What Michigan State Must Do to Ensure Joe Rossi's Success
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Pat Fitzgerald is working tirelessly to build his staff as he takes over as Michigan State’s head football coach.
Fitzgerald has moved quickly to compile his coaching staff, and one of his first moves was to retain Joe Rossi as the team’s defensive coordinator.
Rossi served as the Spartans’ DC under Jonathan Smith for the past two seasons, and while MSU’s defensive numbers were not spectacular in those two years, it was evident that the Spartans played with a certain level of intensity with Rossi leading the way.
Fitzgerald is well familiar with Rossi from his days as Northwestern’s head coach and Rossi’s days as Minnesota’s DC, so it makes sense that Fitzgerald would approve of the job Rossi has done during his time leading the Spartans.
MSU just received a major financial donation from Acrisure’s Gregg and Dawn Williams, so the Spartans will have money to work with as they try to compete with the best programs in college football.
How can Fitzgerald and the Spartans ensure Rossi succeeds as MSU’s defensive playcaller?
It starts with giving him better talent for his scheme.
How MSU can help Joe Rossi
MSU can use its NIL funds to improve the talent on the roster, something the team was not capable of last season or in prior seasons. Now that Athletic Director J Batt has raised more money for the football team, Rossi and the staff can find more players to fit the scheme.
Rossi did a good job developing talent into NFL players during his time with the Golden Gophers, and he hopes to put more players in the league while he is in East Lansing.
Now that he has returned to MSU for another year under Fitzgerald, Rossi hopes to develop more professional talent, as it would help the Spartans in the present day as well.
Retaining the Spartans’ best defensive players will also be key to MSU’s success. Fitzgerald and the Spartans should also focus on bringing back players like linebacker Jordan Hall and cornerback Aydan West, two players who can be building blocks for an MSU turnaround.
There is also plenty of young talent that Rossi should aim to retain, including defensive tackle Derrick Simmons and many more. Rossi’s scheme was fine last season; he just simply did not have the players to execute it at its highest level.
Fitzgerald knows what MSU’s defense can be under Rossi, which is why he retained him. It is up to Fitzgerald and the Spartans to provide him with the resources he needs to succeed.
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