Dantonio: Michigan has hired coaches 'a number of times' since 2007
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio made an observation while talking about Michigan's hire of Jim Harbaugh.
And yes, you could construe Dantonio's observation as a poke towards the Spartans' in-state rivals even as he complimented Harbaugh's ability.
On Monday, Dantonio was asked about the arrival of the former San Francisco 49ers coach.
"That's occurred a number of times since I've been here, so yeah, it's going to be a challenge every time there's somebody new, everybody time there's somebody new in the Big Ten," Dantonio said via SpartanMag.com. "Nobody hires bad coaches. There are no bad coaches out there. Very, very good coaches coach in this conference, including Coach Hoke and Coach Rodriguez, so it's a challenge. Inevitably the top players play on the field. Coach Harbaugh is an excellent coach. He's got a tremendous track record, we all understand that. It will be the next challenge for us. But we compete against Michigan regardless of who's there on a daily basis, we understand that here."
Harbaugh is the third coaching hire that Michigan has made since Dantonio arrived in East Lansing in 2007. His first year was Michigan coach Lloyd Carr's final year, and he's been around for the hires (and fires) of Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke.
After a comeback against Baylor in the Cotton Bowl to give Michigan State three-straight comeback bowl wins, Dantonio is 75-31 in his career with the Spartans and Michigan State has been to a bowl game in every single year. In that timeframe, Michigan is 55-46, though it stands to reason the Wolverines' record will improve with Harbaugh at the helm. And in turn, give Dantonio a challenge just like he says.
For more Michigan State news, visit SpartanMag.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
