Michigan State Gets Fresh Start With Hire Of Oregon State's Jonathan Smith, Who Has No Ties To Big Ten

Michigan State football has broken with tradition.

And that just doesn't happen much in East Lansing.

Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" could have been written about the Spartans. Since that song came out in 1977, Michigan State has hired exactly one football coach with no ties to its program. That was John L. Smith in 2003.

Until Saturday afternoon, that is.

Michigan State has hired a rising, young, California boy who was Oregon State's head coach - 44-year-old Jonathan Smith from the Los Angeles area.

New Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith has no ties to Michigan State or the Big Ten. (Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)

Smith grew up in Pasadena and played quarterback at Glendora High in L.A. County. He played quarterback at Oregon State from 1998-2001 and stayed in the West as a budding coach - at Oregon State, Idaho, Montana, Boise State and Washington. He was the Huskies' offensive coordinator from 2014-17 and became Oregon State's head coach in 2018.

Michigan State Replaces Mel Tucker With New Blood

Considering where the Michigan State football program has been lately, this fresh, western start could be the best thing for the Spartans. Recently fired former Michigan State coach Mel Tucker, a Cleveland native and former Wisconsin defensive back, started his coaching career at Michigan State as a graduate assistant under Nick Saban in 1997. Then he coached at Ohio State.

Michigan State fired Tucker in September after a sexual harassment case developed. The Spartans finished 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten on Friday with a 42-0 loss to Penn State. They were 5-7 and 3-6 under Tucker in 2022. After a breakthrough, 11-2 and 7-2 season in 2021, Michigan State overreacted, which is happening way too often these days, and gave him a 10-year contract worth $95 million. And he Jimbo Fisher-ed in a heartbeat.

Tucker was the sixth coach with Michigan State ties to become head coach since former Spartan fullback Muddy Waters got the job in 1980. George Perles, Saban, Bobby Williams, Mark Dantonio and Tucker followed after having played at or coached at, or both, at Michigan State.

This may be the right time for new blood. Dantonio had great success before Tucker, but he was 7-6 in each of his last two seasons before Tucker's 2-5 debut in the COVID 2020 season. And Dantonio was 3-9 in 2016 before a 10-3 campaign in 2017.

Jonathan Smith also brings offense to a program rich with defensive head coaches, going back to George Perles (1983-94) and beyond.

Jonathan Smith inherited a 1-10 program at Oregon State entering the 2018 season and went 10-3 in his fifth season. (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)

But Smith has an Old School philosophy that should fit in well in East Lansing. His Oregon State team tended to play complementary football during his successful run from 2018-23. The Beavers are 26th in the nation in scoring with 33.8 points a game behind running back Damien Martinez, who leads the Pac-12 in rushing with 1,185 yards. Smith's defensive coordinator Trent Bray's unit is seventh in the nation in sacks and No. 17 against the run.

Jonathan Smith Gradually Built Up Oregon State

Most importantly, Smith gradually rebuilt a program from disaster, which is basically where Michigan State is now. After inheriting a 1-11 and 0-9 program following the 2017 season, Smith went 2-10 and 1-8, 5-7 and 4-5 before a 2-5 season in the 2020 COVID season. Then it was 7-6 and 5-4 in 2021 and the breakthrough season of 2022 when the Beavers finished 10-3 and 6-3.

Oregon State was No. 16 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings before a 31-7 loss to No. 6 Oregon on Friday finished its regular season at 8-4 and 5-4.

Smith has to rebuild a culture, then the program. It will take time, perhaps longer than it did at Oregon State.

New Michigan State Coach Made History At Oregon State

"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.

Oregon State's 10-3 record in 2022 marked its first double-digit win season since Mike Riley went 10-4 in 2006 and just the third in program history.

Jonathan Smith was not an overnight star as was Mel Tucker, who turned out not to be. He was also not a popular name when the Michigan State search opened.

It looks like Michigan State took its time and dove deep. Smith's salary was at $4.85 million a year this season after signing a six-year deal worth $30 million through 2028 at Oregon State. Surely, Michigan State will be paying him significantly more than that.

But it doesn't appear that Michigan State only threw money at its football problem and tried to stay in the family. This could work.