Spartan Nation

4 More Head Coach Candidates For Michigan State Football

The Spartans have likely started vetting names, but we're still in the early stages of MSU's search...

Matthew Lounsberry

In this story:

Michigan State football's 2023 season was derailed after just two weeks when head coach Mel Tucker was suspended and eventually fired in September.

The Spartans have elevated secondary coach Harlon Barnett to interim head coach, but athletic director Alan Haller has begun conducting a nationwide search for the next leader of the football program.

After providing our 'Top 3' Power Five head coach candidates, our 'Top 3' Group of Five head coach candidates and three offensive coordinator candidates for Michigan State's job opening, here are four more potential candidates for the job (and thoughts on a few guys that should not be candidates).

Lance Leipold (Kansas)

At 59 years old, Leipold is the oldest of all the potential candidates we've listed for Michigan State. However, if Haller is looking for a guy who can bring stability to the program over the next five years or so, this could be his man.

Leipold has won everywhere he's been as a head coach, beginning at his alma mater Wisconsin-Whitewater at the NCAA Division III level. In eight seasons leading the Warhawks, Leipold went an astounding 109-6 overall, won six Division III national championships, and was the runner-up in a seventh year.

Leipold then made to the jump to the FBS level, taking over at Buffalo in 2015 and eventually winning two Mid-American Conference championships in 2018 and 2020. The Bulls went 13-23 overall and 8-16 in the MAC through Leipold's first three years, but 24-10 overall and 17-4 over his next three seasons at Buffalo.

Finally, Leipold took over the worst Power Five program in the country in 2021 when he accepted the head coach job at Kansas. The Jayhawks went 2-10 in Leipold's first season in Lawrence, but got out to a 5-0 start and were nationally ranked by the Associated Press poll for the first time since 2009 to begin his second season in 2022. While Kansas finished the season 1-7, they reached a bowl game for the first time since 2008.

In 2023, Leipold has Kansas off to a 4-1 start, with the Jayhawks' only loss coming against No. 3 Texas thus far. He's a proven program-builder, and is a good option for Michigan State, despite his age. Leipold's time in Wisconsin and New York provide him with a wide recruiting net to work with, and his Kansas coaching staffs have actively recruited Detroit as well.

Jake Dickert (Washington State)

Dickert is a name that has been gaining steam among Michigan State's fanbase over the last week and a half or so.

The 40-year-old has only been a head coach for one full collegiate season, leading Washington State to a 7-6 record in 2022. However, Dickert has the Cougars off to a 4-0 start in 2023 and up to No. 13 in the AP poll behind a high-powered offense. Heading into Week Six, Washington State's 533.8 yards of offense ranked sixth in the entire country, while their average of 406 passing yards per game ranked second only behind in-state rival Washington.

Dickert came to WSU as the program's defensive coordinator in 2020, and took over the program on an interim basis in 2021 after then-head coach Nick Rolovich was fired for refusing to comply with the state's COVID-19 vaccination policy. Dickert led the Cougars to a 3-3 finish that season and was named the permanent head coach after a 40-13 win over Washington.

If there's a concern with Dickert's candidacy, it's the lack of experience as a head coach, as he is 14-9 in 23 career games leading Washington State. Dickert has 2.5 seasons at the FBS level as a defensive coordinator, spent two seasons as DC at Division II Minnesota State and one season as a DC at Division III Augustana.

Mark Stoops (Kentucky)

Admittedly, Stoops is the least-likely of all the head coach candidates we've listed for Michigan State here at Spartan Nation. The reason for that is Stoops' contract, which is set to pay him $8.6 million per year until 2031. The buyout that Michigan State would have to pay to steal Stoops from the Wildcats probably prevents him from being a serious candidate in East Lansing.

With that said, few football coaches have done as good a job at a non-traditional power as Stoops at Kentucky. Overshadowed by John Calipari's basketball program, Stoops has quietly led the Wildcats to seven consecutive bowl appearances. Kentucky had just 15 total bowl appearances prior to Stoops' tenure in Lexington.

In 2018, Stoops led Kentucky to its first 10-win season since 1977, and when the Wildcats reached 10 wins again in 2021, he became the only coach in program history to accomplish the feat twice.

Stoops knows what it's like to compete against football programs that out-recruit him every season. Kentucky will never attract the kind of football talent that fellow SEC schools Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee or Texas A&M attract, yet Stoops has led the Wildcats to a winning record every year since 2016 (outside of the COVID-shortened 2020 season). After going 12-24 overall and 4-20 in SEC play in his first three seasons in Lexington, Stoops is 59-35 overall and 30-30 in the SEC over the last eight seasons.

Michigan State faces similar challenges on the recruiting trail, competing with  powerhouses Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, USC, Washington and others for recruits starting in 2024. Stoops' contract likely makes him untouchable, but he'd be an outstanding hire and fit in East Lansing.

P.J. Fleck (Minnesota)

It's been widely rumored that Fleck was very interested in Michigan State when the job came open in 2020, but then-athletic director Bill Beekman hired Tucker after a quick search. Is Fleck still interested in the job four years later?

Fleck made his name at Western Michigan, where he turned a program which went 1-11 in his first season (2013) into a 13-0 Mid-American Conference champion in 2016. That was the Broncos' best season in program history, which ended with a No. 15 ranking in the Associated Press poll following a 24-16 loss to No. 8 Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl.

Taking over at Minnesota in 2017, Fleck went 5-7 in his first season with the Golden Gophers, but has gone 42-22 in the five-plus seasons since. Outside of the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Minnesota has finished with a winning record every year since 2018, including an 11-win season in 2019 and two nine-win seasons in 2021 and 2022.

Fleck is the first head coach to lead Minnesota to three seasons of nine wins or more since Henry L. Williams (1900-1921). Also, prior to Fleck's arrival, the Golden Gophers had lost 13 consecutive games against hated rival Wisconsin. Fleck is 3-3 against the Badgers at Minnesota.

The concern with Fleck is that he's benefitted from the Gophers residing in the Big Ten West, which is far inferior to the league's East division. Furthermore, he has failed to lead Minnesota to a Big Ten championship game, despite the fact he's coached in the easier half of the league. Those are valid concerns but, at the same time, he's won a lot of games at a place where success has been limited over the past five decades.

Really? These guys?

One day after Tucker was fired, Action Sports' college football reporter Brett McMurphy named six official early head coach candidates for Michigan State, according to a source of his. Two of the guys — Duke's Mike Elko and Marshall's Charles Huff — were on previous lists of ours here at Spartan Nation.

However, the other four names that McMurphy listed cause quite a stir among MSU's fanbase:

The most well-known name among these four others is current Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi, who spent eight seasons as MSU's defensive coordinator under Mark Dantonio. Under Narduzzi's direction, the Spartans molded into one of the top defensive teams in the country.

However, Narduzzi has burned some bridges after taking a jab at Michigan State following the Spartans' 31-21 victory over Pittsburgh in the 2021 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Furthermore, while Narduzzi led the Panthers to an ACC championship in that 2021 season, his overall record at Pittsburgh is 63-44. That's a solid mark, but most (rightfully) believe Michigan State can aim higher with it's next head coach.

The same can be said for the other three names that McMurphy cited — LSU defensive coordinator Matt House, Wisconsin defensive coordinator Mike Tressel and Arkansas offensive coordinator.

All three of those guys have ties to Michigan State. Enos played quarterback for the Spartans (1987-90) and has coached quarterbacks (2006) and running backs (2007-09) at MSU. House is a Michigan State alum and his coaching career began with a two-year stint as a graduate assistant in East Lansing (2001-02). Tressel was on staff throughout Dantonio's tenure at Michigan State, took over at defensive coordinator after Narduzzi departed for Pittsburgh, and stayed on staff to coach safeties in Tucker's first season at MSU.

However, House and Tressel do not have any head coach experience, and Enos' five-year tenure as head coach at Central Michigan resulted in an overall record of 26-36.

Put simply, Michigan State can do better.

For more coverage of Michigan State Athletics:

Published
Matthew Lounsberry
MATTHEW LOUNSBERRY

Home/Football