Two coaches were publicly named as new hires under Michigan State’s Pat Fitzgerald on Saturday afternoon. The first was quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian, and the second was an already-rumored cornerbacks coach Hank Poteat.
There had been no talk about a quarterbacks coach before Saturday because some, including myself, assumed that would be new offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan’s job.
Poteat, on the other hand, was rumored as the cornerbacks coach for weeks.
On Saturday, Justin Thind of 247Sports reported that Michigan State would officially be hiring Poteat from Iowa State.
NEWS: #MichiganState has finalized the hiring of #IowaState cornerbacks coach Hank Poteat, sources tell @SpartanTailgate.
— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) December 27, 2025
The Super Bowl champion, 10-year NFL vet has previous Big Ten experience at #Wisconsin.@mzenitz previously reported his candidacy.https://t.co/1ZzeCD8cQX pic.twitter.com/7oeInxXNf7
The hire has Michigan State fans jumping for joy because Poteat has an impressive track record and the Spartans have had a mediocre secondary for years.
The days of the ‘No Fly Zone’ had been long gone, but that might be changing.
Meet new MSU CBs coach Hank Poteat
Poteat played college football at Pitt and was a third-round pick as a defensive back in 2000 by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He spent about a decade in the NFL and even won a Super Bowl, but he went back to college as a grad assistant at Pitt in 2013.
He got his first cornerbacks coach job in 2015 at Kent State and then parlayed that into the same job at Toledo and then Wisconsin. Poteat was hired by Matt Campbell to coach the cornerbacks at Iowa Sate until he left for Penn State earlier this month.
Poteat’s time with Iowa State should win a lot of Michigan State fans over as he helped lead the nation’s No. 1 passing defense in 2024. Iowa State went to the Big 12 title game that season and then beat No. 15 Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
In 2023 with Iowa State, the Cyclones were 10th in the nation in interceptions.
In 2022 with Wisconsin, Poteat’s secondary accounted for 17 interceptions which was good for seventh in the country. Both of his starting cornerbacks were also All-Big Ten selections in his first season with the Badgers. He knows how to succeed in the Big Ten.
This is one of those hires that will be talked about for years as being one of Fitzgerald’s most meaningful.