What I'm Hearing: Re: MSU job
First, with all of my posts where I give what I’m hearing, I want to say that I don’t have any direct info from the MSU side. But this is what I’ve heard from several people in the industry.
I want to touch on Dantonio himself. The problem with coaches who coach at one place for a long time and have great success is that they’re often deified by fans and even the administration. He was a great coach but was a prickly man. He’s a super Catholic guy so he often used that as a mask, but from everyone that’s come out of the program that I’ve talked to described him as intense, cold, and distant unless you were in his inner-circle. He was a great motivator and a great coach, but towards the end let a lot of things slide in order to keep the good times rolling. He ran his program like his bestie, Tressel, all he cared about was the results no matter the cost.
Almost every coach has some type of skeletons in their closet, and if you’ve heard some of the stories of how crappy most of these coaches treated their staff you’d be horrified. Because at the end of the day this is a results business. The only two coaches I’ve heard unanimous praise from on how well they treat all their staff is Chris Peterson and Dabo. The coaching profession is filled with broken families, multiple divorces, substance abuse, and anger issues and that’s why I get jaded sometimes when people treat these coaches as gods. They are flawed like everyone else and the amount of money in this profession has caused skewed perceptions and expectations. I’m happy to answer questions about this below, but I’ll move on.
Dantonio surprised the hell out of the higher-ups. He told them that he wanted to coach at least one more year and was angling for Tressel to be named head coach in waiting officially or unofficially. He absolutely timed this to get one of his best friends’ nephew the gig. I think that the cloud from everything pushed him over the edge and he just decided to take his money and run.
This search is going to be a wild one. Beekman has little to no power. He was a figurehead appointed by Engler and backed by Dantonio and Izzo so they could operate with impunity. I think the BOT and/or the new President will have a lot of power in this choice. Glenn Sugiyama, a leading headhunter is involved and he is a MSU alum and tight with Izzo. This leads me to believe it's going to be someone he's familiar with, but who knows if they even listen to his recommendations. He's notoriously tight-lipped and runs his searches as such. Dude has sent decoy planes and flight logs to throw people off his scent.
This Blackwell lawsuit is not going away and I think will scare off enough coaches, especially since I think Dantonio is still going to be lurking around the program. I heard Izzo possibly being involved in the search, which is laughable. Can you imagine Beilein being involved when he was here? Everything is pointing to this being a “national search” that ends with Mike Tressel being named the interim or permanent head coach.
Candidates:
Fickell: I do think this is who MSU would love to hire. But I really don’t think he would take the job in its current state. If they came at him in December, I think the odds would’ve been 50-50. His goal is to be the head coach at ND or OSU flat out. I think ND is a bigger dream because he is huge Catholic and that matches him perfectly. He’s got like 7 kids (Philip Rivers style). I think deep down he knows OSU is much harder to attain, especially with Day there. If he keeps Cinci rolling around 9-11 wins for the next few years, he’s at the top of ND’s board. If he goes to MSU and takes 3-4 years to get ramped up he misses his window. I think with all of that swirling it makes it too risky.
Narduzzi: Money is the key here. He makes about the same as Dantonio. If MSU is willing to pay him $5+ million they can probably get him. But why would they pay him like a top-10 coach in the country if he’s averaging 7 wins a year at Pitt in a super soft ACC Coastal?
Shurmur: He’s my wildcard here. I really think that there will be an old-guard faction that’s going to push for a favored son to come home. If the BOT really gets involved, he’s a guy that I think would get pushed to the top of the list.
I need to caveat that this is just what I am hearing now, this will change, and I hate to give odds to things, because I will probably be wrong. I’m not hearing this with direct inside info, just what I’m hearing from people in the industry. As of now I would predict Tressel due to Dantonio and Izzo being involved. This was done by Dantonio to prop Tressel up into the main chair.
February 5th, 2020 at 5:02 PM ^
Right, but as much as even their fanbase can see that ... can they get it done, as a practical matter?
This is the same school that brought in Engler to "out-tough" the world in the Nassar fiasco. The same BoT, the same culture, etc, etc.
Groucho Mark is still hanging around the halls? No way he and his buddy Izzo let the "start over" mindset really win out.
February 5th, 2020 at 5:50 PM ^
If they promote Tressel and he cleans house on the offensive side of the ball a lot of MSU fans would probably back that.
February 5th, 2020 at 5:07 PM ^
Thank you again for the insight! Your posts are really helpful, as well as your follow-ups. Here's something I was wondering as I was reading your posts:
Do you have any specific examples/stories about Dabo or Chris Peterson that illustrate how they got that reputation? How do they balance the demands of winning with doing what's right for their staff, and how would others fall short?
February 5th, 2020 at 9:54 PM ^
Peterson is about as close to a parallel to Beilein as you can find. He does things his way and the right way. He's just a good dude and if he wasn't a football coach I think he'd be a CEO of a company that does right for their employees.
Dabo has built a culture where people have fun, work hard, and all work together. They haven't taken one kid from the transfer portal... Think about how insane that is nowadays. Very rarely do you ever hear of UW or Clemson guys getting into trouble in college or in the pros.
I really think there are coaches who want to do that, but take shortcuts in order to win.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:05 AM ^
C’mon man. Clemson pays big money for the talent they get (read Bacon’s book). Mr Christian values is a cheat.
February 5th, 2020 at 5:13 PM ^
Exactly for what prior coaching search did Sugiyama had to use planes as decoys? Their hockey coach search? Cmon. Nobody gives a shit. Its a second rate program.
February 5th, 2020 at 5:48 PM ^
Lmao not for a MSU coaching search. That would be hilarious. He’s done it a few times for other schools he consulted for. Known in the business as a stealth operator.
February 5th, 2020 at 5:48 PM ^
Lmao not for a MSU coaching search. That would be hilarious. He’s done it a few times for other schools he consulted for. Known in the business as a stealth operator.
February 5th, 2020 at 5:16 PM ^
Harlon Barnett and Dan Enos have to figure in here too
February 5th, 2020 at 5:25 PM ^
They probably won't, but they should kick the tires on Kevin Wilson, warts and all. Bring an offense guy in... maybe get Ramsey to come with him. Would certainly be a better hire than most of the realistic non-Fickell possibilities.
February 5th, 2020 at 5:29 PM ^
Given the PR they've had as an athletic department over the past decade, I'm not sure it's a great idea to hire a coach fired for being abusive to his players.
February 5th, 2020 at 5:43 PM ^
So you're saying there's a good chance MSU hires Wilson....
February 5th, 2020 at 5:30 PM ^
Damn, MSU is even more of a rape allowing boys club than I thought
February 5th, 2020 at 5:45 PM ^
If it's not Tressel, it'll be Shurmur. In contrast to Fickell, he's got nothing to lose, having just been fired by the Giants, and he's barely had time to even move into his Denver office. Since he's an MSU alum, you know he's burning with hatred for Michigan, and the MSU faithful would welcome him with open arms.
February 5th, 2020 at 5:52 PM ^
Art Briles would fit in nicely with the culture there
February 5th, 2020 at 5:58 PM ^
MSU is going to underwhelm with this hire. I fully expect Tressel to be the coach moving forward. The BoT is notoriously cheap and historically not willing to go the extra mile to find a coach. It's more economical for them to get a mid level coach to recruit 3 stars and pay for the PED's (s/)
Would Harlon Barnett want the HC job? I'm surprised he's not in the discussion and he wants to be at MSU. He even offered a hometown discount to be in East Lansing.
February 5th, 2020 at 6:00 PM ^
Looking forward to the next few coaching hires
Fickell will pass on MSU and they'll stay with Tressel
ND will fire Kelly next year and strike out on Meyer, leading them to replace one Cincinnati buffoon with another. Possible that ND will finish the Kelly Era, go through the entire Fickell era, and then be on their third coach by the time they come to Ann Arbor next
Fickell will never be back at OSU, they would've kept him if they thought he was worth anything. BPONE suggests that Day will be a wunderkind who will never leave for the NFL but hopefully another scandal will knock him out like the last two coaches
February 5th, 2020 at 6:09 PM ^
He pulled a Lloyd Carr exit. Let’s see how it works for them.
February 5th, 2020 at 10:24 PM ^
Lloyd beat a Tim Tebow led Florida team in his final year and before 2007 did not really have a drop-off in results. Also, I think Lloyd has a little more integrity than Mork
February 6th, 2020 at 3:39 PM ^
Lloyd has the highest integrity, unlike Mork. He’s a great man.
My comparison was more along the lines of timing of the decision and seeming lack of a transition plan and wanting to influence the decision last minute.
The results were not good.
February 5th, 2020 at 6:10 PM ^
Yeah, Fickell is being announced as MSU’s new head coach tomorrow or Friday. BoT met tonight to approve the deal.
February 5th, 2020 at 6:18 PM ^
Scott Frost approves this hire
February 5th, 2020 at 7:18 PM ^
Source?
February 5th, 2020 at 7:12 PM ^
It’s Fickell. He hates Michigan. That’s important to MSU. He would be a decent get for them.
February 5th, 2020 at 7:34 PM ^
Any rumblings for Robert Saleh?
February 5th, 2020 at 7:52 PM ^
MSU hiring Shurmur, however unlikely, would basically and unequivocally put the program into a coma. I am OK with it, bearing that in mind.
February 5th, 2020 at 8:40 PM ^
Being reported by their Rivals guy, Jim Comparoni, that Fickell and MSU have agreed to terms.
February 5th, 2020 at 9:58 PM ^
Not saying he won't take the job, but I'm skeptical of the sourcing here... a secret BOT meeting that happened less than 24 hours after a coach retired?
February 10th, 2020 at 8:51 AM ^
Wrong, Comparoni is a mushroom, so you know what he is fed, and you apparently pay to have him feed you.
No ....Fickell has not agreed to terms. Hope you're getting full value Sparty nuggets from your MSU paywall.
February 5th, 2020 at 9:09 PM ^
MSU should look at EMU's head coach Chris Creighton. He has done an amazing job with the Eagles.
February 5th, 2020 at 9:15 PM ^
They got Fickell.
February 6th, 2020 at 5:36 PM ^
No such action by the BoT, they did not "get" Fickell.
Approving contract terms for any individual did not occur.
Your source, c'mon.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:23 AM ^
My bet is on Mattison