Pat Fitzgerald has some decisions to make.
The new head coach at Michigan State has to construct a roster, set up a recruiting board for 2027, identify potential transfer targets, and he has to hire a coaching staff to surround him.
Hiring a coaching staff isn’t an easy — or quick — task. Fitzgerald has to reach out to candidates for each assistant spot and make them an offer that would pull them away from their current jobs. While this might take a few weeks to finalize, there are some coaches already in East Lansing that Fitzgerald could opt to bring back from Jonathan Smith’s staff.
While Smith’s staff isn’t exactly on good terms with Michigan State fans, retaining these three guys could lead to a smooth transition as well as success on the field.
1. Courtney Hawkins, WRs coach
Courtney Hawkins has survived a round of coaching changes already as Smith decided to retain him from Mel Tucker’s staff back in 2023. He has been one of the best recruiters on the staff and his receiving corps is constantly one of the most stocked position groups on the team.
Hawkins is a Spartan legend, the players love him, and he fits with the culture that Fitzgerald is trying to create in East Lansing.
Not many coaches have the resume of putting receivers in the NFL in such a short period of time like Hawkins has. He would be a no-brainer to retain, and it sounds like that might be the case after he welcomed a couple of receiver commits “home” when they signed with the Spartans this week.
2. Brian Wozniak, TEs coach
Brian Wozniak is another guy with an impressive resume, and he knows how to get and develop good tight ends. He was able to bring Jack Velling to East Lansing with him and he’s turned Michael Masunas into a solid tight end. Retaining him would also be huge in trying to bring Jayden Savoury back — the coaches were excited about the true freshman.
Plus, there are two solid tight ends coming in with the 2026 recruiting class. Wozniak is one of the better tight ends coaches out there, and he has a lot of players who committed to him.
3. Joe Rossi, Defensive Coordinator
Some might not love this move (myself included), but I do get why it would happen. Joe Rossi was one of the coaches who actually showed that he cared this season, and when he moved down to the sidelines midway through the year, it felt like the defense played with more emotion.
Rossi is well-liked by players and he has a track record of success before Michigan State, but his defenses weren’t great in East Lansing. Still, bringing him back would have its benefits.
Also, I’m going to give Rossi the benefit of the doubt and say that he didn’t have a ton of success in two years at Michigan State because there wasn’t a ton of quality talent added to the defensive side of the ball. He won’t have that issue with the amount of money Fitzgerald will have for NIL.