3 Biggest Upgrades In MSU Football’s New Coaching Staff
The 2024 Michigan State coaching staff is set.
Head coach Jonathan Smith has assembled his 10 on-field assistants, bringing several coaches from his previous staff at Oregon State and mixing in new assistants joining him for the first time. After a disappointing 4-8 record in 2023, there is hope that Smith’s staff will bring success back to East Lansing sooner rather than later.
Michigan State’s new staff brings an old school identity with a modern day approach. Smith is 45 years old and hired multiple young staffers to join him. In today’s college football, head coaches are looking for assistants who are adaptable to the transfer portal and NIL, in addition to being strong recruiters and knowing their X’s and O’s. Smith has built a staff full of guys who have proven those qualities at previous stops.
During the failures of the Mel Tucker era, Michigan State’s fanbase bemoaned many of Tucker’s assistant coaches for their inadequacies. With that in mind, here are three of the biggest upgrades the Spartans should experience with Smith’s staff in place:
Biggest Recruiting Upgrade: Safeties Coach Blue Adams
Adams has already shown off what he can do on the recruiting trail, retaining all of Michigan State’s defensive back commits in the 2024 class. As the 2025 cycle begins, we’ll get an even better idea of the talent Adams can recruit out of the high school ranks and transfer portal. A Florida native, who played at Cincinnati and coached at Oregon State, Adams can recruit from coast-to-coast. With ties all across the country, he not only could be the best recruiter for Michigan State, but one of the best in the Big Ten.
It doesn’t stop with Adams, however. New cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin has also had a lot of success on the recruiting trail. Martin, a Michigan State alum, has coached at USC, Washington, UCLA and Oregon and has been a successful recruiter at each stop. Martin and Adams could be an effective duo in the secondary, and the talent they bring in could see the Spartans’ pass defense make a return to dominance.
Biggest Development Upgrade: Offensive Line Coach Jim Michalczik
Michalczik is another assistant Smith brought with him from Oregon State, and for good reason. A Broyles Award nominee for the best assistant coach in the country, his offensive line was the foundation of Oregon State’s offensive success in recent years. In the last three seasons in Corvallis, the Beavers had over 2,000 yards rushing as a team every year and gave up fewer than 19 sacks each season. In 2021, Oregon State finished fifth-best in the country in sacks allowed (14).
Offensive line is one of the largest areas in need of improvement for Michigan State. Michalczik brings with him three O-line recruits and Oregon State transfer guard Tanner Miller, while Michigan State returns four lineman with starting experience. The Spartans desperately need their offensive line to improve in the run game and Michalczik has the pieces to start moving things in the right direction.
Biggest Play-Calling Upgrade: Offensive Coordinator Brian Lindgren
Over the last two seasons combined, Michigan State averaged 20.2 points per game. Previous offensive coordinator Jay Johnson was a major point of frustration for MSU’s fanbase and the need for a new play-caller was evident to all. Lindgren comes on staff after producing offenses which scored 30.2 points per game during his six seasons at Oregon State. One of Michigan State’s biggest flaws was how predictable their offensive play-calling was under Johnson, but Lindgren has a knack for keeping defenses guessing.
Lindgren’s biggest success as a coordinator has come from having a multi-dimensional quarterback, which the Spartans will have with transfer Aidan Chiles. Michigan State hasn’t had this type of athlete at quarterback in a long time. Chiles’ dual-threat ability will give Lindgren the ability to open up the playbook more using RPO’s (run-pass options), play-action and designed quarterback runs. Last season, Oregon State quarterbacks had 25 passing touchdowns and 9 rushing touchdowns. Keeping a balanced offense will keep defenses guessing and give Lindgren an advantage.
For more coverage of Michigan State Athletics:
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @SpartanNationPodcast
- Follow us on Facebook: @SpartanNation
- Follow us on Twitter: @mlounsberry_SI | @a3danm | @Dylan3ngels
