Michigan State to Hire 2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year

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Michigan State set to hire former Northwester head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

The Spartans wasted no time addressing a massive weak link the day after their final game of the 2025 season. After beating Maryland 38–28 last night at Ford Field, the questions poured in.

Sure, Michigan State ended on a somewhat high note with their first Big Ten win of the year, but the future remained front and center for MSU fans.

How does a team go from 1–8 in conference play to something resembling a successful program? It won’t happen overnight—but it can happen. It just takes the right steps.

Step one was obvious: part ways with the lifeless coach who stood on the sideline every week like a “Weekend at Bernie’s” stand-in, being puppeted around with no fire, no grit, no execution. Jonathan Smith waited far too long to bench the quarterback he brought in to win games—yet couldn’t have beaten a JUCO team with the help around him. Less than 24 hours after the season finale, step one was complete: Jonathan Smith was fired, even with a $30 million buyout.

The Spartans were officially coachless. Recruits suddenly had no leader to lean on. But MSU didn’t stay in the dark for long.

Step two: hire the right guy.

Michigan State appears poised to hire former Northwestern head coach—and 2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year—Pat Fitzgerald to take over the program. A coach with nearly two decades of Big Ten experience will now come north from Northwestern to East Lansing in hopes of putting this program back on track.

Pat Fitzgerald: The Résumé

Fitzgerald coached Northwestern for 17 years (2006–2022). His seasons:

  • 10 bowl games | 5 bowl wins
  • 2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year
  • Two Big Ten West titles (2018, 2020)
  • Three 10-win seasons

| Year | School | Overall | Big Ten | Division Finish | Bowl Game | Final AP Rank |

| 2006 | Northwestern | 4–8 | 2–6 | T-8th 

| 2007 | Northwestern | 6–6 | 3–5 | T-7th 

| 2008 | Northwestern | 9–4 | 5–3 | T-4th | **L Alamo Bowl** 

| 2009 | Northwestern | 8–5 | 5–3 | T-4th | **L Outback Bowl** 

| 2010 | Northwestern | 7–6 | 3–5 | T-7th | **L Ticket City Bowl** 

| 2011 | Northwestern | 6–7 | 3–5 | 5th (Legends) | **L Meineke Car Care** 

| 2012 | Northwestern | 10–3 | 5–3 | 3rd (Legends) | **W Gator Bowl** | 16 |

| 2013 | Northwestern | 5–7 | 1–7 | 6th (Legends) 

| 2014 | Northwestern | 5–7 | 3–5 | 6th (West) 

| 2015 | Northwestern | 10–3 | 6–2 | T-2nd (West) | **L Outback Bowl** | 22 |

| 2016 | Northwestern | 7–6 | 5–4 | T-4th (West) | **W Pinstripe Bowl** 

| 2017 | Northwestern | 10–3 | 7–2 | 2nd (West) | **W Music City Bowl** | 17 |

| 2018 | Northwestern | 9–5 | 8–1 | **1st (West)** | **W Holiday Bowl** | 19 |

| 2019 | Northwestern | 3–9 | 1–8 | 7th (West) 

| 2020 | Northwestern | 7–2 | 6–1 | **1st (West)** | **W Citrus Bowl** | 10 |

| 2021 | Northwestern | 3–9 | 1–8 | T-6th (West) 

| 2022 | Northwestern | 1–11 | 1–8 | 7th (West) 

Fitzgerald became head coach in 2006 following the sudden passing of Randy Walker. At 31, he was the youngest head coach in the Big Ten and all of FBS. Before coaching, he starred at Northwestern, winning both the Nagurski Trophy and Bednarik Award twice as the nation’s best defensive player. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

He was fired in 2023 following a hazing scandal—one of the sport’s biggest off-field stories. Now, he gets his second chance.

The Immediate To-Do List

Fitzgerald won’t walk into a simple fixer-upper. Michigan State’s issues run deep—and start in the trenches.

1. Rebuild the Offensive Line

MSU’s offensive line has been a disaster-class the past two years. Promising QB Alessio Milivojevic spent the year getting pummeled. If he’s going to survive—let alone develop—the line needs a total overhaul.

2. Rebuild the Defensive Line

Once the strength of the program, the defensive line fell off a cliff. With no pressure up front, opposing quarterbacks carved MSU up weekly—often for 400+ yards without breaking a sweat.

3. Rebuild the Culture

The biggest task of all.

MSU has been a program with no sense of identity—like a high-schooler dressed in goth clothes while listening to Taylor Swift. They don’t know who they are or what they want to be.

Between the fallout from Mel Tucker’s scandal, sanctions, instability, and on-field failure, the culture needs a complete reset. That will be Fitzgerald’s defining challenge.

What Comes Next?

Can Pat Fitzgerald lead Michigan State back to the heights they once knew?
Or will this simply be a temporary three-year bandage before the next reset?

Only time will tell—but Spartan fans everywhere are hoping for the former.

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