Michigan State, Pat Fitzgerald keeping DC Joe Rossi on staff: report
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Pat Fitzgerald’s first Michigan State football coaching staff is starting to take shape from within.
The Spartans plan to retain defensive coordinator Joe Rossi as well as safeties coach James Adams, according to a report from ESPN.
Rossi joined Smith's original staff before the 2024 season after spending six seasons with Minnesota as the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator. It was an OK first season for Rossi's unit, which finished 77th in the country with 26.1 points per game allowed while ranking 32nd in the nation in rushing defense (125.1 ypg) and 34th in total defense (332.0 ypg).
After the Spartans held Western Michigan to just six points in the season opener, scored on a pick-six from quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, things got real messy for MSU's defense. The Spartans allowed 40 points in Week 2 against a Boston College team that finished just 2-10, then gave up 24 points in the third game against FCS Youngstown State before allowing 45 to USC on the road.
The season started to turn for Rossi's group, however, when he moved from the booth to the field for the eighth game of the season against Michigan. The Wolverines still scored 31 points in an 11 point victory, but Rossi's emotion on the sideline won over fans and the defense played better over the final stretch, which appears to have earned him a spot on the new staff.
Outside of Rossi and Adams, the staff is still not known publicly, with much of the intrigue going to the offensive staff, as Fitzgerald comes from a defensive background.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State, Pat Fitzgerald reportedly keeping Joe Rossi on staff
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