2020 Michigan State Offseason Thread

[MrNubbz]

HA! Micah Parsons transferring(in that tweet)

[ELA]

Cincinnati media reporting Fickell to MSU is a done deal.

[MaximumSam]

Some conflicting reports seeing Thamel report he is staying at UC

[MaximumSam]

Also, while I understand the pursuit of Fickell, there is no need for Sparty to panic.  Chris Creighton and Lance Leipold would both be fine hires. 

[Hawkinole]

Fickell turns down MSU. https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2020/02/10/luke-fickell-michigan-state-football/4711965002/

Makes no sense, unless MSU is expecting sanctions. What better offers does he have?

[Hawkinole]

Also, while I understand the pursuit of Fickell, there is no need for Sparty to panic.  Chris Creighton and Lance Leipold would both be fine hires.

Re: Leipold. I have often thought that some of the best coaching is at the D-III level where the kids lack the talent of D-I. You are recruiting players to attend the university and who will pay tuition. You ask a lot from them. To be a consistent winner you must coach up and develop players.

It would be interesting to see how a D-III coach would do at the D-I level.

[MaximumSam]

I also feel that MSU's football program is a bit of a mess right now. The resources are there, but the organization not so much.  You want a guy who feels comfortable starting from the ground up.

[MaximumSam]

Fickell turns down MSU. https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2020/02/10/luke-fickell-michigan-state-football/4711965002/

Makes no sense, unless MSU is expecting sanctions. What better offers does he have?

Worth pointing out that Fickell ain't a job hopper.  He was at OSU for a million years and he has 6 kids and a decent enough job right now.  Perhaps if the timing was better and MSU wasn't in such a rush, this would have worked out.

[ELA]

Board of trustees meeting this morning, I'm guessing they found a way to screw it up again

[MaximumSam]

Hearing a lot of Bert Bielema.  Which...ok.

[ELA]

Sounds like a birdie may have told him ND was only a one or two year wait 

[Hawkinole]

What is really weird is that there is so much publicity about what they are doing compared to other coaching searches. 

For instance, they will interview two, Mel Tucker and Luke Fickell. I immediately thought, "Why Mel Tucker? Just because they have to interview more than one candidate so they could say they considered options.

Then Mel Tucker says, "I am not interviewing." And so it looks like it's Fickell, and now it looks like a bit of embarrassment. It can be corrected since there should be a good pile of money awaiting the new coach. Maybe they should interview Brian Ferentz. They could continue their current offense. Ferentz probably would hire some decent assistants. I think that's one thing he has learned from his dad.

[fezzador]

BF is too inexperienced still.  If he goes out and coaches on his own, my guess is he starts at a MAC-level school.  Or goes back to the NFL and works his way back up.

But yeah, this seems like Tennessee all over again.  The best thing to do would be to slap an "interim" label on a coordinator and let him see what he can do for a season, and then open up the pocketbook in December.

[betarhoalphadelta]

IMHO this is the death of MSU as part of the "big 4" in the East. I think they're destined for a slide back to join MD/IU/RU. Maybe still remain above those programs, but not ever in legitimate discussion for winning the division.

MSU's most recent resurgence was partly due to Dantonio, but it was also partly due to capitalizing on big brother's malaise. Dantonio was a great coach in the Kirk Ferentz model -- get halfway decent talent, but develop it better than most. They never had UM/PSU/OSU level talent, but player development helped at least keep them in the conversation. 

Not that big brother has managed to get a division title, but they've probably reestablished their dominance in-state. MSU's only chance to maintain parity is if their next coach is an absolutely PERFECT hire. Someone with the personality to keep their recruiting on trend if not improve it, who also has the ability to develop players much better than average.