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Michigan State football: 6 head coaching hires who’d make the fanbase revolt

By Connor Muldowney

Jan 1, 2020; Tampa, Florida, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck (yellow tie) walks on the field after defeating the Auburn Tigers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2020; Tampa, Florida, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck (yellow tie) walks on the field after defeating the Auburn Tigers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur on the sideline for the final game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles defeat the Giants, 34-17, on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, in East Rutherford.Nyg Vs Phi
New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur on the sideline for the final game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles defeat the Giants, 34-17, on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, in East Rutherford.Nyg Vs Phi /

The more I see this name even mentioned in regards to Michigan State’s vacant head coaching job, the angrier I get. I just know that if Michigan State had two months to do a national search for the right coach and had plenty of resources to land a top name and it settled on Pat Shurmur with no head coaching experience in college, fans would jump ship immediately.

OK, so no one is going to just stop being a Michigan State fan because of a coaching hire, but this would probably cause season ticket holders to decrease exponentially.

No, I don’t think Shurmur is a bad coach. I just don’t think he’s head coach material at a major Power Five program. He could be a solid assistant or even an analyst like he is currently at Colorado, but at the age of 58, he’s not going to just figure out how to be a great college head coach. This would have Herm Edwards 2.0 written all over it — ask Arizona State fans how that went.

I get the draw of Shurmur to Michigan State. He graduated from Michigan State after playing on the offensive line and then he spent time on the staff as a grad assistant. He got his coaching start in East Lansing and eventually became an NFL head coach.

Oh yeah, he was 19-46 as a head coach in the NFL.

I know, the NFL and college are completely different, but I just can’t see him coming in and having success despite never leading a team at this level.

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