The Michigan State Spartans have officially fired head coach Jonathan Smith after an uninspiring two-year stretch in East Lansing, and already, they have their replacement. Here’s more on the Spartans hiring former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Michigan State Fires Jonathan Smith, Hires Pat Fitzgerald as Head Coach
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 the Spartans have been quick to cut ties, and even quicker to look ahead.
Per reports from the Detroit Free Press, the Michigan State Spartans have already decided on their next head coach: Former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Pat Fitzgerald Comes to Michigan State Following Tumultuous Tenure at Northwestern
Pat Fitzgerald’s name had been floated as a potential option for Michigan State in their head coaching search early on Sunday. 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 earlier this month. 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 swiftly re-entered coaching conversations, and has earned a new Big Ten job in East Lansing.
Despite having 17 years of experience, Fitzgerald 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. He ended his career at Northwestern as the school’s all-time leader in wins and conference victories.
On the flip side, Fitzgerald’s Northwestern program collapsed late in his career, with a disastrous 1-11 season in 2022. At the inception of the modern transfer portal and NIL era, Fitzgerald’s performance tanked, and he has very little experience with the current college football landscape.
Overall, Fitzgerald has experience and a proven track record, but it’s unclear if he’s the right fit for Michigan State in the new-age Big Ten.
For Batt and Michigan State, it’s a move with a reasonably high floor, but a very unclear ceiling — but it’s perhaps the only kind of move Michigan State football could make it its current state.
