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MSU NAMES NEW FOOTBALL
COACH : Sports commentary by James Andersen After a four-week search, Michigan State has finally found its man. Mark Dantonio was hired as the university’s 24th head football coach early Tuesday morning after the university Board of Trustees voted unanimously to hire him. Dantonio comes to Michigan State riding a huge tidal wave of praise and credentials. He was an assistant to former MSU head coach Nick Saban in 1995-1999 and served for a year under Bobby Williams in 2000. Dantonio then took off for Ohio State where he served as the defensive coordinator under Jim Tressel and helped coach the Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship. Dantonio had previously been in his third year as head coach of the University of Cincinnati before accepting the MSU job. It seems that MSU has finally found the right fit for the job: one of its former coaches who knows the school, the tradition and what it’s like to coach here. At Tuesday’s press conference, most university officials spoke highly of the new coach. “Mark Dantonio is not the compromise candidate. He’s the absolute choice,” said Trustee Joel Ferguson. “He’s someone who understood what it meant to be part of team MSU,” university President Lou Anna K. Simon said. Yes, the new coach comes in with solid support from the university. This is the guy that was basically hand-picked by Simon and the committee selected to help in the search process, which included men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo. There’s no doubt that everyone believes that Dantonio can get the job done and turn MSU back into a competitive football team. “I think we have a hell of a lot to get done here,” Izzo said. However, with as many reasons as there are to remain hopeful and optimistic about the future of MSU football, there are also many reasons to remain skeptical. Former head coach John L. Smith was fired on November 1; Dantonio was hired Nov. 27. From the way Simon and others spoke at the early November press conference, it sounded as though the search for a new coach might be a long and thoughtful process requiring several months of looking at potential candidates. The season ended two weeks ago and already a new coach has been selected. Officials said they wanted the new coach to have a chance to recruit players, but hopefully the committee wasn’t rushing its selection just for this purpose. Dantonio comes to MSU being hailed as the one who’s going to make the football team respectable. After all, this season he coached Cincinnati to a 7-5 record, which included a victory over then previously undefeated Rutgers. However, his three year record as coach of the Bearcats was 18-17, he led them to one bowl game, and his teams never finished better than fourth in the conference standings. John L. Smith’s record at MSU was 22-26, and he went to one bowl game. On paper these two coaches don’t look too different except that Dantonio has some quality wins to his credit. In 2002, Smith was supposed to be the hero who would turn things around. In the beginning, he did, but ultimately faired no better than his predecessors. Who knows whether Dantonio will break the mold? Sure, Dantonio beat Rutgers and won a national title, but that was then, at other schools. A Michigan State football coach’s success is somewhat determined by how well he does against Michigan, Notre Dame, and to a lesser extent Ohio State. No doubt the Spartans will start off 3-0 or 4-0 as they typically do, but Dantonio’s success will be determined by whether or not he can lead the Spartans to victories over rivals and into bowl games. Wins against teams like Eastern Michigan and Idaho are nice moral boosters, but wins against Michigan and Notre Dame will make people truly believe that things are going to be different this time. Dantonio sure talks a good game. At one point, he held up his right hand, showing off his Ohio State championship ring, to prove the point that he believes and expects good things to happen here. He also talks about how proud he is to be here and how he wants MSU to be the best. Coaches can promise anything before the season begins, but it all comes down to what happens on the field. Sure, Dantonio knows MSU, he’s been here before and has the support of the university, but how will that translate on the field? Let’s not forget someone like Alan Trammel, whose popularity and status with the Detroit Tigers made him seem like the right fit for the Tigers managerial job. But instead of propelling the Tigers to the top as Jim Leyland has done, Trammell simply coached the Tigers to further mediocrity. Despite the skepticism, Dantonio and the university have done a lot to try and make sure things will work out. MSU players Jehuu Caulcrick and Caleb Thornhill were consulted in the coaching search, unlike a few weeks ago when the players weren’t informed of Smith’s firing by the university. Dantonio has established himself as a defensive coach. While he wouldn’t give much detail into his coaching schemes, he did say that running the ball was important because it showed toughness. With Caulcrick, Javon Ringer, and A.J. Jimmerson splitting time at running back, Dantonio could turn the Spartans into one of the best rushing teams in the nation. In order to avoid a huge buyout as they did with Smith, the university has filled Dantonio’s contract with incentives, while guaranteeing him a $1.1 million base salary. It seems like MSU wants to make Dantonio earn his money. So here he is, Mark Dantonio, the new face of MSU football, a man ready to make the Spartans competitive again. “Every (coaching) job in America is a tough job. Everybody goes through problems, but it’s how you handle those problems and problem solve that will make the difference. I came here to win.” Yes, every coaching job is tough and MSU is no exception. Perhaps Dantonio will be the exception. |
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