The Michigan State Spartans have officially fired head coach Jonathan Smith after an uninspiring two-year stretch in East Lansing. Who are some potential options to succeed Smith and lead the Spartans in rebuilding their program?
Potential Jonathan Smith Replacements at Head Coach for Michigan State Spartans
There was tepid excitement when Michigan State hired Smith as their new head coach following the tumultuous end of the Mel Tucker era.
Smith was coming off a six-year stretch with the Oregon State Beavers, during which he brought Oregon State from a 2-10 record in 2018 to a 10-3 record and a bowl game victory in 2022. Smith’s tenure in East Lansing, however, was much shorter lived and much less successful.
Smith went 5-7 in 2024, and eventually had his wins vacated as a result of recruiting violations under Tucker’s watch, and in 2025, his Spartans regressed to 4-8. He had only one official Big Ten victory across his time in East Lansing: His final game against Maryland.
Michigan State athletic director J. Batt will have to dish out $32.5 million in accordance with Smith’s buyout, but now the Spartans can start from square one and attempt to rebuild better next time around.
Below are five prime candidates for Michigan State’s open head coaching gig, along with the most recent school they coached at.
Brian Kelly, LSU
Brian Kelly is the most prestigious name on the list for Michigan State, and he has a few unique connections to the area and the school.
Kelly’s illustrious head coaching career began at Grand Valley State, where he amassed a record of 118-35-2 across 13 seasons. When he made the leap to the FBS, his first destination was Central Michigan.
After three years and a five-win jump with the Chippewas, Kelly was hired to become the head coach of Cincinnati — replacing soon-to-be Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio. From there, Kelly jumped from Cincinnati to Notre Dame, and from Notre Dame to LSU, going 126-53 in total at those schools.
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Kelly was fired by LSU midway through the 2025 season after a 5-3 start.
Kelly’s legacy as a coach is polarizing. There was a scandal at Notre Dame regarding the death of a videographer in high-wind conditions, to which Kelly’s negligence contributed — and there have been questions about his overall ability to galvanize a locker room and win big games consistently.
At the end of the day, however, Kelly can recruit and sustain a respectable success, and that’s exactly what Michigan State needs, if Kelly desires a return to the Great Lakes state.
Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Pat Fitzgerald’s name has been floated as a potential option for Michigan State in their head coaching search. Fitzgerald is a tenured Big Ten coach who first became the Northwestern Wildcats’ leader in 2006 following the sudden death of Randy Walker.
Fitzgerald would go on to coach the Wildcats for 17 years, amassing a record of 110-101. He was ultimately fired after going 4-20 in his final two seasons, and after a hazing scandal embroiled the program in chaos.
Fitzgerald later sued Northwestern for wrongful termination, which led to a settlement. Fitzgerald denied knowledge of the hazing, and Northwestern also asserted in a statement related to the settlement that Fitzgerald had not been made aware of the incidents at play.
With Fitzgerald’s case settled, he’s now entering coaching conversations once again. Despite having 17 years of experience, he’s still just 50 years old, and he helped build a losing Northwestern program into one that finished in the top-25 five times under his watch.
Still, the later collapse of Fitzgerald’s same program bears noting. He has experience and a proven track record, but it’s unclear if he’s the right fit in the new-age Big Ten.
Brent Key, Georgia Tech
Brent Key is the active head coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, where he’s led for four years. Initially arriving at Georgia Tech after a stretch as Alabama’s offensive line coach, Key has led the Yellow Jackets to three straight winning seasons.
In 2025, Key led Georgia Tech to a 9-3 regular season record — and for a time, Key’s Georgia Tech squad was in the conversation for the ACC Championship and a potential CFB Playoff berth.
Key was elevated to Georgia Tech’s head coach position by Michigan State’s current athletic director J. Batt back in 2022, so it’s possible that Batt would target Key once again to revitalize a history-laden Big Ten program.
Jim Michalczik, Michigan State
An internal hire wouldn’t be an especially popular choice for Michigan State — particularly an internal hire that was brought along by Smith from Oregon State — but Jim Michalczik is one such name who could serve well as a bridge HC candidate for the Spartans.
Michalczik was Smith’s offensive line coach at Oregon State from 2018 to 2023 — across which stretch he helped develop first-round offensive lineman Taliese Fuaga. Through 2024 and 2025, Michalczik was Michigan State’s associate head coach, run game coordinator, and OL coach.
Michalczik has no head coaching experience at any level, but he did play and coach in the NFL.
Bob Chesney, James Madison
Bob Chesney is a 48-year old up-and-comer who’s won at several different levels. He began his head coaching career at Salve Regina, then progressed to Assumption in the Northeast-10 Conference of Division II football.
After Assumption, Chesney coached six seasons at Holy Cross, then succeeded current Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti at James Madison, where Chesney has gone 20-5 in two seasons. This year, Chesney has the Dukes in the CFB Playoff conversation as a potential Group of Six representative.
Chesney is rumored to be a top option for the UCLA Bruins, so it’s possible that a Big Ten foe could swipe Chesney away before Michigan State has a chance to send an offer. But for the time being, Chesney is on the board as an intriguing sleeper, if the Spartans can find a way to entice him.
