Michigan State football: How next coaching hire can be the right one

Michigan State football needs to make the right hire following the Mel Tucker era. How can the Spartans make sure that happens?

With the news regarding the plan to terminate Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker’s contract on Monday, I wanted to turn the attention to the future in East Lansing. What should the next head coach for the program should look like, and what do I want to see done for the program in the meantime?

Some dynamics to consider are the transfer portal and coach retention, or whose time here should be coming to an end. I also think there are some key factors that MSU needs to take into account in order to make the right hire for the program.

The fact of the matter is that if you are Michigan State, you have to nail this next head coaching hire.

It should be one of the top available jobs, there are no excuses not to nail it.

The transfer portal

The 30-day window that will allow players to transfer for free, is going to be the real test for the current Michigan State football staff. It would be hard to blame any of these student-athletes, who in many cases were sold a bucket of lies, and deceit from Tucker, for transferring. With that being said, winning can solve a lot, and provide the comfort of stability to players, and recruits. This is going to be an important role for Harlon Barnett, as well as any other position coaches who are also left stranded by the former head coach.

The question is, how can you sell a program that is headed for a new head coach who will bring on new staff members? This is also a reason I wouldn’t push the panic button yet. Winning shows stability, and it also shows that the talent is here regardless of who the coordinators are or the head coach is. The transfer portal won’t look as attractive if MSU can keep its identity and win in the meantime. It’s a reason I think many of this current staff are coaching for a job at this point and a sign that new blood might be a welcome sight on the coaching staff.

There is a small window for error, and potentially some gray area when it comes to who the next staff needs to work to retain.

Current staff

Many people, myself included, have questioned the schemes and ability to develop regarding several coaching staff members. Especially those that are among the highest-paid coordinators in college football. The unfortunate aspect here is that the staff and program under Mel Tucker had been recruiting well. Recruiting classes have been steadily rising but we have only started to see the contributions from their first real, non-COVID class. That aside, you can’t deny that concerns about some of the staff have been mounting.

With a new coach, a new staff will come with them to East Lansing. There are a few current coaches that I would like to see retained. Receivers coach Courtney Hawkins is the top guy for me. I would include guys like Effrem Reed (running backs), Diron Reynolds (defensive line), and Jim Salgado (defensive backs) on the list because of the ability to recruit and the resume that they come with. They also have strong relationships with current key players.

I believe the talent level in the program outweighs the staff’s ability to coach or put forth a good enough scheme to win games. There’s fairly good reason to believe that Kenneth Walker III covered up a bunch of holes in this program, starting with the coaches.

It will be refreshing to see some new names and schematics come along with whoever the new head coach becomes. Ultimately with coaches coaching for jobs in 2024, it’s a win-win for MSU fans. Winning can help keep players around, stabilizing the program, while also giving us something to hold onto for the rest of this forgettable season. My one hope is that the current staff doesn’t play it safe.

Play your best guys, maybe guys who deserve a shot now, and give the program some momentum for the next head coach.

Home run hire

There are going to be no excuses for Alan Haller when making this hire. You swung hard for Mel Tucker, and although there were some positive takeaways, they weren’t quite at the level that $95,000,000 yields. If the hire isn’t the right one, and done the right way with the right staff retained, we could either be headed for a complete rebuild or down a long road not being able to compete in the new-look Big Ten. I would be against a complete rebuild this late into the previous rebuild because I believe Michigan State football has the talent to compete soon.

Stability, recruiting, development, culture, and Xs and Os need to be emphasized for the next hire. I don’t need flashy catchphrases, or NFTs sold from the coach’s Twitter account. Stability is important because Michigan State needs a long-term hire similar to what Mark Dantonio did. Xs and Os are important because the talent level the roster is already at if used the right way can be good. Culture is always going to be important during a coaching change. Players need something to buy into, especially right now.

These are some names that intrigue me who I believe would bring these aspects to the program, and who could be that home run hire they so desperately need. They arent all of the potential candidates, but ones I would feel most confident in MSU choosing to hire.

• Mike Elko, Duke head coach

Mike Elko is a hot name being thrown around on the lists from different college football writers. He turned Duke’s program around in a hurry. A trend I’ve noticed in previous Michigan State coaching hires is that they tend to prefer defensive-minded coaches. Going back to George Perles, the Spartans have a successful and noteworthy history of hiring defensive-minded head coaches, with Nick Saban, Mark Dantonio, and Mel Tucker in mind. A defensive-minded coach and former defensive back like Elko makes sense for the program and follows that trend.

• Sean Lewis, Colorado offensive coordinator

Another coach, and current offensive coordinator that I think would be a home run hire and also bring stability is Colorado’s current offensive coordinator Sean Lewis. He intrigues me because he actually has head coaching experience. At the same time, he is the flashy young offensive mind that lots of programs, and NFL teams are so interested in hiring. If Michigan State doesn’t go for him, some other program will.

After four seasons at Kent State, and bringing a MAC Championship to Kent State, he is now working with Deion Sanders and taking their offense to an impressive level. Through three games, Colorado has jumped from 15.4 points per game in 2022, to 40.5 points per game in 2023. With 453 passing yards per game, Colorado also boasts an impressive stat of 10 plays of 30 yards or more, No. 3 in the country in that category.

If Michigan State football really wants to turn the tide on the program, you have to at least look here. The only question mark would be who he brings in as his coordinators, a must-have for the future of the program.

• Charles Huff, Marshall head coach

Charles Huff is another offensive guy who could be good for the program. If you want a proven recruiter, who also comes from the Saban coaching tree. Huff was the main recruiter for Saquon Barkley at Penn State and the running backs coach and associate head coach under Saban at Alabama. Now the head coach at Marshall, Huff turned the program around very quickly, leading them to two bowl appearances and a win over a No. 8 Notre Dame team in 2022. I don’t think this would be a stretch of a hire, and his resume speaks for itself.

Make the right hire

What the program and players need is a voice of reason. One that can answer all of the questions that will soon be popular in the locker room. The players need someone to look at and buy into. The program needs a voice, and someone who will implement a culture that the program is desperate for right now.

Michigan State football must make the right hire. It may not be one guy, but it certainly can not be the wrong guy.