REPORT: Michigan State's Candidates List Finalized For Next Head Football Coach
While the month of November does not figure to be overly consequential for Michigan State football on the field, the decisions that will be made off the field this month will be critical towards the future of the program.
On Wednesday, a report from 247Sports.com affiliate Spartan Tailgate suggested the Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller has finalized a shortlist of candidates for his next head football coach, and is moving into the next phase of the search — making direct contact with those candidates.
Sources: #MichiganState has finalized its HC candidate shortlist & will now ramp up the interview process.
— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) November 8, 2023
The original timeline of hiring a head coach shortly after his team’s final regular season game remains the goal.
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While Spartan Tailgate's report did not confirm any of the names on Michigan State's shortlist, the general public learned of four candidates believed to be included — Kansas' Lance Leipold, Oregon State's Jonathan Smith, Wake Forest's Dave Clawson and Washington State's Jake Dickert — following a report from Rivals.com's Spartans Illustrated.
In addition to the names listed above, a report from On3.com's SpartanMag suggests Duke's Mike Elko, UCLA's Chip Kelly, Kansas State's Chris Klieman and Iowa State's Matt Campbell are also under various levels of consideration. There may be other candidates on the table for Michigan State as well.
Spartan Tailgate's Justin Thind reports that MSU is "officially set to ramp up into the 'direct contact phase.'"
"I’m told the school has a candidates list that they will now put into action," Thind wrote. "The source would not confirm the names on the list, as secrecy is the top priority to Alan Haller and his working group. Still, look for intel and info to start coming out after these conversations with HC candidates start to happen."
Thind also reports that Michigan State's first round of interviews will include a "higher than usual" amount of candidates, indicating an extensive process. According to Thind, the targeted timeline that MSU has set forth is to have its next head football coached hired shortly after the football team's regular season finale against Penn State on Nov. 24.
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