Former MSU OC Lindgren Finds Job with ACC Program
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One of Michigan State's several departing assistant coaches has found a new job.
Former MSU offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren is now the new quarterbacks coach at Stanford. The Cardinal announced the move on Thursday. Lindgren will work underneath new Stanford head coach Tavita Pritchard and offensive coordinator Terry Heffernan.
Welcome to The Farm 🌲@Coach_Lindgren has been named the Kevin M. Hogan Quarterbacks Coach.
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) January 8, 2026
📰 https://t.co/Gw1upyGx5o#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/LCH8FOryM1
Lindgren served as the OC for the Spartans for both years of the Jonathan Smith era in East Lansing, also serving as Smith's offensive coordinator at Oregon State for six seasons. Across those two seasons, the Spartans' offense averaged just 19.3 points per game in 2024 (123rd in FBS) and 24.6 points in 2025 (87th in FBS).
Smith has yet to accept a new job since Michigan State fired him on Nov. 30, which does affect the amount of buyout money the school has to pay him. There's a clause in Smith's contract that essentially states that his salary at his next job is to be subtracted from whatever MSU owes. Smith's total buyout is $32.5 million.
More on Lindgren, Job at Stanford
Something interesting is that Lindgren is going to coach one player he was just rivals with. Former Michigan quarterback Davis Warren, who beat MSU as a starter back in 2024, committed to Stanford in the transfer portal on Wednesday.
What is also interesting is that Stanford's top quarterback this past season was Ben Gulbranson, who Lindgren also coached at Oregon State for four years before following Smith to Michigan State. Gulbranson transferred to the Cardinal for his final collegiate season last year.
For Lindgren, the move makes a lot of sense. Even though Lindgren has been a coordinator since 2009, it might be best for him to show his chops as a quarterbacks coach after his unsuccessful stint at Michigan State. His last non-OC job was when he was the pass game coordinator and running backs coach at Northern Arizona in 2008. He's then held OC jobs or co-OC positions at NAU, San Jose State, Colorado, Oregon State, and Michigan State ever since.
As the trend of previous stops also shows, this is a return to the West Coast for Lindgren. He had never really ventured this far east for a job before. He is from Washington, played football at Idaho, and has been coaching at various schools to the west of the Rocky Mountains throughout his career. Just like Smith, MSU had been the real outlier, at least geography-wise, during his time as a coach.
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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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