New head coach Jonathan Smith has quickly put together a top-notch staff. By top-notch, I mean keeping the best position coach (wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins) while replacing everyone else. It has been announced that he is bringing his offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren with him, but his defensive coordinator, Trent Bray, has been named head coach of Oregon State.
The fact that a new defensive coordinator has not been named could have implications that they are trying to get someone who played in a conference title game (Iowa defensive coordinator and MSU alum Phil Parker) or could just be thoroughly vetting other candidates.
Here are three names to look for in the next few days.
1. Jim Leonhard
Many people thought Jim Leonhard would get the Wisconsin head coaching job after Paul Chryst was fired in October of last year. He was named interim head coach and won 4-of-7 games to finish the season.
While Luke Fickell ultimately got the job, everyone was sure Leonhard would get a coordinator job at another Power Five school. He was a Broyles Award finalist, had the top defensive in the Big Ten in 2017, and never finished lower than fifth while being the full-time defensive coordinator.
When he wasn’t retained at Wisconsin, he became a senior football analyst at Illinois.
He was born and raised in Wisconsin, played there, coached there, and has recruited well in the Midwest, something Smith needs from his staff. He played in the NFL up until 2014 so he still has some ties in the pros as well. If Smith needs a reference, he just needs to ask his good friend Paul Chryst, who was Smith’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach when he was playing at Oregon State.
The connection is there, Smith just needs to make the call.
2. D’Anton Lynn
D’Anton Lynn is currently the defensive coordinator at UCLA. How long he’ll have that position is anyone’s guess. More than likely, Chip Kelly will be fired and when that happens, the staff is usually let go as well.
UCLA was 16th in points per game this year (albeit getting an easy schedule that did not include Oregon or Washington) and held a ranked Utah team to 14 points and USC to 20 points. He also had the Bruins fourth in the nation with 41 sacks. I know we complained about MSU’s secondary, and rightly so, but a pass rush helps the rest of the defense whether it is the physical act of bringing down the quarterback while he has the ball, or just getting pressure, leading to off-balance throws that are more susceptible to interceptions.
Lynn’s connection to the Midwest? He played four years at Penn State from 2008-11. While he only reached the practice squad for one year with the Jets, the team thought enough of him to bring him back on as a seasonal intern in 2014. From there, he became a defensive assistant for the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens (a year-in-year-out defensive powerhouse), then became a secondary coach for the Texans, then returning the the Ravens as a safeties coach.
He’s well-traveled with a ton of NFL ties and experience.
3. Mike Tressel
Sometimes to move forward, you have to look back.
If I were to tell you that I want Jonathan Smith to bring back a former Mark Dantonio disciple, you might get nervous. But looking back, our anger was towards Dantonio for not replacing his offensive coaches, and blamed the offense for a lot of issues.
Let’s take the 2018 season for example. While the team went 7-6, the defense was 13th in the nation in points allowed per game, was the only Big Ten school to allow less than 1,000 rush yards, and saw Kenny Willikes, a former walk-on, win Big Ten Defensive Player in the Year.
Smith wants player development and there’s no better example than Mike Tressel-led defenses of the 2010s.
Also, in those six losses, the defense held the opposing offense to under 30 points in every single one. Three of those losses were by three points or less and the offense was completely to blame. The losses include 16-13 to Arizona State, a 9-6 loss to Nebraska, and who could forget the legendary Red Box Bowl, where the defense held the Justin Herbert-led Oregon Ducks, who were averaging 27 points per game, to just seven points. Lucky for Herbert and Oregon, Dave Warner was calling plays for the Spartans and that’s all they needed to win 7-6 in the worst college football game ever played.
Tressel already has ties to the school obviously, has stayed in the area (currently the DC for Wisconsin), and has a history of turning low-rated recruits into stars. Smith can just call Dantonio and I’m sure he’ll get a glowing recommendation.