Is There a Quick Fix for MSU Football?

The Michigan State Spartans need a quick turnaround on the football field. Is that possible?

Michigan State Director of Athletics J Batt watches a play against Western Michigan form the sideline during the second half at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Friday, August 29, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Michigan State football team has been in dire straits for a while, and the Spartans appear to be stuck in a rough spot. 

When MSU hired Jonathan Smith away from Oregon State two years ago, Spartan fans thought he would provide a steady hand that would clean up the team’s fundamentals and establish a floor of success for the program. 

However, none of that has happened through Smith’s first two seasons in East Lansing. In fact, the team has regressed on both sides of the ball in 2025. 

The season concludes on Saturday night at Ford Field against Maryland. Coincidentally enough, the Spartans were playing a game in the home of the Detroit Lions when rumors started to swirl that Smith would be MSU’s next coach. 

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith leaves the field after the game against Penn State after the game on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Fans were excited about what he would bring to the Spartans after the tumultuous 2023 season that saw Mel Tucker fired after sexual assault allegations. The team needed someone to come in and restore order. 

MSU football coach Mel Tucker pictured Tuesday, March 14, 2023, during the first day of spring practice at the indoor football facilty in East Lansing. | Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

That hasn’t really happened the way fans or the university have wanted, and many in Spartan Nation want to see MSU fire Smith and find a new coach with more competitive fire who can turn the program around quickly. 

Which begs the question: Is that coach out there? Would they come to Michigan State if offered?

Athletic Director J Batt has a difficult decision to make about Smith once the Maryland game clock hits zero. Will he fire the former Oregon State coach and look for his own guy, or will he tie himself to Smith and commit to him as he tries to rebuild the Spartan program?

Michigan State's Athletic Director J Batt, center, talks with former football coach Mark Dantonio 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

The Spartans are under probation for the next three seasons due to recruiting violations from the Tucker era, which may make MSU a much less attractive job. If a new coach comes in, they will require time to fix things. 

If that’s the case, why would MSU fire Smith? He spent several years rebuilding his alma mater from 2018 to 2023, turning the Beavers into a competitive Pac-12 team before the conference went under. 

Nov 18, 2023; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Beavers head coach Jonathan Smith looks up at the video board during the second half against the Washington Huskies at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images | Soobum Im-Imagn Images

So far, things have not looked good under Smith in East Lansing, and in the NIL and transfer portal era, fans demand immediate success. Smith is trying to prove that there is still a place for program building in college football. 

Smith’s future at Michigan State is unknown, but either outcome would not be surprising.

However, the answer to whether or not there is a quick fix for MSU football is likely no.

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