it's time to go: get pat fitzgerald out of east lansing

It’s been what feels like a long time since the Michigan State Spartans’ glory days as a program. It felt like yesterday when Michigan State was in Rose Bowls, Big Ten championship games, and even College Football Playoff appearances. But now, it’s been four years straight that the Spartans haven’t even made a bowl game. It looks like they aren’t near making it for a fifth time this year.​

The program’s demise all started when Mel Tucker was fired. For a brief time Tucker gave the Spartans hope. After beating Michigan and bringing in transfers like Kenneth Walker, Tucker had the Spartans on a good path.

However, after an off-the-field issue that saw Tucker lose his job in September 2023, Michigan State was unsure of which direction to take, and determined that the best option would be to hire the Oregon State Beavers’ Jonathan Smith.

Smith seemed like a solid hire at first, as he led a struggling Oregon State program to multiple great seasons, but unfortunately, he was unable to transfer his success over to East Lansing.

When Smith was HC, the Spartans were led by a dynamic quarterback and wide receiver core in Aiden Chiles and Nick Marsh, two young stars that looked like the future of the program. But the duo just couldn’t figure it out. Chiles would often overthrow and simply couldn’t find Marsh consistently to create a scary offense.

After two straight failure seasons, Chiles left for the Northwestern Wildcats, while Marsh left for the Indiana Hoosiers. And of course, both are succeeding with their respective programs as projected draft picks after leaving the Spartans.

Michigan State is now led by former Northwestern HC Pat Fitzgerald after coming over to East Lansing over the offseason. Hiring Fitzgerald was a gamble of a hire that kind of seems like a loss to date.

While Fitzgerland fits the Spartan mold of hard-nosed, defensive-minded motivator, he simply doesn’t have the talent to compete. When the best result of the season through five games is a 17-point loss on the road against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, there is clearly a big issue within the program.​

Don't let recent history fool you; expectations should be much higher in East Lansing for a program that does not lack allure or resources, just talent.

It’s not fair to give up on Fitzgerald just yet after five games, but it’s clear that he’s not the right guy for the job based on results. And they have already played the easier part of their schedule. Things will only get tougher for Fitzgerald and the squad. If a turn-around does not come soon, Michigan State needs to look in another direction and find a head coach that can bring in some talent. In the era of NIL, talent wins games.

​The reality is, the Spartans’ schedule is never easy, and when other teams have much more talent around them, it’s really tough to compete. Michigan State needs to find a better recruiter, and also a guy who brings in talent from the transfer portal.

It’s clear that things aren’t working in East Lansing, MI, and while it may be a bit premature, it’s time for a change at head coach already.