Why Jonathan Smith believes Michigan State is right fit

EAST LANSING – Jonathan Smith was two minutes into his introductory press conference when he became choked up.

Michigan State’s new football coach stood at a podium inside the Breslin Center on Tuesday afternoon and, amid numerous thanks, mentioned his family. He gestured to his wife, Candice, and three children sitting in the front row.

“These decisions are not easy,” Smith said. “I want to chase championships at the highest level but at the same time create an atmosphere for my family to be special.”

After six seasons leading Oregon State, his alma mater, Smith on Saturday was named the 26th head coach in Michigan State history. He admitted needing to buy a new green tie for Tuesday’s press conference after making the tough choice to leave Corvallis, which was home for more than a decade of his life.

“I definitely want to thank Oregon State University, all that that place has done for me and my family,” Smith said. “Leaving there obviously was an important, difficult decision but I go back to, again, the fit of this place and cannot be more excited about moving forward.”

Smith’s hire still needs to be formally approved by Michigan State’s Board of Trustees and his contract hasn’t been released but athletic director Alan Haller said it’s a seven-year deal worth $7.25 million annually. It has been a busy 48 hours since he arrived in town and that included dinner Sunday night with Michigan State’s Hall of Fame basketball coach Tom Izzo.

“I sat next to them and I listened to their conversation with a smile on my face,” Haller said, “knowing we got the right guy.”

It has been a turbulent fall for Michigan State as coach Mel Tucker was suspended without pay and then fired for cause in September amid allegations of sexual misconduct. There’s likely a pending legal battle over the nearly $80 million remaining on the extension Tucker signed in November 2021 while Smith is looking to bring stability to the program.

“There’s a lot to that,” Smith said. “Being here, the approach we’re going to take, I think it’s going to be a really good thing for Michigan State.”

Smith, 44, spent about four minutes of his press conference outlining his background, which he also relayed during his first team meeting on Monday. He is native of Pasadena, Calif., who arrived at Oregon State as a walk-on looking to immerse himself in football with the hope of coaching one day and then became a standout quarterback who in 2000 led the Beavers to the best season in program history.

Once his playing days ended, Smith began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Oregon State with stops at Idaho, Montana, Boise State and Washington before making his head coaching debut at his alma mater. Smith took over a program that won just one game in 2017 and, after a gradual build, led the Beavers to three straight winning seasons before heading to East Lansing. He was the Pac-12 Coach of the Year while posting 10 wins in 2022.

“We are going to be process oriented and this takes a minute,” Smith said. “You stick to a process January all the way through December, you stick to a process Sunday to Saturday, you stick to a process at the start of practice and the end of practice. And I felt Michigan State fit that and allowed for a lot of that.”

Smith’s success at a place that’s difficult to win made him a young coach to watch on the rise. And there was interest from schools other than Michigan State.

“Other opportunity here or there, wasn’t interested,” Smith said. “Just the more I engaged in conversation with Michigan State I got more and more excited about it.”

Smith can’t recall the exact date he was first approached about the opening at Michigan State but said it was late in the season and he didn’t want it to be a distraction for his Oregon State team. The same night the Spartans closed the season with a 42-0 loss against Penn State in Detroit on Friday to finish 4-8 under interim coach Harlon Barnett, his name surfaced amid national reports as being Haller’s top target.

“I kept coming back to this idea of playing at the highest level, playing at a place where you could fit,” Smith said, “and be the type of dad, father, husband you want to be.”

Smith faces a major challenge attempting to turn around a Michigan State program that won 11 games and finished in the top 10 of the rankings in 2021 but is just 9-15 since. There’s a staff to assemble and roster in flux with players entering the portal and a quick fix wasn’t part of his pitch for the job.

“I think Michigan State is a place where you can develop,” Smith said. “Diving into the team meeting yesterday, diving into the idea of being a program of substance, on and off the field. A program where we’re going to dive into lives and beyond just being able to teach them how to be in the deep third in coverage or run a 15-yard in route. We want to be a place of substance on and off the field.”

Smith said the crumbling Pac-12 wasn’t a major factor in taking his first coaching job east of Montana. He repeatedly cited Michigan State being a good fit for numerous reasons, from his family to the community and fan base to the resources available and opportunity to win.

“I think a lot of us in this room understand this is going to take some work,” Smith said, “and I am definitely excited and up for the challenge and opportunity that’s in front of us.”