Michigan State football finally gets their guy in Jonathan Smith as head coach

Folks, Michigan State football finally has a new leader.

After three-plus years of Mel Tucker and his staff, the Spartans have finally moved on and they hired their new head coach on Saturday afternoon.

And if you’re wondering if it’s legit, it 100 percent is.

Smith was announced as the next head coach of the program on Saturday by the official Michigan State football Twitter account.

Huge.

What does Smith bring to Michigan State football?

Hiring Smith is a power move for the Spartans as he’s been one of the best up-and-coming coaches in college football at age 44. He had success in his assistant roles at Boise State (under Chris Petersen) and Washington as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. He was the offensive coordinator for the Huskies when they made their first-ever playoff appearance in 2016.

In 2018, he was hired at his alma mater and he went 2-10 with the Beavers before building something special years later. He was just 9-22 in his first three years in Corvallis before making a bowl in each of the past three seasons, including a 10-win campaign in 2022.

Smith is an offensive-minded head coach which isn’t something the Spartans usually go for but this should be a hire that keeps a lot of weapons in East Lansing.

He also recruited Katin Houser so it wouldn’t be shocking to see the two thrilled to reunite in East Lansing under different circumstances.

Michigan State’s offense should benefit big-time from this hire.