MSU Coach Jonathan Smith Talks Addition of DC Joe Rossi
Michigan State football had almost a complete coaching turnover this offseason, starting with, of course, Jonathan Smith.
For the most part, Smith was able to bring a fair amount of his staff over from Oregon State. His defensive coordinator, Joe Rossi, however, is quite new to him. So far, though, Smith has liked what he's seen from his new assistant coach.
"Really been impressed," Smith said at Big Ten Football Media Days on Wednesday. "Didn't know Joe, really, at all. Had a couple of mutual friends, did a lot of conversations with people that I knew had worked with him. And so, then got together, made sure we were aligned on kind of how we were going to want to approach the program, develop, recruit, a lot of things like that.
"And he's been awesome. You can tell his experience, organization, he's got a clear vision for what he wants it to look like. But ... evaluating the talent and what we have on the roster and making sure we're putting them in the best positions possible, he's always thinking about that on the day-to-day. I think he's done great in regards to organizing that defensive staff because he hasn't worked with all those guys -- a couple of them came over with me. And he's been open to -- there's some big-time coaches on that side of the ball -- their contributions to the scheme. So far, so good."
Rossi previously served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Minnesota. He joined the program as a defensive quality control coach in 2017 before becoming defensive line coach the following year. Rossi would be named interim defensive coordinator later that season before being promoted to full-time less than a month later.
Before Minnesota, Rossie had held the roles of special teams coordinator, safeties coach, and defensive coordinator at Rutgers.
Rossi has helped develop three All-Americans throughout his coaching career so far -- Tyler Nubin, arguably the best safety in the 2024 NFL Draft, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Trevor Coston.
The new Spartan defensive coordinator's experience coaching in the Big Ten will be vital to Smith's program.
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