Going from a coach that had the personality of a paper towel to a coach that has an infectious energy has been a breath of fresh air for Michigan State fans.
No offense to Jonathan Smith, but he wasn’t motivating anyone. He had a vanilla personality that just didn’t fit in at Michigan State. Pat Fitzgerald is the exact opposite. He has an infectious personality and he’s going to motivate his guys to run through a wall. Fitzgerald is the perfect fit at MSU.
Don’t believe that yet? A three-minute video of a mic’d up Fitzgerald at Michigan State’s fall camp may change your mind. It’s going to be really difficult for the doubters to dislike this guy.
SPARTAN FOOTBALL IS BACK pic.twitter.com/5Ny88ocloR
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) August 7, 2026
Fitzgerald may have the most personality of any head coach that Michigan State has employed… ever? Mark Dantonio was stoic, but he was far from vanilla, Mel Tucker had a lot of personality but it wasn’t quite at the Fitzgerald level, and Smith has already been discussed so he doesn’t deserve anymore strays.
You could argue that John L. Smith had a more “out there” personality, but he didn’t quite mesh with the program’s culture and he was promptly run out of town.
Listening to Fitzgerald interact with his players was probably the best video of the week and it proves that he’s actually excited to be here. The previous head coach never seemed like he wanted to be here (yes, I said no more Smith strays but this one slipped).
You can also tell by how the players are interacting with Fitzgerald that they are all in and they take him seriously but also can have some fun with him.
This mic’d up segment is further proof that Michigan State hired the right guy.
Pat Fitzgerald isn’t shying away from Big Ten title talk
Obviously winning a Big Ten title this season is likely out of the question for Michigan State given the fact that the roster has been completely rehauled and the Spartans are projected to finish near the bottom of the conference.
Yet Fitzgerald has yet to shoot down the notion that his team will be competitive this year. That’s exactly what fans want to hear. He may be utilizing some coach-speak, but even mentioning a Big Ten title shows that he’s confident not only in himself as the head coach of Michigan State, but also the group of players that he’s assembled.
Coaches will never say that their teams can’t compete, but usually in year one of a massive rebuild, you won’t hear a head coach even mention a conference title yet.
Fitzgerald is (thankfully) setting a different standard in East Lansing.
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