As the TV cameras flashed to Jonathan Smith on the sidelines of a blown 21-14 second-half lead against Nebraska, Michigan State fans became furious. The second-year head coach didn’t seem mad, he didn’t seem upset, he didn’t seem disappointed — he seemed unaffected.
Losing a lead thanks to undisciplined play, coaching gaffes, and avoidable mistakes should have made him angry, but he wasn’t. He was fine. He looked unbothered.
And that’s the problem.
Fans want to see a coach who shows he cares as much as Aidan Chiles and Nick Marsh did on the sidelines as the final minutes ticked off the clock on another disappointing loss. Those two showed some fight and got into a verbal disagreement on the sidelines because, well, both are fierce competitors who want to win.
Fans want to see the same from Smith. Unfortunately, that’s not the kind of coach he is.
As we all know, Smith is a very even-keeled coach who never lets his emotions get the best of him, and for the most part, that’s not a horrible thing. But when your team is throwing away a seven-point second-half lead on the road because of its own undoing, you’d expect to see a coach with a little more fire.
To add fuel to the fanbase’s recent fire, Smith told reporters after the game that he didn’t see any glaring issues with his offensive tackle play. Just an inexplicable quote.
Now, sitting at 3-2 on the year, and staring down its toughest stretch of the season with Indiana, Michigan, and Penn State still on the schedule, Michigan State looks like a team that could very well miss a postseason berth for a fourth straight season — and second straight under Smith.
Unacceptable for a storied program like Michigan State.
It’s even more unacceptable when you realize that Smith is getting paid a fortune for these results. He’s being paid over $7 million per year to produce fringe-bowl teams. That won’t cut it.
So after that ugly loss at Nebraksa that was Michigan State’s own misdoing, is it fair to say that Smith’s seat is warming up? I’d say absolutely.
New athletic director J Batt has no reason to give Smith the benefit of the doubt because that wasn’t his hand-picked coaching choice. Smith was an Alan Haller hire. He has no allegiance to Smith, and he probably wants to get his own guy if this season continues to spiral out of control.
Unfortunately, as David Harns of Spartans Illustrated pointed out on social media, Smith’s buyout is astronomical, so making a change would be costly.
Is Smith’s seat heating up? Yes. Will he be fired after the season if he fails to make a bowl? It would be a tough decision given the buyout, but I think Batt would be able to find the funds to make that happen. If no progress has been made through two seasons, you have to make the tough choice.
But hey, Smith still has time to turn this thing around, and we all know just how much a win over Michigan and a bowl berth can fix things. There’s a long season still ahead.