Whenever a new head coach is hired, they’re given a grace period by the athletic director and president who brought them in. They’re given a little more time to prove themselves because they were hand-picked by the president and AD. Pat Fitzgerald, however, is facing some adversity in his first year as Michigan State football coach.
He may soon not get the grace period that he was expecting under J Batt and Kevin Guskiewicz now that they’re leaving suddenly for Kentucky and Clemson, respectively.
Fitzgerald was hired by Batt and Guskiewicz back in December and he talked about how nice it was to have the entire administration and athletic department aligned on their goals. He loved the fact that Batt and Guskiewicz were on board with what his vision was for the football program and they were giving him the resources he would need to succeed.
Over the past month, Fitzgerald watched as his president bolted for Clemson thanks to a complete board of trustees debacle and as his athletic director followed suit, accepting the Kentucky job.
Tom Izzo was infuriated over what had transpired, likely due to his disgust of the board of trustees, and he spoke openly about that on Monday. Everyone was kind of curious to hear how his football counterpart was dealing with the news.
Fortunately for Spartan fans, he’s not deterred by this recent administration change.
"I talked to Tom (Izzo) right away.... I told him I'm in a foxhole here."
— Ben Shockley (@BenShockley_) June 15, 2026
MSU football coach Pat Fitzgerald's reaction to the departures of Michigan State President Kevin Guskiewicz and AD J Batt.@wilxTV https://t.co/qWazdvDszO pic.twitter.com/DIze7Pd4Mx
Fitzgerald said he’s “all in” with Michigan State and that he’s happy for his former athletic director and president, wishing them future success. He also said that he couldn’t be more excited about the future of Michigan State football and he’s just grateful to be in the position to coach again.
So anyone who was worried about the news potentially rocking the Fitzgerald boat, there’s your answer: he’s unfazed.
Michigan State football, basketball are in good hands
This situation could admittedly be a whole lot worse for Michigan State. Although losing one of the best presidents that the school has ever had (Izzo’s words, not mine) as well as a rising star of an athletic director in the span of a month is painful and makes Michigan State look bad, the university has two great leaders of its biggest athletic programs.
Imagine if Batt and Guskiewicz left and Izzo was no longer around and the football program had someone like Jonathan Smith still leading the way. Those would be some scary times.
Izzo always seems to be the adult in the room and the university is going to be just fine with him leading the way vocally. Fitzgerald is going to join forces with Izzo and make sure that the university stays afloat while it searches for new leadership.
The board of trustees may be embarrassing, but at least we have a couple of trusted adults leading the most important and valuable athletic programs at the school.
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