Tom Izzo admits he has no plans to retire and is “more fired up”

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo admits that he has no plans to retire any time soon and is more fired up than he’s been.

“Be careful what you wish for.”

That phrase has been the go-to for Michigan State basketball fans who still believe Tom Izzo is the best option to run the program. Despite the Spartans falling on some hard times over the past 3-4 years, there are plenty of fans (rightly so) who believe that Izzo deserves the benefit of the doubt and is the best guy to run the ship.

And it’s hard to disagree.

You look at other programs who have moved on from legendary coaches and they feel lightyears away from where they were when those legends were still in charge (Villanova is a prime example). So for the fans who get fed up with Izzo’s sudden struggles, be careful what you wish for.

Wanting the Hall of Fame head coach to retire has become a growing trend with some younger members of the fanbase and I’ve even said that Izzo has seemingly lost his touch a couple of times, but I do know that it would be incredibly difficult to find an adequate replacement.

Luckily we don’t have to think about that for a while.

According to Izzo, he’s “more fired up now than I was two years ago” and he doesn’t plan to step away from the sport any time soon.

Izzo says he’s “more fired up now than I was two years ago” and doesn’t plan to step away anytime soon, regardless of the changes to the college sports landscape.

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) October 8, 2024

This is a notable development considering Izzo is 69 and will turn 70 in January. Both Coach K and Roy Williams coached into their 70s so this isn’t some wild idea that a 70-year-old would be coaching a major Division I program, but the “doesn’t plan to step away anytime soon” statement is interesting.

There were some rumors that Izzo was fed up with the state of college hoops and he’s actually stated it himself that he was worried about the direction of the sport. But this makes it seem like he has no intention of retiring until potentially national title No. 2 (let’s hope that’s on the horizon).

So for all the Tom Izzo believers, Tuesday was a good day.