Rivalry Momentum Headed MSU's Direction with Messy UM Coaching Search
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It's unusual to say in the wake of a 4-8 season and fourth straight loss in the rivalry, but Michigan State's fanbase appears to be the happiest major fanbase in the state right now.
Michigan can safely be described as a mess right now. The Wolverines recently fired their head coach, Sherrone Moore, after it came out that he had an inappropriate relationship with a staffer. The story was compounded by Moore's subsequent arrest for allegedly breaking into the staffer's apartment and threatening to commit suicide.
UM's search to replace Moore hasn't gone well. Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham were the hot names for the vacancy, but they don't appear to be options now after the Crimson Tide beat Oklahoma in the CFP, and with Dillingham signing an extension with ASU. Everyone seems to be guessing what Michigan will do next.
Former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham? Promoting interim head coach Biff Poggi, who went 6-16 at Charlotte? Washington head coach Jedd Fisch?
Without a permanent president and an athletic director, Warde Manuel, who has an uncertain future after allowing numerous scandals to unfold under his watch, Michigan may not be as attractive a job as it used to be.
Momentum on MSU's Side
MSU's coaching search was not really even a search. It came out that Pat Fitzgerald was the guy for the Spartans moving forward less than two hours after it had come out that Jonathan Smith was being fired. That certainly indicates that athletic director J Batt had the succession plan mapped out and was talking with Fitzgerald, and maybe some other candidates, before the football team's season had ended.
There was no drama in the search. It was a clean break from Smith, and Batt left people no time to speculate on which direction Michigan State would go, and he projected decisive leadership.
The week that followed gathered even more momentum. MSU announced "For Sparta," a financial campaign with a $1 billion goal that will lead to renovations of Spartan Stadium, the Breslin Center, and other parts of the athletic campus. The school had claimed that it had raised $250 million already.
That would have been big on its own, but then Michigan State also announced the $401 million gift from Greg and Dawn Williams. Of that money, $290 million went to "For Sparta," and $11 million went to academic programs within the school. The other $100 million was actually used to buy a minority ownership stake in "Spartan Ventures," a for-profit company directly affiliated with MSU, according to Nolan Finley of the Detroit News.
Fitzgerald's assistant coaching hires have been encouraging, too. Michigan State gave him a budget of $12.12 million annual budget to build his staff underneath him, which is among the largest pools in the country.
MSU will have Nick Sheridan as offensive coordinator, Joe Rossi as defensive coordinator, and LeVar Woods as special teams coordinator. Sheridan has a good history of identifying quarterbacks, Rossi is the biggest retention from the last staff, and Woods is perhaps the best STC in the country with his level of success at Iowa.
The positional hires have been good, too. Fitzgerald and Rossi brought back program legend Max Bullough to be the co-DC and linebackers coach, pulled Winston DeLattiboudere III away from the Arizona Cardinals to be defensive line coach, and are retaining James Adams as safeties coach.
Fitzgerald's lack of a staff to bring over was a concern when Michigan State first hired him. Smith brought tons of staff members over from Oregon State. But the bare cupboard of a coaching staff may have ended up being an advantage for Fitzgerald, because now he's been able to handpick people from around the country, from Alabama, from Iowa, from Notre Dame, and from the Arizona Cardinals.
Recruiting
Additionally, the coaching change is giving Fitzgerald a head start on the recruiting trail. He's already been extending offers and making connections around the state, and his assistants will assuredly be doing the same soon. Unless UM ends up hiring Poggi, the Wolverines are probably going to have an all-new coaching staff that probably will not have the connections around the Midwest that MSU's does.
The focus on the Midwest is a clear focus for Fitzgerald. He's from the area and has coached in it, but so have Rossi, Sheridan, Woods, DeLattiboudere, and Bullough. Recruiting Michigan and its surrounding states well is what good Michigan State teams did in the past, and all the confusion in Ann Arbor marks a great opportunity to take some control back inside the state's high schools.
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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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