You know things are bad in East Lansing when former Michigan State football players are showing no hesitation in their verbal destruction of Jonathan Smith.
You don't often see former players bashing a current head coach unless he did something to truly wrong the program, its fans, or its current and former players. But what Smith has been doing to Michigan State is just as disrespectful, according to numerous former players.
Guys like Marcus Rush, Trae Waynes, Matt Seybert, Taiwan Jones, Lawrence Thomas, Flozell Adams, and Chris Frey have shared their disgust for the current state of the program, and they've all seemingly endorsed the same guy to be the next head coach: Max Bullough.
Well, Max's younger brother, Byron Bullough, took to X to share his disgust for the state of the program, ripping into Smith and calling for change on Tuesday.
No way anyone can watch this whole interview start to finish and say with a straight face “Yes, this is the man.” To get the job done in the next 5+ years.
— Byron Bullough (@byronbullough) October 28, 2025
He seems to be a good guy. That’s great. It’s OK, not everybody is cut out to be a winner. The STANDARD must be set at… https://t.co/ljhg9uPM6Z
I wish I could say that Bullough is wrong or he's overreacting, but he's right: Smith shows no emotion and watching his pressers and thinking that he's still the guy is foolish behavior. He is also right when he says that Smith seems like a good guy, but he's just not a fit in East Lansing. He wants a winner, and Smith just isn't the right guy for the job.
Bullough also mentioned a "standard" being set to bring Spartan football back, and when he was asked who he believed should replace Smith, he said that he had his options (I'm assuming his older brother is one of them).
Maybe Byron will have a place on the next staff is Max takes over for Smith. At least we know that what's been happening with the football program is not good enough for him or any other former player.