$52.8 million college football head coach fired after back-to-back losing seasons

Michigan State fired head coach Jonathan Smith after only two seasons with the Spartans. On3's Pete Nakos was the first to report the news.

In his two seasons in East Lansing, Smith was 9-15 overall and 4-14 in the Big Ten before vacated wins. Due to an NCAA settlement over recruiting violations under previous head coach Mel Tucker, Michigan State was forced to vacate five wins from Smith's first season.

The program regressed under Smith this season, finishing 4-8 (1-8 Big Ten), including a streak of eight consecutive losses until the final weekend of the regular season. The Spartans started the year 3-0 and picked up their fourth win, defeating Maryland 38-28 on Saturday.

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Smith was hired after a successful rebuild at Oregon State, where he took the Beavers from a two-win program in 2018 to 10 wins only a few seasons later. He was 34-35 overall over his six seasons in Corvallis, but led Oregon State to three consecutive bowl appearances in his final three years.

Most notably, Smith led Oregon State to a 10-3 record in 2022, finishing 17th in the final AP Top 25 poll. The Beavers defeated Florida, 30-3, in the Las Vegas Bowl, capping a breakout season for the program.

Smith's move to Michigan State was a bit controversial, given that Oregon State was his alma mater. He played quarterback from 1998-01, leading the program to one of the best finishes in program history as a junior. The Beavers finished 11-1, a school record for single-season wins.

Smith started his coaching career at Oregon State as a. graduate assistant in 2002. He spent six seasons in Idaho as the quarterbacks coach before accepting the offensive coordinator role at Montana in 2010.

He made the jump to the FBS level in 2012, joining the Boise State staff as the quarterbacks coach. After his brief stint there, he served as Washington's offensive coordinator for three seasons before becoming the head coach at his alma mater.

BREAKING: Michigan State is firing head coach Jonathan Smith, @PeteNakos reports❌https://t.co/T3F1ar3vS9 pic.twitter.com/K4rPtFZJ1L
— On3 (@On3sports) November 30, 2025

When asked about his future with the program on Saturday night, Smith appeared to know his time at Michigan State may be coming to an end.

"We continue to conversate through the week," Smith said. "I'm sure we'll be talking again in the coming days.

"I think the record is factual in regards to you won or you lost the game," he continued. "... Could we have won those games? Yeah. Okay, but I think the record is what the record is."

According to a report from Matt Zenitz, former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald is a person of interest to replace Smith at Michigan State.