Jonathan Smith will have larger assistant salary pool than Mel Tucker

New Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith will reportedly have a larger assistant coach pool than his predecessor.

Michigan State isn’t messing around. After giving Mel Tucker a massive assistant coach salary pool, Michigan State decided to give new head coach Jonathan Smith an even more lucrative pool.

Tucker had a very competitive pool for assistants’ salaries, but Justin Thind reports that Smith’s will be even larger.

Per a source, new Michigan State HC Jonathan Smith will have a larger assistant coach salary pool than Mel Tucker had.

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) November 25, 2023

This should make Michigan State fans thrilled because this just means that Smith can go out and find some elite assistants to fill out his staff. Tucker was also at a disadvantage because he had to throw together a staff late in the process and in the middle of COVID-19. Smith will now have an entire offseason to do this, starting on Saturday as he was officially announced as head coach.

A larger pool for assistants means that he has no excuses for hiring coaches who don’t make Michigan State a contender.

Smith is proving to be a quality hire, especially since he’s turned around a program before and he was the offensive coordinator for a Washington program that went to the playoff when he was there. He’s a great offensive mind, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he aimed for the moon when hiring an offensive coordinator. He’s going to bring in a guy he trusts in an area in which he’s very familiar.

Also, giving him a larger pool for assistants is going to help him with recruiting. He’s going to bring in guys who complement him and maybe specialize in recruiting. He could also find some respected Midwest coaches to help him since he’s a West Coast guy.

It’ll be interesting to see how he fills out his staff, but it’s refreshing to hear that Michigan State is serious about competing.