MSU DC Joe Rossi’s Energy Finally Has Company Entering 2026

Here's what the Spartans' defensive coordinator had to say on Tuesday.

Michigan State's defensive coordinator Joe Rossi runs to the locker room before the game against Penn State on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- If one didn't know any better, defensive coordinator Joe Rossi almost seemed to be portrayed as Michigan State's head coach at the end of last season.

Rossi moved down from his spot in the press box to the sideline, helping inject life into the Spartans' bench. It was commonplace to see Rossi getting pumped up and showing some much-needed emotion. He was better television than previous head coach Jonathan Smith, so networks started showing Rossi more often, especially when MSU was on defense.

Michigan State's defensive coordinator Joe Rossi gives instructions while working with linebackers during camp on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, at the indoor practice facility in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

"I'll be on the sideline," Rossi said Tuesday when asked about his plans for 2026. "It was more fun, and I think it's good to look the guys in the eyes. Back in the day, when you didn't have the iPad [to watch film]... yeah, we'll be down [on the sideline]."

Rossi won't have to be the only guy providing juice this coming season, though. One of the common sayings coming out of the Skandalaris Football Center this spring, among those back from last season, is that the energy is just different this year under Pat Fitzgerald.

'Get-Back Coaches'

Michigan State's defensive coordinator Joe Rossi watches during warmups before the football game against Western Michigan on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Energy is great, but coaches also have to be careful not to run into a referee on the white lines and draw a penalty. For coaches who might wander out a little bit more, teams often employ a "get-back coach," whose main job is to make sure there are no collisions.

"You tell me," Rossi joked when asked if the group will need one. "Yeah, I think we'll need a get-back coach. We always need a get-back coach, but I think with that group, we'll especially need it. Coach [James] Adams as well, Coach DeBo [Winston DeLattiboudere III]. We've got a juice group now, and that's by design."

Early Impressions of Fitz

Michigan State's head coach Pat Fitzgerald instructs players during spring football practice on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One thing Rossi is finally getting to enjoy is working with a defensive-minded head coach. Fitzgerald, a former linebacker, is the first head coach Rossi has worked for whose main area of expertise is on the same side of the football.

"He brings an intensity and an energy, but he does a really good job of being balanced in terms of he's bringing energy to the offense, he's bringing energy to the defense," Rossi said of Fitzgerald. "He's a head coach, you know?

"Yeah, his background was on defense. Yeah, he's always gonna err on physicality and toughness, and we love all that. But I think he does a really good job of splitting his time between both the offense and the defense. So what I think happens is he kind of brings that mentality to both sides of the ball, I think, which is kind of a cool thing."

Video of Rossi