5 head coaching candidates I’d like to see Michigan State football target

Michigan State football is officially moving on from Mel Tucker and these are the candidates I’d like to see the Spartans pursue.

The Mel Tucker era is officially coming to a close which means that we can all finally look ahead to a Michigan State football coaching search.

If the last search was any indication of what we can expect, it might turn into an absolute circus. We were watching people’s shoes (raise your hand if you remember shoe-gate) and dissecting every single interview candidate. Now, we get to do it all over again. The life of a Michigan State football fan is just great.

With the coaching search fast approaching, here are five guys I would like Michigan State football to pursue.

Just missed the cut: Sean Lewis (Colorado OC), Jonathan Smith (Oregon State head coach)

5. Brian Hartline, Ohio State offensive coordinator

Brian Hartline comes in at No. 5 for me and he was almost replaced by a proven head coach or top coordinator (Sean Lewis nearly earned this spot) but I think what he brings to the table as a recruiter is just too intriguing to really overlook. Hartline is one of the best recruiters in the nation, but we just have to see what kind of coach he is.

Right now, he’s the offensive coordinator at Ohio State and the 36-year-old will likely have a long list of potential suitors if that offense can continue to improve like it has through the first three weeks. He’s done a solid job of turning Kyle McCord into QB1 in the post-CJ Stroud era. If Ohio State can have one of the nation’s top offenses again, Michigan State has to make the call.

Someone else will soon enough.

4. Alex Atkins, Florida State offensive coordinator

Another guy who doesn’t have head coaching experience, Alex Atkins has been in the coaching game since 2007 after he finished up his playing career at UT Martin. He became a grad assistant there before working his way up the ranks. He’s spent time at Marshall, Chattanooga, and Georgia Southern, but most recently, he was at Tulane and Charlotte before getting hired at Florida State. All he’s done for Mike Norvell and the Seminoles is engineer one of the best offenses in college football.

That hasn’t changed through three games this year. The Seminoles, led by Jordan Travis, have one of the most explosive attacks in the country. He’s quickly rising up some big boards in terms of head coaching candidates.

In his first year as Florida State offensive coordinator, he turned the No. 9 offense in the ACC into the conference’s No. 1 offense. Yeah, I want that.

3. Chris Klieman, Kansas State head coach

Chris Klieman would be higher on my list of candidates if he were slightly younger, but I’m not going to turn away from a coach who’s just 55. He is, however, only in his fifth year of coaching at the FBS level which may be a turn-off for some fans looking for guys with an extensive record at this level.

But don’t let his lack of FBS experience fool you. This dude’s a winner.

In fact, Klieman won four FCS national titles in five years from 2014-18 before getting hired by Kansas State and all he’s done in Manhattan since is win games. Outside of the 2020 season, Klieman has been fantastic and arguably the best coach in the Big 12 in that span. He’s 32-21 at Kansas State and just won his first Big 12 title in 2022, beating national runner-up TCU.

While Klieman is a defensive-minded coach (that scares some fans), he is a winner.

2. Charles Huff, Marshall head coach

Charles Huff is a name that I’d expect to get a ton more recognition in the coming years. Yes, Marshall was a solid program before he took over in 2022, but it wasn’t the type of program that went on the road to beat Notre Dame. Huff did that. He led the Thundering Herd to a 9-4 season and brought some excitement to the program.

The 40-year-old head coach would be one of the youngest in the Power Five and he has a history of being a great recruiter at Mississippi State, Penn State, and Alabama. Yet another coach who has worked under Nick Saban. And he was one of the best recruiters during his time in Tuscaloosa and he could bring that to East Lansing and stockpile some talent.

The now-infamous words of Mel Tucker could be Huff’s calling card: “If you can’t recruit at Michigan State, you probably can’t recruit.”

Give the young, exciting coach the reins and see if he can rebuild Michigan State football.

1. Mike Elko, Duke head coach

The top option on my list of candidates is Duke head coach Mike Elko. I think if Michigan State football is going to turn things around in a hurry, Elko will be the man to do it.

Don’t believe me? Just read the pros and cons of him as a candidate.

Elko is a defensive-minded head coach who has turned defenses around in a hurry. He did it as the defensive coordinator at Bowling Green, at Wake Forest, at Notre Dame, and at Texas A&M before getting a job at Duke. He was one of the rising coordinators in the nation before the 2021 season and the Blue Devils pegged him as their guy. Duke had 10 total wins in the three years before his arrival. The Blue Devils went 9-4 last year. And they’re 3-0 and ranked in the AP Top 25 this year.

This guy would win plenty with the current Michigan State football roster.