Michigan State Football: 3 options for head coach post-Luke Fickell news

1. Make Mike Tressel interim head coach for 2020

At one point, I considered this “worst-case scenario” but I have backed off that notion following the Luke Fickell decision.

As of right now, hiring Mike Tressel as the interim head coach for a year is the best-case scenario for Michigan State, even if that means putting together a shaky 2021 recruiting class. Swinging and missing on one recruiting class is better than whiffing on 4-5 in a row under a new head coach who might be rushed into the job (Bret Bielema).

Tressel may be coming off a bad season as Michigan State’s defensive coordinator, but he opened some eyes as a potential replacement for Mark Dantonio in 2018 when he helped lead one of the nation’s top defenses in his first year as the lone man in charge. He no longer split the role with Harlon Barnett and he excelled.

That step back in 2019 forced some people to backtrack on the idea that Tressel was head coach material and maybe he should just get the 2020 season to prove himself.

In this scenario, Michigan State wins. On one side, Tressel exceeds expectations and leads Michigan State to a decent bowl game and potentially sheds that interim tag. On the other, he keeps the program afloat and lets the athletic department spend a reasonable amount of time looking for a head coach with a perfectly-timed search.

This would be best-case scenario for Michigan State in 2020 to avoid risking throwing 5-6 years down the drain with a rushed hire.