A lot can be said about Jonathan Smith’s tenure at Michigan State, and not much of it is positive. Smith was a really good person, but he just wasn’t a fit in East Lansing.
He didn’t bring that toughness and culture of accountability that existed under Mark Dantonio.
The culture issues were obvious when it felt like there were no true leaders to hold anyone accountable. The coaching staff just kind of let guys do whatever they wanted with no fear of punishment, and Nick Marsh found that out the hard way at Indiana’s first spring camp session.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti talked about how Marsh came out wearing gold cleats and he immediately chewed him out and set him straight.
Cignetti also took a little shot at Smith by saying Marsh probably didn’t get much reprimanding at Michigan State.
Indiana WR Nick Marsh wore gold cleats to IU's first spring camp session. Curt Cignetti was not pleased to see that.
— Jared Kelly (@Jared_Kelly7) March 26, 2026
"He learned what getting your ass ripped is all about. I don't know if that happened to him very often at Michigan State." #iufb pic.twitter.com/UHRMM0i2bf
This may have been a stray, but it’s a warranted shot by Cignetti. He’s absolutely right.
Sometimes, mild mannered coaches are different with their players behind the scenes than they seem to be when people are watching, but it’s pretty clear that Smith was the same person behind the scenes that we saw in the media and during games with no emotion. Again, good guy, bad fit for Michigan State. That type of attitude can work at a place like Oregon State, but not in East Lansing.
Cignetti’s attitude is exactly what Michigan State fans have missed since Mark Dantonio retired, but it sure feels like Pat Fitzgerald is bringing that back.
Pat Fitzgerald is returning that accountability culture
Bringing a guy like Max Bullough back to join his new staff was a genius move by Fitzgerald. He knows that Max has the key to success within the program because he was a captain on some of the greatest teams in program history under Dantonio.
A big reason those teams had so much success was because everyone held each other accountable — he found that out firsthand when Dantonio suspended him for the Rose Bowl.
Hearing from another coach that a former Spartan developed a sense of “I can do whatever I want” under Smith is disappointing and it just shows how much work Fitzgerald has to do.
The football program is finally in the right hands again.