FOOTBALL

Jonathan Smith makes first splash hire of new MSU coaching staff

This is a big-time hired.

Published

2 years ago

November 25, 2023

Zack Theis

New Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith has made his first important hire of the new staff in Jim Michalczik.

Jonathan Smith has his first assistant coach and it’s offensive line coach Jim Michalczik.

Major Hire: Former #OregonState OL coach & AHC Jim Michalczik will follow Jonathan Smith to #MichiganState, per sources.

OSU’s OL was one of 4 finalists for the 2021 Joe Moore Award. He’s also responsible for designing OSU’s highly-effective run game.https://t.co/eqxmtbA8Up pic.twitter.com/OOQVRBnvmi

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) November 26, 2023

Michalczik is one of the coaches who had their names attached to Smith as he is one of his top assistants. Not only is Michalczik one of his top assistants because he is the associate head coach at Oregon State, but he is also an offensive line coach who has been in the running for national awards. One of those awards is the Broyles Award, which is given annually to the top assistant coach in the country.

While his exact title is not known but we know that it is likely that he will be the offensive line coach and probably the run game coordinator. This is good news for Michigan State especially because the offensive line has not improved the way that fans thought they would.

The reason this is good is because Michalczik coached the 2021 Oregon State offensive line, which was one of the four teams in 2021 up for the Joe Moore Award given to the best offensive line in the nation and it was because of him. Michalczik is not only a great coach, but he is also great at designing run concepts. This year, Oregon State is No. 22 in the nation for total yards rushing, and that would be a dramatic improvement from what Michigan State did this year. If Michalczik can get a big jump in play from this offensive line or bring in some transfers, Michigan State has a running back in Nate Carter who is good at running the ball, which could help this offense be much more improved from this year.

Michalczik is the first top assistant to follow Smith and he might not be the last one. Oregon State’s defensive coordinator is another name being thrown around and he would be a huge addition as well.

Michalczik is the perfect fit for Michigan State and it seems like Smith is off to a great start building his new coaching staff.