J Batt is going to have a difficult decision to make this offseason regarding the future of the Michigan State football program.
Considering the program is trending in the wrong direction under Jonathan Smith with a 3-4 record just a year after going 5-7, it feels like changes need to be made. Whether Batt will give Smith another year, but he has to cut some coordinators loose, remains to be seen, but there’s a good chance that the program is looking for a new head coach in less than two months.
Sure, all that could change with a win over Michigan and then a bowl berth, but he has to turn things around in a hurry in order for that to happen.
But if Batt does move on from Smith, there are several candidates who would make complete sense, but there’s one name that I think all fans could agree on: Robert Saleh.
While this name is more of a long-shot hire, especially since Saleh said “no thanks” to the Spartans the last time they were looking for a head coach, it makes more sense now because he was the New York Jets’ head coach the last time Michigan State was in the market. Now, he’s the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, and he could be looking for a head coaching job.
I do think it would take a lot to pull him away from the NFL, but if he wants to take control of his own team, he may have to go the college route first before getting another opportunity in the league.
Michigan State would be a prime spot for Saleh.
Why? Because he grew up in Michigan and went to Northern Michigan (Tom Izzo approved) where he played tight end. After his college career, he took a grad assistant job with Michigan State from 2002-03, and that launched his coaching career. He could come back to where his career started in order to turn around a program that he likely grew up watching.
Saleh would be a tremendous fit with the Spartans.
- He’s a Midwest guy
- He’s from Michigan
- He has Michigan State ties
- He’s young and a player’s coach
- He’s defensive-minded
- He has a ton of energy and his personality would draw recruits
It wouldn’t be the easiest hire to make because it would require a ton of money and also the trust of the athletic department and boosters to hire a coach who has never led his own college football program. Fans, however, would be all-in on this hire.
I don’t see how anyone would say no to this — except maybe Saleh.