Pat Fitzgerald is on a hiring frenzy of late, and he has to be if he wants to put a complete coaching staff together by February’s signing day. He likely is waiting for some coaches to wrap up their seasons, but the new Michigan State football coach is still working.
The first-year Spartan coach has hired most of his defensive staff, outside of a defensive line and cornerbacks coach, and I feel like now is a good time to grade his first round of hires.
Which new coaching hire deserves the highest grade?
Joe Rossi, Co-Defensive Coordinator — B
This grade may seem a little harsh considering what I’ve given the other coaching hires, but Joe Rossi still has a lot to prove in East Lansing. A couple of years ago when he was hired by Jonathan Smith away from Minnesota, I loved it. He had some incredible defenses at Minnesota and PJ Fleck lauded him as one of the best coaches he’s ever worked with.
Rossi showed everyone something near the end of the season as his defense improved drastically, but he still had the nation’s 78th-best total defense — not good enough.
I’m going to assume it was a personnel issue.
Max Bullough, Co-Defensive Coordinator/LBs coach — A-
I’m not sure if I loved this hire more because Max Bullough is one of the rising stars in the coaching landscape or because he helped lead Mark Dantonio’s Michigan State teams to new heights. He brought toughness back to East Lansing and helped spark one of the most successful eras of MSU football in about 50 years.
Hearing that Notre Dame did all it could to try and keep Bullough from bolting for Michigan State definitely shows that he’s a good one, and this promotion may just make him hungrier.
I’m ready for some Bullough-coached defenses.
James Adams, Safeties Coach — B-
I really don’t have much of a vibe on James Adams, but I think this could end up being a good hire because players seem to really like him and he was only around for one season. His position group was also ravaged by injuries and personnel was a major issue, too.
I’m willing to wait a year to really judge him as a coach, but I have to just say, for now, that the hire was slightly underwhelming, but there is upside.
LeVar Woods, Special Teams Coordinator — A+
There may not be a better hire that Fitzgerald could’ve made at special teams coordinator than Iowa’s LeVar Woods. He has consistently had some of the best special teams units in the country, and he’s helped produce multiple All-Americans on special teams. His units were also the reason Iowa was able to beat Michigan State this season.
Woods has helped produce some elite punters, kickers, and returners, and it feels like Iowa always has the best special teams in the Big Ten.
There’s not much to not like about this hire. It’s darn near perfect.