MSU Football Makes Interesting Hire to Coaching Staff

The Spartans are adding a coach with some real Power Four experience.

January 1,2010; Tampa, FL, USA; Auburn Tigers defensive end Antonio Coleman (52) rushes past Northwestern Wildcats offensive lineman Al Netter (75) during the second half of the 2010 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Auburn won 38-35. | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Michigan State is bringing in another interesting name to its offensive line room.

According to multiple reports, and from an update in his Twitter/X bio, the Spartans are hiring Al Netter to be the team's senior offensive analyst and assistant offensive line coach. Netter played for Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern from 2007-11, started at left tackle for four seasons, and was most recently the head offensive line coach at Stanford.

Sept 18, 2010; Houston, TX, USA; Northwestern Wildcats offensive lineman Al Netter (75) blocks against the Rice Owls in the first quarter at Rice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

This reunites one of Fitzgerald's old friends from his time at NU, but there is certainly no nepotism hire. Netter was the co-offensive line coach at Stanford during the 2023 and 2024 seasons before taking over by himself this fall. Before that, Netter spent five seasons at Yale, where he served at different points as the team's offensive line coach, run game coordinator, co-offensive coordinator, and associate head coach.

Hiring somebody with this much experience to an analyst and assistant position coaching role is pretty impressive. A lot of these roles tend to go to younger coaches with much shorter resumes. This gives MSU another experienced, knowledgable mind who will report to head offensive line coach Nick Tabacca.

More on Netter, Impact for MSU

Michigan State's Pat Fitzgerald speaks during a press conference on National Signing Day at Spartan Stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. | Jacob Cotsonika, Michigan State Spartans on SI

The addition of Netter seems likely to cause some other shuffling on the Spartans' staff. Netter has not been added to the team's official coaching staff yet, but Michigan State still lists Jacob Lail as the team's assistant offensive line coach, as of Saturday afternoon.

It seems that MSU has already moved Lail, though. His Twitter/X bio now says that he's the team's assistant tight ends coach. But that position is still officially filled by Cordale Grundy, whose bio online just says that he's a "Michigan State Football Coach."

Netter and Tabacca will have their fair share of interesting offensive linemen to coach up this season. The Spartans are going to have four new starters on the o-line in 2026, with only right tackle Conner Moore returning.

As things currently stand, UConn transfer Ben Murawski should start at Netter's old position, left tackle, South Carolina transfer Nick Sharpe is the favorite at left guard, North Dakota State transfer Trent Fraley is the favorite at center, and Luka Vincic, who missed most of last year with an injury, is likely the favorite at right guard. MSU also picked up promising offensive tackle Robert Wright Jr., who previously was at Georgia Southern. These players will have an experience-rich coaching staff around them.

Sep 7, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of Michigan State Spartans helmet on the field before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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