New Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith: 'No shortcuts' in Spartans' rebuild
After back-to-back disappointing and, at times, agonizing football seasons, a change was needed in East Lansing.
That change arrived this past weekend when Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller chose to hire Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith away from his alma mater and give him the opportunity to rebuild the once-proud and championship-caliber Spartan program.
"My family and I are excited to join the Michigan State football family," Smith said in a released statement on Saturday. "I'm thankful to Alan Haller and the university leadership for entrusting me to lead a Spartan football program which possesses both an excellent tradition and all the resources needed to compete at the highest level in college football today."
Rebuilding a program which has failed to reach bowl eligibility in two straight years, and has already lost a chunk of its roster to the transfer portal, won't be easy. Smith acknowledge that in his statement as well.
"There are no shortcuts, and we will be a program that's willing to do the work required to experience sustained success," he said.
Speaking to a small group of reporters upon arriving in East Lansing on Sunday, Smith explained why he was willing to leave his alma mater to take on a new challenge at Michigan State.
"I think where we're at in our career, the ages of my kids, the national brand that is Michigan State — all that was really intriguing to me," Smith said. "Learning more and more about the community, the fanbase, the alumni — I think the fit in regards to earning what we win, that got me excited."
Smith is no stranger to rebuilds. When he got his first head coaching job at Oregon State in 2018, the Beavers were coming off a previous regime which recorded a 7-29 record in three seasons. After leading his alma mater through three additional difficult seasons (9-22 record) at the start of his tenure in Corvallis, Smith's program produces three consecutive winning seasons (25-13 record) over the last three years. That's the longest stretch of winning seasons the Beavers have enjoyed since a four-year run from 2006-09.
"Jonathan has a proven track record of success, building the Oregon State program from the ground up by implementing a plan resulting in sustained historic success for the Beavers," Haller said in his own statement Saturday.
MSU's athletic director also noted Smith's coaching pedigree, having served under former Boise State and Washington head coach Chris Peterson, who holds the sixth-highest winning percentage of any FBS head coach since 1970. As Petersen's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Smith helped the Huskies win a Pac-12 championship and appearance in the College Football Playoff in 2016.
"He's been part of championship staffs, coaching in the College Football Playoff, and understands what's required to be successful at the highest level, learning from some of the game's most successful coaches," Haller's statement read.
It can be difficult to know when its time to take on a new opportunity. When did Smith know that Michigan State was the right place and now was the right time for a change?
"We were thorough in the process," Smith said. "Alan was awesome throughout. The belief in listening to him describe the place, talk about his visions for it, that grew on me every time we spoke. So, we took our time and feel great about it."
While choosing to leave his alma mater was certainly a difficult decision for Smith, part of the motivation appears to be his desire to compete at a national level. That will be difficult, if not impossible, to do at Oregon State in the coming years, due to the dissolution of the Pac-12 Conference and the lack of interest from other power conferences in adding the Beavers as members.
Smith believes all the ingredients exist at Michigan State to build a contender again in East Lansing.
"I want to dive into it and learn about the place," Smith said of MSU. "I'm anxious to do that, but we want to compete and win at the biggest level...I'm excited to be here, we're ready to go to work. This is a special place. I'm anxious to learn about it."
It wasn't that long ago that Michigan State was competing for and winning Big Ten championships. Former head coach Mark Dantonio won a share of one in 2010 (Wisconsin), two more outright in 2013 and 2015, and finished as the conference runner-up in 2011. Even for all the flaws of the Mel Tucker era, the Spartans won 11 games in 2021 and reached as high as No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings before finishing No. 9 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll that season.
Two years later, there's a wide gap between Michigan State and the current powers-that-be in the Big Ten, not to mention the rest of the Top 10. In four games this season against then-No. 8 Washington, then-No. 2 Michigan, then-No. 1 Ohio State and then-No. 11 Penn State, all of which will reside in the conference next season, Michigan State was outscored 170-10.
The task of competing with (and beating) those types of programs is steep and challenging, but Smith is confident he can lead Michigan State back to that level.
"A new era, a new opportunity," Smith said on his flight to East Lansing. "I'm not going to sugarcoat — there's some work to do, there is no doubt. We know that. We're excited about diving into it, getting around these players currently and selling a vision or opportunity and competing for championships and doing it together. Together also means, not just that locker room, that means this community, this fanbase and I can't wait to meet a lot of them."
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