Vegas oddsmakers are always cooking up some interesting numbers regarding coaching searches, and Michigan State's Jonathan Smith has found himself on some lists lately.
While there will always be rumors about him returning back to Oregon State to fix the mess that he created by leaving the program, the rumors with more legs seem to be the ones insinuting that he will be headed back out west to coach another Big Ten program.
It seems clear to Michigan State fans that Smith isn't built for the Big Ten, at least not in East Lansing, but Vegas seems dead-set on including him in coaching search odds lists.
The latest is in regards to the UCLA head coaching job.
According to Vegas oddsmakers, Smith is the No. 2 favorite at 4/1 odds to land the UCLA head coaching job which became vacant in September after Deshaun Foster strumbled out of the gates despite landing Nico Iamaleava in the transfer portal.
Smith could opt to make the jump to UCLA where the expectations may not be quite as high and he'd have a former five-star quarterback at his disposal -- unless he also wanted to bring Aidan Chiles.
Washington's Jedd Fisch has the top odds at 3/1 to become UCLA's next head coach, although that would be a reverse move, while Smith is right behind him with 4/1 odds. I don't think UCLA will take a chance on Smith after watching him struggle at Michigan State, but the Bruins might just believe that he's a West Coast guy and he'll thrive back closer to home.
I mean, Smith is from Pasadena.