Tag: msu football

Report: Mel Tucker has ‘agreed in principle’ to become new MSU Football head coach

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Colorado head coach Mel Tucker has agreed to become the new head coach at Michigan State.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have some breaking news from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. According to Feldman, Colorado head coach Mel Tucker has ‘agreed in principle’ to become the new MSU Football head coach, replacing Mark Dantonio at Michigan State.

According to reports last weekend, Tucker had removed his name from consideration for the role, but according to Bruce Feldman, the MSU decision-makers made Tucker repeated offers until it became ‘impossible to ignore.’

Here is the initial report from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic:

Tucker, who played in college for Wisconsin, started his coaching career with Michigan State back in 1997 as a graduate assistant. He has since gone on to coach for numerous teams, including Ohio State, LSU, the Cleveland Browns, the Chicago Bears, Alabama, Georgia, and most recently he was the head coach of Colorado, where he went 5-7 in his first year as a head coach.

He had his first stint as a head coach as the interim coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars where he went 2-3 in 2011.

Details are still emerging about the deal, and it obviously hasn’t been officially been confirmed by the University as of 1:23am ET. More to come tomorrow no doubt.

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New York Giants assistant coach Bret Bielema interested in MSU Football coaching job

Former Wisconsin Badgers head coach Bret Bielema is interested in the Michigan State Football head coaching position.

Many MSU Football fans were despondent today, and perhaps rightfully so, after finding out the news that the candidate who seemed most likely to join the Spartans as their next head coach, Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, had turned down the job. Despite the apparent setback, the coaching search continues, and former multi-time Big Ten champion Bret Bielema has expressed ‘definite interest’ in the position, according to Rainer Sabin of the Detroit Free Press.

Bielema was the 2006 Big Ten Coach of the Year and won three Big Ten championships in a row from 2010-2012 with the Wisconsin Badgers. He would go on to Arkansas where he was… less successful. He is now the outside linebackers coach and senior assistant for the New York Giants. He just joined the team after previously acting as the Defensive Line Coach for the New England Patriots in 2019.

Bielema’s success in the Big Ten, and experience, certainly can’t be overlooked.

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MSU Athletic Department briefing Board of Trustees on head coaching search Monday

Michigan State Athletic Director Bill Beekman is meeting with the Board of Trustees to discuss the head coaching search Monday, Feb. 10.

Amidst a firestorm of rumors around the University of Cincinnati football head coach Luke Fickell, the Michigan State University Athletic Department will meet with the University’s Board of Trustees on Monday to brief them on the search. This was reported by Nick Mantas, reporter and anchor for WLNS, a Lansing TV station.

What isn’t a rumor is that Michigan State Athletic Director Bill Beekman was in Cincinnati this weekend. As of right now, Fickell is the clear top choice and the only name who has been brought up as an interviewee who has not publicly declined the role.

Colorado head coach Mel Tucker removed his name from consideration for the role on Saturday morning. San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh declined to interview, stating he had unfinished business in the NFL with San Francisco. Former MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi was a name that was initially floated for the role, but he quickly killed that rumor in hilarious fashion.

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The Michigan State Football and Luke Fickell head coaching saga as told by Twitter

Michigan State Athletic Director Bill Beekman was in Cincinnati this weekend to interview Luke Fickell and Twitter lost their minds.

Michigan State Football has launched into a full-on head coaching search after the sudden retirement of Mark Dantonio. The odds on favorite of the fanbase, and seemingly of the University, is Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell. MSU’s athletic director Bill Beekman was set to interview Fickell this weekend, and the ensuing investigation by social media detectives and media members was, frankly, hilarious. Here is a retelling of what happened, through the eyes of social media.

The first part of this saga took place when the news was broken by Brandon Saho of Cincinnati TV station WLWT that Bill Beekman had landed in Cincinnati to visit with Luke Fickell, instead of Fickell coming up to East Lansing:

David Jesse of the Detroit Free Press originally reported that Beekman would be flying to State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn State:

WLWT sports reporter Brandon Saho and Detroit Free Press report David Jesse were tracking the private jet at the Lunken Municipal Airport of Cincinnati, which had an updated flight path to Lansing instead of State College:

This picture above sparked a series of funny jokes on social media as fans tried to figure out who was wearing the heels in that photo:

Bill Beekman arrived back in Lansing on a private plane, but he was not accompanied by Fickell:

There have been some rumors floating around that Fickell will be signing later this week, although that is pure speculation and rumor so take that with a major grain of salt. For now, MSU’s mascot advises some patience from fans:

Instead of patience, most fans and media members are choosing a different route: Twitter sleuthing.

The End… for now.

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A Candidate for Brian Kelly’s Biggest Notre Dame Win

Had it not been for Notre Dame besting the Spartans 17-13 on September 21 that year, Michigan State would have been set to take on Florida State in what wound up being the final BCS National Championship Game.

What was Notre Dame’s biggest win of the decade?

Myself and Jeff Feyerer discussed this and have a list we will be unveiling one at a time shortly. Plenty of our votes (we each picked 12) went to 2012 where Kelly and Notre Dame shocked the world en-route to a 12-0 regular season.

Spoiler alert – a year that didn’t give top-ten worthy love on our list was 2013.

It started with the drama following getting destroyed by Alabama: Brian Kelly dipping his toes in the NFL waters, Manti Te’o’s too good to be true story ultimately not being true. Don’t forget the hectic signing period that saw five-star defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes sign his national letter of intent before backing out and eventually ending up at UCLA.

The off-season was hectic enough and the year previous was fortunate enough that you knew a regression was likely coming. That only became more obvious quarterback Everett Golson was kicked off the team for the season.

Ultimately that 12-1 from 2012 dipped to 9-4 in 2013 and instead of a title game appearance, the season and Tommy Rees’s Notre Dame playing career ended in a Pinstripe Bowl victory over Rutgers.

But for one September afternoon, everything was right for Kelly and the Fighting Irish as their performance kept a former annual rival from their own national championship appearance.

Mark D’Antonio stepping down last week got me thinking about this and perhaps we’ll take a deeper look at him compared to Kelly and their impacts on their respective programs later this week.

Under D’Antonio, Michigan State had been a program on the rise up to that point. They had twice won 11 games under his direction before falling back to a 7-6 campaign in 2012. 2013 however was a different year in East Lansing.

Led by the likes of Connor Cook, Jeremy Langford and a defense that allowed 20 points just twice all regular season, the Spartans went 12-1 and won their first outright Big Ten Championship since 1987.

Michigan State closed the season with a Big Ten Championship victory over No. 2 Ohio State and a Rose Bowl victory over No. 5 Stanford.

Had it not been for Notre Dame besting the Spartans 17-13 on September 21 that year, Michigan State would have been set to take on Florida State in what wound up being the final BCS National Championship Game.

The game is most remembered for Notre Dame drawing four pass interference calls on Michigan State and another defensive holding. That and a very odd decision to have running back RJ Shelton throw a pass that was intercepted by Notre Dame’s Matthias Farley.

It may not have appeared as that significant as Notre Dame was a four point favorite that afternoon.

It certainly didn’t feel like it at the time and because of how that season ultimately went, the win didn’t carry a whole lot of weight. But looking back, was it Brian Kelly’s biggest win at Notre Dame?

It was after all against a team that finished ranked third overall but Michigan State remained unranked at all until the first week of November that season.

Because of what eventually happened with Notre Dame going 9-4 it didn’t feel that big but is it Kelly’s best win at Notre Dame?

The impact of winning at Oklahoma in 2012 launched Notre Dame from being a nice story and turning them into a legit championship contender which is why I still give it the nod, but the win over Michigan State does certainly only get better over time.

Colorado HC Mel Tucker removes name from consideration for MSU Football job

Colorado’s head coach Mel Tucker reaffirmed his commitment to Colorado this afternoon on Twitter.

Yesterday, there was a report from Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press stating that anonymous sources inside the MSU Football program said that Colorado head coach Mel Tucker would be interviewing for the Michigan State head coaching job, left vacant by the now-retired Mark Dantonio, along with Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell. Today, Mel Tucker released a statement saying that he is committed to Colorado, removing his name from consideration for the opening.

Here is Tucker’s statement, which he posted on his Twitter account:

As of right now, Mel Tucker, Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi, and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh have all removed their names from consideration for the position. That leaves Luke Fickell as the only coach who is heavily rumored for the role who has not directly denied interest in the position.

It is hard to tell how long this coaching search will continue. You would think they would want to wrap it up fairly quickly. I would not be surprised at all if Fickell accepts the job next week. If it’s not him, there are some names they could go after but this could drag out longer than they’d like.

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MSU Football interviewing two head coaching candidates this weekend

Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell and Colorado head coach Mel Tucker will be in East Lansing this weekend to interview for the vacancy.

Michigan State Football lost their head coach since November 2006 this week, seemingly out of nowhere and are now trying to find a suitable replacement for what should be a highly sought after coaching position. This weekend MSU will be interviewing two candidates for the job in Luke Fickell and Mel Tucker.

The news was broken today by David Jesse and Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press.

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Fickell has been the head coach at Cincinnati for the past three seasons and served one season as the interim head coach for Ohio State before they hired Urban Meyer. He was the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State from 2005-10 and then from 2012-16. Fickel is 26-13 as head coach of the Bearcats.

Mel Tucker has an interesting resumè that includes stops with Ohio State, Georgia, the Chicago Bears, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is currently the head coach of Colorado where he had an unimpressive 5-7 season. He served under Dantonio at Ohio State as his defensive backs coach, which explains why MSU gave him a call.

Worth noting, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has turned down an offer to interview for the position.

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San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator turns down MSU Football interview

Michigan State requested an interview with Robert Saleh of the 49ers but he turned down the request.

Long-time MSU Football head coach Mark Dantonio retired this week and it has left Michigan State with a coaching search. One of the names on the Spartans’ wish list was Robert Saleh, defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. According to NFL Network report Tom Pelissero, Saleh has turned down the Spartans’ offer to interview with the team, stating that he has unfinished business with the Niners after losing in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Saleh has spent the last 15 years in the NFL and 3 years with the 49ers, but before that, he was a graduate of Dearborn Fordson High School. He also played college football at Northern Michigan before starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Michigan State in 2002. He was with the Spartans for two seasons and coached for Bobby Williams and John L. Smith.

Here is the initial report from Tom Pelissero:

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Urban Meyer comments on MSU Football head coach Mark Dantonio’s retirement

Long-time rival Urban Meyer commented on Michigan State Football head coach Mark Dantonio’s surprising retirement.

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Michigan State Football head coach Mark Dantonio retired in shocking fashion this week and the sports world is still reacting to the news. The Columbus Dispatch caught up with former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer to comment on the news of Dantonio’s retirement and he had nothing but kind things to say about his former rival.

“Mark and I have been friends since his Cincinnati days,” Meyer told Bill Rabinowitz of The Columbus Dispatch. “I think he’s one of the best tacticians in the game of football that I ever coached against.”

Meyer would go on to say that Mark Dantonio’s era at MSU was the greatest in modern history. You can’t really argue with that. Give me Dantonio’s era over Saban or John L. Smith’s any day of the week.

“I’ve always had respect for the Michigan State community and football program,” Meyer said. “I love Michigan State. Since my Notre Dame days (in the 1990s), I’ve thought Michigan State is a great place. They’ll find a great coach.”

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Former UGA WR Tyler Simmons has strong opinion on Mark Dantonio abruptly leaving Michigan State

Former Georgia football WR Tyler Simmons has a strong opinion on Mark Dantonio leaving Michigan State abruptly.

On Tuesday, Mark Dantonio abruptly announced his retirement after 13 seasons as head coach at Michigan State.

The timing of his announcement, which came as a complete shock for everyone, could not have been worse for the program. Just one day before signing day and your head coach of over a decade steps down?

For recruits, the Spartans received 19 national letters of intent during the early signing period, with seven players enrolling early. These are all players who, despite placing their trust in Dantonio, will never play a down of football for the man they signed up for.

One of those recruits is Jordon Simmons, a 3-star running back out of McEachern High School in Powder Springs, who fortunately has not actually signed his name to paper yet.

Simmons is the younger brother of former Georgia wide receiver Tyler Simmons, who fans will always remember as the player who blocked an Alabama punt in the national title game but was incorrectly called offside.

The younger Simmons and his family were recently in East Lansing visiting with Dantonio and the Spartans.

Simmons has been committed to the program since October, however, after news of Dantonio’s retirement on Tuesday, Simmons tweeted that he will be delaying his signing until he has had more time to think about things.

“Due to the unforeseen retirement of Coach Dantonio and after discussing things with my family, I have decided to delay my signing with Michigan State University until further notice,” Simmons wrote. “I love everything that Michigan State has to offer and I appreciate the love and support that the fan base has shown me. However, with the uncertainty of the MSU program I have decided to take some time to weight out my options and think about where I will spend the next 4 years.”

Simmons told Rivals.com that other schools have already been calling. Some of those schools include Oklahoma State, Virginia and Washington State. At this time, though, Simmons said he is still considering Michigan State.

Tyler Simmons had his own thoughts on this, which he took to Twitter to share as well.

Simmons took issue with the timing of Dantonio’s retirement, saying he understands that coaches step down all the time but to do so the day before signing day just is not right.

Simmons is correct. It’s a shame that Dantonio could do so much good for a university for over a decade, but then to call it quits just one day before signing day shows no concern for any of the 20+ players who signed with Michigan State.