Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith seeks ‘right mix’ while taking time completing staff

EAST LANSING – Jonathan Smith has a lengthy checklist in front of him and reasons to address each one with urgency.

Filling out his coaching staff is critically important but also not something Michigan State’s new football coach is going to rush, despite a roster in flux with players already entering the portal and the need to put together a recruiting class.

“Hiring is going to be a process that’s going to take a little bit of time,” Smith during his introductory press conference on Tuesday . “I’m not going to just be quick fix mentality on that.”

Smith arrived in East Lansing on Sunday and is bringing a chunk of his former staff with him . According to MLive sister publication The Oregonian/OregonLive, five assistant coaches are leaving the Beavers for the Spartans in offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren, offensive line coach Jim Michalczik, running backs coach Keith Bhonapha, tight ends coach Brian Wozniak and secondary coach Blue Adams.

None of those hires have been announced by Michigan State and Smith didn’t mention any by name on Tuesday. He did point out seven of the allotted 10 on-field assistants were with him all six seasons he led the Beavers.

“The intention is to build a staff of great men that are great teachers, that are elite people, that will invest in the lives of the players,” he said. “Yes, there’s a crew that has been with me a long time, they’re a lot of the reason I’m standing up in front of you so, yes, they’ll be a part of that.”

Smith’s hire still needs to be formally approved by Michigan State’s Board of Trustees so he doesn’t have a full contract yet. The university on Tuesday released a terms sheet outlining his seven-year, $52.85 million agreement that includes a minimum of $10.75 million allocated for his 10 assistants, as well as the rest of the off-field staff. By comparison, when former coach Mel Tucker signed a 10-year, $95 million extension in November 2021, that deal included a bump to at least $7.5 million, but that was for just his 10 on-field assistants.

One key potential addition can already be nixed. Smith’s defensive coordinator at Oregon State, Trent Bray, was named the next head coach of the Beavers on Tuesday night.

The Oregonian reported Smith is also bringing chief of staff and director of operations Dan Van De Riet, strength coach Michael McDonald and director of player personnel Cole Moore with him from the Beavers. In an interesting twist, athletic director Alan Haller on Tuesday recalled telling Smith the Spartans had 53 football support staffers and his new head coach said he didn’t need that many.

“At this level of college football, it’s always ‘Ohio State is doing this’ or ‘Somebody else is doing that.’ He never said any of that,” Haller said. “It was just about getting the right people in the building, getting the right student-athletes and developing relationships.”

Smith, a California native and former walk-on turned standout quarterback at Oregon State, has never coached east of Montana. A few of the assistants he’s bringing with him from the Beavers have Midwest ties but he’s not on the West Coast anymore and that will be a factor filling out a staff.

“It’s not an elephant in the room – I have a lack of deep ties to the Midwest, cannot wait to get engaged, to dial into the high school coaches in Michigan,” Smith said. “At the same time, a staff reflecting some background there will be an intention on this staff.”

There’s also the possibility Smith retains members of Tucker’s final staff who know the university and area, including longtime secondary coach Harlon Barnett and wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins – both former standout Spartans who played in the NFL. After Tucker’s removal, Barnett also took over as the interim coach for the final 10 games, ending with a 42-0 loss against Penn State last week to finish the season 4-8.

Smith spent an hour talking with Barnett on Monday and was impressed with his character and love for the university. However, it remains unclear if Barnett will return for a 16th season on staff with the Spartans.

“No decisions made on that and we didn’t get there,” Smith said, “but we do plan on talking again.”

Smith has plenty of time before spring practice starts to have a full staff in place but addressing the roster he inherited is an urgent priority. Four players (quarterback Noah Kim, offensive lineman Spencer Brown, linebacker Darius Snow and receiver Christian Fitzpatrick) already entered the portal this week as graduate transfers. Another seven (quarterbacks Katin Houser and Sam Leavitt, offensive linemen Ethan Boyd, Kevin Wigenton and Geno VanDeMark and receivers Tyrell Henry and Jaron Glover) announced their intention to do so when the window opens next week.

The players on Michigan State’s roster considering returning next season obviously want to know who their position coach and coordinator would be. That’s also very important when it comes to recruiting, with the early signing period for the 2024 class Dec. 20-22. Still, Smith insists he won’t rush filling out a staff.

“We will take some time to put this together because you’ve got to get these things right, the right mix, fit,” he said. “Some continuity of what I’ve been around, can speak the language from the get-go. Midwest ties will be an intention with some of the others and then exploring some of the coaches here.”