Michigan State set to hire Pat Fitzgerald as next head football coach

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Michigan State athletic director J Batt made the decision to move on from Jonathan Smith as the program's head coach, and is now turning to a new man to lead the football program in East Lansing. It didn't take long for Batt to find his man.

Pat Fitzgerald is set to be hired to be the next head coach of the Michigan State football program, per a combined report from Chris Solari and Graham Couch.

Fitzgerald comes to Michigan State following 17 seasons at the helm of Northwestern, where he compiled a 110-101 record with the Wildcats. He has been out of the coaching game since 2022, when he was fired due to an ongoing hazing scandal. Fortunately, he was vindicated of any wrongdoing, and is totally clear and ready to go in East Lansing.

A true Midwesterner, Fitzgerald is a quintessential Big Ten guy, having 26 years of experience in the conference as a player and coach at Northwestern, and will have all the ties Michigan State needs to recruit their backyard.

With Fitzgerald being out of the coaching game for the last three seasons, Spartans fans are going to have a fun time following who he brings on his staff, and how he plans to construct the 2026 roster.

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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State set to hire Pat Fitzgerald as next head football coach

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