The Michigan State football team finished up their 2023 season on Friday with a 42-0 loss against Penn State football. The game was played at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, and it was a fitting end to what has been a disastrous season in East Lansing. The Spartans finished the season with a 4-8 (2-7) record, and they will miss out on a bowl game for the second straight season. Head coach Mel Tucker was fired earlier this season, and Michigan State announced on Saturday that Jonathan Smith, who was the head coach of Oregon State football, will be the next head coach of the Spartans.
Jonathan Smith is going to have his hands full with the rebuild that he has to do with Michigan State football. Just two years ago, the Spartans went 11-2 in Tucker's first full season, and that included a win against Michigan and a win in the Peach Bowl. It looked like Michigan State had found their long-term head coach, and because of that successful season, they signed him to a massive $95 million contract over 10 years.
Things have changed quite a bit for Michigan State since that 2021 season. They are 0-2 against rival Michigan since, and they have missed out on a bowl game in both seasons that followed. The state of the program reached rock bottom this season when Tucker was fired. Now, Jonathan Smith is the man in East Lansing, and he has a lot of work to do.
Some contract details have emerged for Smith as Michigan State will be paying him $7.25 million annually, according to a tweet from Chris Solari. Smith has a seven-year contract.
To put things into perspective, before donor payments, Tucker was receiving around $7.1 million annually from Michigan State, according to tweet from Graham Couch. Smith will be the higher paid coach in that aspect.
Smith has a tall mountain to climb with the Michigan State football program, but he did a terrific job with Oregon State. The Spartans will have a lot of difficult schedules in the coming years with the new-look Big Ten starting next year, and Smith will go up against some familiar opponents. It will be interesting to see what his Michigan State career will look like.
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