Michigan State hiring Oregon State's Jonathan Smith as next coach
Michigan State has found its next head football coach.
The Spartans are hiring Jonathan Smith from Oregon State. Michigan State confirmed the news in an official announcement on Saturday afternoon.
"Jonathan has a proven track record of success, building the Oregon State program from the ground up by implementing a plan resulting in sustained historic success for the Beavers. He's been a part of championship staffs, coached in the College Football Playoff, and understands what's required to be successful at the highest level, learning from some of the game's most successful coaches," MSU athletic director Alan Haller said in a statement.
MSU had a head start with its coaching search after firing Mel Tucker back in September amid a sexual harassment investigation. The school landed on Smith, a former Oregon State quarterback who spent the last six seasons coaching his alma mater.
Smith, 44, spent 15 seasons as an offensive assistant, most notably at Boise State and Washington under Chris Petersen, before landing the head-coaching job in Corvallis. He inherited a mess following the disastrous three-year stint of Gary Andersen and rebuilt the Beavers into one of the best teams in the Pac-12 over the past two seasons.
The Beavers were a steady winner under Mike Riley but cratered under Andersen, going a combined 7-29 (3-24 Pac-12) from 2015 to 2017. Smith was able to quickly bring Oregon State back to respectability. The Beavers went 5-7 (4-5) in Smith’s second season, got to a bowl game in 2021 and then won 10 games for the first time since 2006 and finished No. 14 in the final College Football Playoff rankings in 2022.
Oregon State opened the 2023 season ranked in the top 20 and were ranked No. 11 with a chance to reach the Pac-12 title game entering last weekend’s home game vs. undefeated No. 5 Washington. The Beavers ended up losing 22-20 and then lost to rival No. 6 Oregon, 31-7, on Friday night to finish the regular season with an 8-4 record.
Despite the football team’s recent winning ways, it’s a tenuous time for Oregon State. With the crumbling of the Pac-12, Oregon State’s future is very much in question. OSU, along with Washington State, have a two-year scheduling alliance with the Mountain West moving forward, but it’s unclear what will ultimately come of the Pac-12 as legal battles persist.
Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes acknowledged earlier this week that he had been working to keep Smith in Corvallis.
"Coach Smith and I have had ongoing conversations for more than a month regarding his future at Oregon State and our path forward for football specifically and our athletic department generally,” Barnes said in a statement. “He has embraced our short and long-term plans. My No. 1 priority is providing him with a new contract and guaranteed compensation that will help continue the success of the football program that has benefited Oregon State University and Beavers athletics. Coach Smith and I have also discussed our commitment to extending assistant coaches' contracts and increasing the salary pool for his staff to retain the continuity of what they have all built together for Beaver Nation."
Things got messy with the Tucker situation, but the Michigan State job represents a much more stable — and lucrative — situation for Smith moving forward.
MSU won 11 games, including the Peach Bowl, only two seasons ago before going a combined 9-15 (5-13 Big Ten) over the past two seasons. MSU also played Friday night and closed out the season with a 4-8 record thanks to a 42-0 loss to Penn State.
It will be Smith’s job to revitalize the Spartans in a new-look Big Ten that will include Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington starting next season.
