Michigan State football acting coach Harlon Barnett a ray of sunshine in gloomy situation
EAST LANSING — Harlon Barnett stepped to the podium in the job he always wanted.
In front of the Michigan State logo that is embedded in his DNA.
Faced with an amazing opportunity.
Wearing a sharp black suit with a green tie.
In a moment he had always dreamed about.
But man, just not like this.
“I’m being totally honest — I want to be the head coach of Michigan State, but not in this way, obviously,” Barnett said. “So that's always been a goal of mine.”
Barnett is the MSU acting head football coach, taking over for Mel Tucker, who was suspended Sunday without pay after allegations of sexual harassment were detailed in a USA TODAY report. On Tuesday afternoon, Barnett held his first news conference; and he was impressive to say the least. He came off as smart, funny, personable, incredibly likeable, genuine, driven and comfortable.
A leader — that’s what he sounded like.
Someone who has a plan and has been prepping for this moment his entire career.
And while this entire situation has so many icky, infuriating, sad layers — from the allegations to the debate about how it was handled by MSU to the statements and counter statements — Barnett exuded something else.
The joy of opportunity mixed with pure honesty.
“I am really very, very, very excited about this coming week and this opportunity to show what I’ve got,” he said with a smile.
This is his chance to guide this program out an absolutely crazy situation, even if it will be incredibly difficult. The Spartans are faced with a monstrous task on Saturday playing against Washington, a double-digit favorite.
MITCH ALBOM: Mel Tucker's decision making, not sex life, has likely cost him his job
This is his chance to hold this team together in the age of the transfer portal.
This is his on-the-field audition, if not for this gig than another one.
This is his chance to put his mark on this program, and he started by getting personal.
Barnett plans to meet with everybody in the program this week, starting with 27 players and hoped to meet with another 20 or so on Tuesday.
“I keep talking about unity,” he said. “We're all together and let them know they have somebody to lean on and trust in.”
Actually, the entire MSU community needs that.
Someone to trust in.
"We're tough, we're Spartans, we're resilient,” Barnett said. “And another term I tell people all the time, 'I'm a dawg.' We'll push through this."
Coach D's new role
At a team meeting on Sunday, Barnett preached “team unity.”
“We have to be unified through the adversity,” Barnett said. “We need all our leaders to lead, not only the coaches, but the leaders to lead and I tell them they need to lead by love, encouragement, accountability and discipline.”
He has already made a subtle change. Something revealing.
He’s brought back a tradition from the Mark Dantonio days.
After every practice, Dantonio would bring the team together and ask: “Who’s got it?”
And then somebody would lead the team in prayer.
So, Barnett brought it back this week.
“It was needed,” he said. “So that was awesome.”
Dantonio is also back and will serve as an advisor.
“Coach D — that's my guy, man,” Barnett said. “My first coaching job was with Coach Dantonio."
Dantonio will wear a headset. But his role will be more as a mentor and as a stabilizing influence both for Barnett, as well as the team.
“Coach D brings that calming presence, the wisdom, the knowledge of being a head coach, and very successful coach at that," Barnett said.
It’s almost the best of all worlds for Barnett.
He is the head coach — and will make the tough decisions — but he has an amazing sounding board working with him. Someone he trusts.
"We are mission focused," Barnett said. "Let's go."
Barnett's impressive resume
In those individual meetings with players, Barnett gives a quick version of his life story. He was a captain at MSU, played in the NFL and has coached for a couple decades now.
But here’s the most impressive part, at least for his new role as head coach: he has been around some of the greatest coaches in history.
He played for the Cleveland Browns under Bill Belichick — OK, that’s technically before he was BILL BELICHICK. Before the hoody. But still, it’s Belichick, right?
Also, during that time, Barnett played for Nick Saban, who was the defensive coordinator for the Browns.
Barnett moved to the New England Patriots, where he played under Bill Parcells.
And he played for Tony Dungy, who was the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator. And he coached with Dantonio.
I asked him what he took from them.
“Attention to detail,” he said.
In a sense, all of those great coaches will subtly guide how he handles this. They are the voice in the back of his head.
“A lot of stuff is gonna stay the same — toughness, discipline, selfless, do your job," he said. "Those are things that are staples of Michigan State football, since I've been a Spartan since 1985.”
At times, he sounded like George Perles.
At other times, Dantonio or even Saban.
And when he was asked to give an injury report, he brought out the evasive approach of a certain coach in a hoody.
“I've been around Belichick,” he said. “So, I’m gonna give Belichick answers to injuries. ‘He’s day to day.’“
He smiled.
Everybody laughed.
I don’t know how this is going to turn out. I don’t know if this team will fall apart or hold it together, I don’t know if Barnett will be successful in this role or not.
But for one day, one press conference, Barnett was just what was needed at MSU.
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
Next up: Huskies
Matchup: Michigan State (2-0) vs. No. 8 Washington (2-0).
Kickoff: 5 p.m. Saturday; Spartan Stadium, East Lansing.
TV/radio: Streaming only on Peacock, WJR-AM (760).
Line: Huskies by 16½.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Harlon Barnett exudes confidence, joy as Michigan State's new leader
