After a tumultuous season, Michigan State football has identified a new leader on the sidelines. The Spartans are hiring Jonathan Smith as their head coach, the university announced Saturday.
Smith spent the last six seasons as head coach at Oregon State, where he built the Beavers into a nationally-ranked program. They went 1-11 the season before Smith took over. They finished 10-3 and No. 17 in the AP poll last season when Smith was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year, and they were 8-3 and No. 15 this season ahead of a loss to Oregon on Friday night.
“Jonathan has a proven track record of success, building the Oregon State program from the ground up by implementing a plan resulting in sustained historic success for the Beavers," Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller said Saturday in an official release.
Smith was able to win at Oregon State without highly-regarded recruits. He built a top-20 program with just one top-50 recruiting class (No. 49), per 247 Sports, which carries weight at Michigan State. Mark Dantonio won the same way during the Spartans' last sustained stretch of success from 2010-2015.
Smith, a former quarterback at Oregon State, also punched back against the bigger in-state program, leading the Beavers to wins over rival Oregon in 2020 and 2022. This should serve him well in competing against Michigan.
"He's shown not only the ability to recruit talented student-athletes who fit his system, but also to develop and maximize players once they’re in the program," said Haller. "At his core, he’s a quarterbacks coach, and throughout his career he’s been instrumental in the development of young quarterbacks, which is essential in today’s college football landscape."
Smith, 44, will take over for Michigan State interim head coach Harlon Barnett, who went 2-8 this season after replacing the fired Mel Tucker. Tucker, who had signed a 10-year, $95 million contract at Michigan State just two years ago, was suspended and then dismissed this season after an inappropriate relationship with a university vendor and rape survivor that led to allegations of sexual harassment.
The Spartans are 9-15 over the past two seasons. They're counting on Smith, 18-7 over the past two seasons, to turn things around. Between the new hire and the soon-to-be-completed Tom Izzo football building, Haller called it an "exciting time to begin a new era of Spartan Football."
“Jonathan has a great appreciation for the rich history and tradition of our program, and is committed to doing what’s required to compete for championships at the Big Ten and national level," Haller said.