quarterbacks. He's had one bigger miss --- former four-star Donaven McCulley --- during his time at Indiana, but McCulley eventually became a solid wide receiver at IU and Michigan, so the vision was definitely there.
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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.
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