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Michigan State Football: 3 potential replacements for RBs coach William Peagler

By Connor Muldowney

Sep 3, 2021; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Michigan State Spartans running backs coach William Peagler walks on the field during warmups before the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2021; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Michigan State Spartans running backs coach William Peagler walks on the field during warmups before the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports /
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If Michigan State football has a shortlist of candidates to replace running backs coach William Peagler, these guys should be included.

William Peagler had a heck of a short stint in East Lansing, going from unproven coach to a priority hire for Billy Napier at Florida. His time with Michigan State football was memorable.

Peagler helped target Kenneth Walker III in the transfer portal last year and coached him into a Heisman candidate. He had strong relationships with the running backs and was a solid recruiter. He became a top target for Napier as tight ends coach primarily because he’s a good guy to have on staff because of his knowledge and recruiting prowess.

Now that Mel Tucker is forced to replace another assistant, who could he target as the Spartans’ next running backs coach?

3. Sedrick Irvin

One former Michigan State running back who has expressed interest in returning to East Lansing to join the coaching staff is Sedrick Irvin.

After the Spartans were looking for another assistant following the conclusion of the 2021 regular season as Travares Tillman left for the Georgia Tech defensive backs coach job, Irvin took to social media to say that he would be interested in joining the staff.

For those who remember Irvin, he was fantastic with Michigan State in the 1990s under Nick Saban, totaling three 1,000-yard seasons and 35 rushing scores before heading off to the NFL. He was actually a running back for the Spartans at the same time (1997-98) that Mel Tucker was a grad assistant under Saban so there’s familiarity there.

This would be an interesting hire because Irvin does have coaching experience at the collegiate level, serving as an assistant at Alabama under Saban and Mark Ingram actually thanked him during his Heisman acceptance speech for helping him throughout his career. He’s bounced around since at Memphis as running backs coach and then in the high school ranks.

A young, energetic coach who knows Tucker, played and worked under Saban, and is familiar with East Lansing? Yes, please.

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