Gilbert Search Firm Exclusive: Michigan St Football

With Michigan St recently announcing the inevitability of firing Mel Tucker. I will perform my Mitten civic duty. Offering up my “in demand” executive search firm services for free. I hope the sarcasm is evident. On the whole I find the whole search firm industry to be an expensive and needless racket. Largely attempting to absolve high paid administrators of responsibility for bad hires.

Make enough bad hires while paying said firms to help in that process. You eventually lose your job and go to work for… You guessed it, a search firm. With that in mind, I’ll provide the conversations that I think should be happening behind closed doors. I’ll provide a smattering of names. Shoot most of them completely down. Then end with a definitive statement on who I think should get the job (kind of) Best of all the fine taxpayers of Michigan won’t be on the hook to six figures.

The Requirements

This is the good news. Michigan St is not a complex Rubik’s Cube like situation and culture. Just a midwestern land grant university in a big time football conference. Consequently the objectives are pretty simple

1. Consistently Win- History has shown. You don’t have to compete for a national championship every year to please most Spartan fans. Just be in the conversation for a conference crown and sniff around the playoffs every few years. This isn’t Auburn.
2. Win with ….. I was going to say integrity or win cleanly. Let’s be honest though. This is 21st century big time college athletics. In light of many recent events. Just don’t embarrass the university
3. Beat Michigan- Here comes the brutal honesty train. While many might not admit it. This is #1 on most fan lists

The Problems

1. The Current Climate- If you can’t acknowledge that this athletic department has had a rough few years. This probably isn’t the space for you. Doesn’t mean the people currently in charge are the problem. Or that it can’t be fixed. It just means a coach is going to have major questions about stability and the processes in place before signing his name.
2. The Izzo Factor- This is a pro-Izzo site. I can’t imagine a big time basketball coach being more supportive of the football program. So what is the problem? Big time college football coaches are used to ruling over their campus fiefdoms. As long as Tom Izzo is around. The football coach will play second fiddle in East Lansing.
3. The Mat Ishbia Factor- Like the Izzo conundrum. This doesn’t initially appear troublesome. When is having a big money booster with passion and bottomless wallet a problem? Simple, when that booster gave the last guy a 10 year 95 million contract before his second year was even up. The market has already been set. If I’m an established head coach. I’m telling my agent that the contract number needs to start with a 1 and have three digits. That’s a lot of money.

The Long Shots

Deion Sanders- Lost in the hype and success at Colorado. Is the lack of conversation about Deion’s next home. Enjoy it Boulder. He is eventually leaving for a bigger and better job. He has already done it once before. Would he be interested in Michigan St? With what’s gone on recently I highly doubt it. Would Michigan St be interested in him? I doubt that as well. However if you going to conduct a thorough search. You have to at least make the call.

Brain Kelly- In a normal world. Would the head coach at LSU be interested in the Spartans? Probably not. However when that head coach is already feeling the heat early in year two. I think he would listen. When you combine his ties to region and resume. It might be more appealing to Kelly that it initially seems. On the Michigan St side. If you are looking for successful coach with ties the region. Who has also raised championship banners and appeared in the college football playoffs. That list consists of one person. Like Sanders, you have to at least make the call

The Verdict: As previously stated. Deion doesn’t come for a wide variety of reciprocal factors. Whether in a positive or negative light. The school doesn’t want to be on 60 Minutes anymore. I think the Izzo factor plays a role in keeping Kelly out. His last two jobs have been in South Bend and Baton Rogue. He is the king of the castle there. If it was year three of four of his tenure. He might consider it. His ego will want to make it work at LSU. Would cost a TON of money as well.

Others in this group; Iowa St’s Matt Campbell might have missed his chance to strike at a big job. I don’t think Michigan St wants anything to do with the gambling issue he is dealing with now. Urban Meyer….. I’m kidding trying to see if you are still paying attention

The MAC/ Ohio Cradle of Coaching Well

As you will see I’m not crazy about this group. This archetype worked with Mark Dantonio. That being said. With Mat Ishbia and all the new TV money coming in. Michigan St could probably aim a little higher.

Sean Lewis (Colorado Offensive Coordinator) If I was forced to pick a candidate from this group. This would be it. His stock is high right now. He is still very young (37) but already has five years of head coaching experience. Has won at a difficult spot at Kent St. Is innovative on offense. So what is the rub? I don’t think he would stay. State overpaid for Mel Tucker because they thought he was leaving. Sparty doesn’t think of themselves as a “stepping stone” job. Nor should they. Does Lewis go back to Colorado when Deion eventually bounces. If he wins big at State. Does he look somewhere else? In his early forties. I think the answer would be yes.

Brian Hartline (Ohio St Offensive Coordinator) The resume is appealing. However has already turned down some good jobs. Would be paying a premium price for a young guy (36) with no head coaching experience. This is not a situation where you should be learning on the job.

Mike Tressel (Wisconsin Defensive Coordinator) Fits the Dantonio model like a glove. Long time assistant spent five years as the defensive coordinator in East Lansing. Kind of a glass half empty perspective though. Not sure if that experience is a net positive. If I was the university I would want to look forward with this hire. Not back to the Dantonio era.

Others in this group: Toledo’s Jason Candle, Miami (OH) Chuck Martin. Martin does have a national championship at Grand Valley so he knows the state well. I just don’t see the fit for either of these guys. (Spoiler Alert- we will hear from the MAC again)

The Desperate Duo

That might not be the kindest title. However due to the search firm/agent cycle. These guys are going to get mentioned for every Power Four job because they don’t want to be last coach left standing in the rubble of the PAC 12 conference.

Jonathan Smith Oregon St- He definitely has the Beavers rolling right now. Is innovative offensively. Seems to run a drama free program. On the surface a solid candidate.

Jake Dickert Washington St- Has capably handled a difficult situation at a tough place to win. Unlike Smith has established ties to the Great Lakes region (Minnesota and Wisconsin)

Verdict: As the heading entails I’m not really buying into either of these guys. Desperation does not automatically equate to success. Perform this thought exercise with Smith. If the PAC 12 was intact. Would he even consider Michigan St? I think the answer would be no. He would stay where he is comfortable and winning. About that winning. Has an overall record below .500. He hasn’t exactly turned Oregon St into a buzzsaw. More than one recent head coach has seen success in Corvallis. It’s not as difficult of a job as it seems. Dickert just doesn’t have a lot of experience. Got his opportunity because his boss wouldn’t get vaccinated. Teams weren’t exactly lining up to interview the Washington St defensive coordinator beforehand. None of that is his fault. However he feels more like the next head coach at Minnesota than Michigan St.

Others in this group: There is no one left in the PAC 12. Last one left be sure to shut the lights off.

The Cream of the Crop

Here at Gilbert Executive Search Firm we are going to give out not one— but two recommendations. I’m going to provide an expensive somewhat flashy hire. Then a cheaper alternative that is not going to break the bank or win a press conference.

Kalen DeBoer Washington- I can hear the naysayers. Washington just destroyed Michigan St in East Lansing. Why on Earth would he leave? How is this any different than Jonathan Smith at Oregon St? DeBoer is different than Smith in two big ways. He already has experience in the region. More importantly he is already on his way to the Big 10. Coaches are highly competitive animals. With his experience he knows he will need to recruit the Midwest to compete consistently at the top of the conference. Would you rather try and convince the best players from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan to make the long trek to Seattle. Or get them to stay near home in East Lansing? With the dynamic of the conference change. I think there is a chance he would rather be at Michigan St.

They won’t be hiring a recruiter though. Just look at the resume. The guy can flat out coach. He has already won multiple national championships. I don’t care if it was at the NAIA level. A national championship is a national championship. DeBoer clearly knows how to build and sustain success. Does it quickly I might add. Washington was mess when he took it over. They are a top 10 squad with a Heisman Trophy candidate in year two. They Huskies went 11-2 last year. Won quickly at Fresno St as well. Was also an offensive coordinator at both Indiana and Eastern Michigan. I don’t see any weaknesses in the resume.

Would he come? While I’ve presented some compelling reasons. I don’t think it’s a slam dunk. Paging Mat Ishbia— it’s going to be expensive. Seattle is a nice place to live and he’s probably going to get a huge raise this year with or without a Michigan St offer. That being said the AD who hired him is now at USC. I think if the right offer was presented in the right way. The Spartans could snag him.

If they can’t. Another excellent candidate would jump at the chance. Furthermore AD Allan Haller will not have to look far to find him.

Chris Creighton Eastern Michigan I gave you a lot of info on DeBoer. I’m going to spare you that much detail with Creighton. I’ll get to the numbers momentarily. I would simply start with this. His resume should have one sentence on it. It would read “I have taken Eastern Michigan Football to five bowl games.” Full stop— any questions? Do you want to know how many bowls Eastern has been to in its entire pre-Creighton history? TWO!

You can say the bowls have been watered down a bit. You would be correct. How about these numbers 59-179. That is the combined records of the NINE coaches preceding Creighton. I stopped at nine. It wasn’t much better after that group. Simply put Ypsilanti has been a coaching graveyard for an extremely long time.

Creighton has won consistently at one of the more difficult jobs in all of Division I football. He will not be daunted by the smoke currently smoldering around East Lansing. He is a low key personality who has won without fuss, drama or scandal. That is what Michigan St needs right now. A no frills ball coach. It goes without saying. He knows the dynamics of the region well. I mentioned earlier that I would not be interested in other MAC coaches. Why settle for the second best coach in the conference? Chris Crieghton is the best coach in the MAC. I don’t do citations but I am not alone in that assessment. Unlike some of the other candidates on this list. At the age of 54, I think he would take the job and see the task through to the end.

final Strategy

Be patient. You are not going to salvage this recruiting class. The damage has been done. DeBoer and Creighton are not going to abandon their teams mid season. Resolve the Tucker contract situation. Establish how much you will be able to pay. If you have the mega millions package. Take a run at DeBoer. If you come up empty. Pivot quickly to Creighton.

Things seem bleak right now. If the Spartans follow my sage (and free) advice. They can get back to the top of the Big 10, 12, 18? I don’t know what they are going to call it now.