Serious question: Why hasn't Narduzzi and/or Dantonio been poached to a bigger program?
You have an MSU program playing some consistently elite defense, and doing so at a program not able to attract consistently elite prospects. They've been on a pretty impressive run the past 4 years - 11-2, 11-3, 7-6 (6 losses by a combined 30 points) and now sitting at 7-1 with the top ranked defense in the country.
Seems to me like Narduzzi should be a prime head coaching candidate at a major conference team, or a DC at a top 10-15 type team and Dantonio could probably be able to climb the ladder to a traditional top 25 type team where he could recruit better and further build his resume.
I for one hope this happens sooner rather than later. What say you?
October 30th, 2013 at 9:44 PM ^
If Michigan performs to their standards, MSU's coach is irrelevant.
October 30th, 2013 at 9:50 PM ^
so for the most of the last decade let's say Michigan hasn't performed to their standards. That doesn't change the success MSU has had the last 4 years. And even if we beat them every year, they would still have a good defense and some good teams over the years, so the point still stands.
October 30th, 2013 at 9:44 PM ^
Glenn Winston, Rather Hall, other
October 30th, 2013 at 9:47 PM ^
was under the impression that type of stuff was looked as good in the south?
October 30th, 2013 at 9:59 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 10:45 PM ^
it's almost personal. I agree that all the other stuff is common for football programs and we've had our fair share.
October 31st, 2013 at 12:12 AM ^
All of which go properly punished. The reason we can hold that crap over their head is because Dantonio never gives a shit.
October 31st, 2013 at 10:01 AM ^
Our coaching staff seems to do a great job nipping things in the bud or sitting people who are repeat offenders, but overall the system is broken.
October 30th, 2013 at 9:55 PM ^
Jesus Christ if we get one more worthless, marginally relevent MSU thread I'm going to lose it. SERENITY NOW
To answer your question, it's probably because not too many major programs are looking for a head coach who averages 4-5 losses per season in a terrible conference.
October 30th, 2013 at 10:01 PM ^
Narduzzi is done at MSU after this year. He will get USC or UCONN. He is a stud defensive coordinator and as much as it hurts me to say, there is a good chance they are going to pants us and take our lunch money
October 31st, 2013 at 6:06 AM ^
October 31st, 2013 at 9:23 AM ^
There's a second "relevant common opponent" -- Indiana. Sparty whooped the Hoosers 42-28. That would suggest, MSU's defense is significantly better than ours (28 v. 47). It also suggests, our offense is significant better than MSU's (63 v. 42). But their D v. our O, and vice versa....?
October 31st, 2013 at 9:51 AM ^
Clearly this is a fair comparison since IU played the exact same game against us and them. Recall that IU beat PSU by 20. The transitive property in football just is not a useful too.
October 31st, 2013 at 12:03 PM ^
I got the impression that was the point he was trying to make in his response to ijohnb.
October 31st, 2013 at 11:17 AM ^
Massey has MSU as the #5 defense in the country (Alabama, Florida, VaTech, Stanford). Michigan is #84, tucked right behind Kansas and Colorado and in front of USF.
On offense Michigan is #17 and MSU is #63
Of course his rankings are based on points only (adjusted for schedule and with blowouts minimized) so the offense's turnovers wind up counting against the defense, but then MSU's defensive TDs get counted in favor of their offense. Michigan's spread between offense and defense is probably less than Massey credits; State's is probably more.
October 31st, 2013 at 7:57 AM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 10:02 PM ^
they are averaging less than 4 losses. You are aware we play MSU this week right? How are the head coach and DC of our major instate rival the week of the game 'marginally relevant'?
October 30th, 2013 at 10:05 PM ^
Jesus Christ if we get one more worthless whiny comment about MSU posts that contains obviously misspelled words I'm going to lose it.
If you want to maintain your serenity, just don't read posts you have no interest in and stop presuming you speak for everybody else here.
October 30th, 2013 at 10:07 PM ^
October 31st, 2013 at 6:14 AM ^
October 31st, 2013 at 10:08 AM ^
October 31st, 2013 at 10:19 AM ^
You don't care about an at-large BCS bowl? Come on, that's still a really good accomplishment.
October 31st, 2013 at 12:12 PM ^
Why is everybody here, and basically everybody in this State, apologetic to Michigan State. "Oohh, pardon us, we are so terribly embarrased that we wrote Go Blue above your stadium, what little class we have." Screw that, "yeah, we wrote Go Blue over your dump truck of a stadium because it was marginally funny and will do it again if we feel like it." Look closer at what is going on right now in terms of the media coverage of this game. Michigan State's fans are collecively whining with staggering force because, gasp, Taylor Lewan said he was not going to pushed around. Guess what, HE IS NOT and that is why he is saying it. State wanted this to be a rivalry, now we are treating it like one and they are calling home to Mommy everytime Michigan is mentioned. I am convinced that half of the posts over the last 3 days by posters with generic avatars and 7 mgopoints are sparty trolls with gems similar to "Serious question: Is Dantonio actually God?" This is effectively back lash from the fact that in the last two years, we went to and won the Sugar Bowl, beat them, won 4 out of 6 in basketball including a beat down on their home floor, went to the National Championship title game and are now sailing by them in recruiting in both sports all while they are kissing their Capitol One Bowl rings from 2 years ago as their big reveal from their years of dominance. I don't want people over here to be RCMB about things but you would think that this is a Michigan State blog if you read it right now. Michigan is going to win this weekend. Let's discuss things from there.
October 31st, 2013 at 12:50 PM ^
PREACH. Great intensity with this comment. I like where your head's at.
October 30th, 2013 at 10:06 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 9:53 PM ^
The guy said serious answers guys...
Dantonio has never struck me as a prime coaching candidate. His teams have only been truly great one or two years, other than that he's relied on a great defense (at least partly attributed to Narduzzi) and mediocre overall teams. Coupled with the fact that he's getting pretty old, I don't think he's going anywhere.
Narduzzi is young and has the potential to be a HC, but I don't think he's going anywhere else until he gets a good offer. He reportedly really loves it in Lansing (imagine that), has family there, and iirc recently got a pretty big raise. I'm sure he's gotten lots of offers to be DC all over the country, but hasn't jumped on any. Until he gets a reasonably big HC offer I think he stays in Lansing. Thankfully for us, I think that happens after this year.
October 30th, 2013 at 10:09 PM ^
October 31st, 2013 at 9:57 AM ^
Dantonio may have found his level. He does not have to go lower and there is no point in going sideways.
We bust on MSU, and they are indeed not elite, but they are a solid program. There aren't even 20 programs that are far enough ahead of them to make a switch worthwhile.
As for those 20, I don't think any of them are going to take a serious look at Dantonio. Dantonio is a Kirk Firenz type. There is nothing that compelling for a Texas or a USC to think they can't do better.
Jury is still out on Narduzzi. I think he does indeed wind up as a head coach somewhere.
October 31st, 2013 at 3:17 PM ^
indicating that Narduzzi will consider moving to become a head coach if he gets the right offer. Apparently, he earns $512 k a year with a recent raise, and the school would like to keep him as a successor to Dantonio, but Narduzzi said he isn't waiting for that to happen to advance his career. Depending on how things go for Sparty this year, with a possible Rose Bowl run, he could have several head coaching options.
Apparently Narduzzi met Dantonio while both were on staff at Youngstown State under Tressel. Narduzzi got his start in coaching with Michigan former DC Scot Shafer, now head coach of Syracuse, at the University of Rhode Island. Later, on staff at Youngstown, Narduzzi's dad got canned, and he stayed. His dad had coached at Pittsburgh, Miami and couple other major schools. So, he has the coaching pedigree.
That background ought to explain why MSU plays the style it does and treats this rivalry with the same intensity as that other one at season's end.
Serious answer: Narduzzi likes working for Dantonio, but will leave with the right head coach offer, noting that he is now ready for the opportunity if it materializes. Saturday will go a long way in determining his future beyond this season elsewhere.
October 30th, 2013 at 9:53 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^
Here is where I strongly disagree. I think this defense is a Dantonio thing, and hiring Narduzzi would be like hiring a relative unknown. Dantonio has a very strong pedigree as a DC, and I would bet that we have a Saban-type situation where he is the real DC.
October 31st, 2013 at 11:20 AM ^
...but it doesn't mean Narduzzi hasn't learned the system well enough at this point to be able to go install it successfully somewhere else.
October 31st, 2013 at 12:42 PM ^
Yeah, but knowing a system and mastering a system are two different things. This isn't Xbox where we can just pick plays and it will work or it won't. There are many factors in making a defense execute across the board.
October 30th, 2013 at 9:53 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 10:21 PM ^
on coaches of questionable moral and/or dubious real quality? (See USC.)
October 30th, 2013 at 10:50 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 11:22 PM ^
At MSU had a record of 34-24. 0-3 in bowls. No Big 10 titles. He turned out okay.
Dantonio's record is 58-29. 2-4 in bowls. 1 Big title + 1 Legends division.
October 30th, 2013 at 11:27 PM ^
October 31st, 2013 at 9:07 AM ^
MSU in the Nick Saban era was still living in the dark ages. Dantonio and Hollis are the ones fueling MSU coming out of the tradition of only half-caring about football at MSU.
October 30th, 2013 at 9:54 PM ^
Because they recruit interna....
/Ducks, oh nevermind.
October 30th, 2013 at 9:55 PM ^
I'm not sure why you have been negged for this post. It's a good question and one that seems confusing to me too.
I guess I can somewhat understand Dantonio. He's a bit older (57) and has - to his credit - built a mini-empire for himself at MSU. Moreover, he's greatly outperformed expectations and has done a good job of creating some good job security for himself. I presume he views too many costs and not enough benefits with jumping ship to go anywhere else.
Narduzzi is a head scratcher though. I genuinely don't understand why every major team isn't knocking on his door to be their DC; and / or, I don't understand why second-tier teams aren't approaching him about head-coaching vacancies. He's done a pretty incredible job turning MSU's defense into an elite group, and he's done it without recruiting 4* and 5* players consistently.
The other side of Narduzzi, though, is I've heard (from posters on this board) that Dantonio is really the brains behind the defense, and Narduzzi is the pretty face. I don't know how accurate that is, but I heard it from a reliable source...on the Internet...so you know it's true.
October 30th, 2013 at 9:55 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^
In several interviews, Mark Dantonio has said that he is pretty certain he'll lose Narduzzi to a head coaching position somewhere eventually, but at the same time, he applauds his loyalty. I believe they even gave Narduzzi the title of assistant head coach due in part to the fact that he often manages the daily operations program when Dantonio was not around and did so even before formally accepting the title of assistance HC. That aside, I believe MSU has been shelling out to keep both of them - I would imagine that this is because they don't want to be in the market for replacements for a long while.
October 30th, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^
They're too busy laying in the weeds?
October 30th, 2013 at 10:13 PM ^
That's what I was going to post.
How are other ADs supposed to find them when they are laying in the weeds?
October 30th, 2013 at 9:58 PM ^
Dantonio is averaging 4.6 losses per season in one of the worst conferences in the country. That's why.
October 30th, 2013 at 10:06 PM ^
MSU has beaten us 4 out if the 6 years he has been there. He's a good coach. That isn't an accurate representation of his ability. He is a fantastic coach when it comes to building up defensive talent. You realize he fights with us, Ohio State and Notre Dame for recruits and he still has a top 5 defense in college football. Hate him, love him, despise him, but you gotta respect what he is doing with the talent he gets
October 30th, 2013 at 10:19 PM ^
October 30th, 2013 at 10:23 PM ^
thats how I see it too, but once again... you gotta respect what he has done in his time.