Why Fitzgerald has Shown Adaptability in Early Days at MSU
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There was not really a consensus opinion of Michigan State's hiring of Pat Fitzgerald right after it happened. A coach's public approval rating means zilch before a down is played, but there were some valid concerns.
Plenty of the concerns stemmed from the fact that Fitzgerald had been out of the game for three seasons. That may as well be eons ago, with how much the sport evolved from the 2023 season to the 2025 season. NIL has evolved, there is revenue-sharing now, four West Coast teams play in the Big Ten now, and the College Football Playoff is now 12 teams.
Additionally --- and this is still a valid concern --- Northwestern went 3-9 and 1-11 during Fitzgerald's last two seasons there. Yes, operating with the Wildcats' resources is sort of like having one's hand tied behind their back, but Fitzgerald's replacement, David Braun, has picked up two bowl victories in three seasons on the job.
So far, Fitzgerald has done a nice job of addressing some of those initial doubts. It remains to be seen if Fitzgerald can be the one to build Michigan State football back up, but the early results have some promise.
Building a Staff
One of the first concerns about Fitzgerald would be whether he can build a good enough staff. Since he had been out of a job, there was no giant staff that Fitzgerald could move from one place to the other. Jonathan Smith's staff was put in really quickly, since Smith had been an active head coach. He just brought over a ton of his guys from Oregon State.
Given how poorly the Smith era went, maybe it's for the best that Fitzgerald had to start from scratch. He also has not been hiring a bunch of his old buddies from the Northwestern days, either. Only one major, on-field role has gone to somebody who worked for him in Evanston: quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian, who was the OC at NU at the end of Fitzgerald's tenure.
The other plus is that every coaching hire has been somebody with real Midwestern roots. That's where some real disconnect began with Smith --- he and much of his staff were West Coast guys with limited Big Ten experience.
That's not going to be an issue with Fitzgerald. Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan played QB at Michigan and was the OC at Indiana. Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi has been a Big Ten DC for years now. Just go down the list of hires, and all of them have regional experience, whether it be as a player or a coach.
Portal Usage
Wondering how Fitzgerald would utilize the portal was another concern. The portal was more or less in its infancy when Fitzgerald got fired by Northwestern. It had become important, but it's only gotten more important by the year. Really, it's at least matched the importance of high school recruiting now.
Fitzgerald hasn't taken this portal cycle slowly. There has not been a slow trickle of commits at first, and then a late, desperate surge. That's probably what one would expect from a coach and staff that don't really know what they are doing.
Michigan State got its first commitment on the third day of the portal being open, and the number has risen and risen since. The Spartans are above 20 commitments just past the midway point of the portal window, which lasts from Jan. 2-16.
Now, I don't have too much insight into the full NIL situation, but it seems like Fitzgerald is managing the Spartans' purse well, too. He didn't seem very willing to overpay to retain talent, which is an easy mistake to make. Fitzgerald is also getting many promising Group of Five/FCS prospects with a real history of production. Those are often players whose asking price is not going to break the bank too much. They're often better, more excited to play, and perhaps cheaper than backups or leftovers from other Power Four programs.
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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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