BREAKING: Michigan State Football Hires New Defensive Coordinator
Michigan State and new head coach Jonathan Smith continue to build the next coaching staff in East Lansing, and a big piece of the puzzle was found late Sunday afternoon.
According to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel, Michigan State is set to hire Minnesota's Joe Rossi as the Spartans' next defensive coordinator.
Sources: Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi is expected to become the next defensive coordinator at Michigan State.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 10, 2023
Rossi has been the Golden Gophers' defensive coordinator over the past five seasons, after taking over the role on an interim basis in 2018. In those five seasons, Minnesota finished in the Top 10 in yards allowed per game three times (2019, 2021, 2022). Rossi was nominated for the Broyles Award (nation's top assistant coach) in 2021.
In 2019, the Golden Gophers finished 38th (out of 130) in points allowed and 9th in yards allowed per game. Rossi's units improved upon those numbers in 2021 and 2022, when Minnesota finished 3rd and 9th in yards allowed per game, respectively. In both of those seasons, the Gophers also finished 7th and 4th in points per game, respectively.
Ahead of the 2023 season, The Athletic's Bruce Feldman listed Rossi as the 8th-best assistant coach in the country in his annual "Top 30" list. Feldman referred to Rossi as "one of the best kept secrets in college football. Rossi brings 22 years of college coaching experience with him to East Lansing. Starting his career at Division III Theil College in 2001, Rossi became the program's defensive coordinator just two years later. The 44-year old then coached special teams and defensive backs at the University of Maine (FCS) starting in 2007, and became the defensive coordinator there in 2009.
In 2011, Rossi was hired by Rutgers as special teams coordinator. Like each of his previous two stops, Rossi was promoted to defensive coordinator of the Scarlet Knights within after two seasons. After a year off in 2016, Rossi was hired as a quality control coach by P.J. Fleck at Minnesota in 2017. Rossi was promoted to defensive line coach the following season, and took over as defensive coordinator after Fleck fired Robb Smith eight games into the 2018 season. Five years and several successful seasons later, Rossi will join Smith and the rebuild at Michigan State.
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