Saint Nick

When Nick Saban arrived as the new coach of the MSU Spartans, there was unbridled enthusiasm. He was an ex-assistant under Perles and very highly regarded. Unfortunately, like George Perles, he struggled during his first four years at the helm going 6–5-1, 6–6, and 7–5 and 6-6. This was improvement considering MSU had not had a winning season since 1990 but not what the Spartan faithful were looking for.

The fifth year proved to be special for MSU and Nick Saban. The team went 9-2 and following the final regular-season game against Penn State, Saban suddenly resigned to accept the head coaching position with LSU. The Spartan faithful were stunned and upset.

The players rallied around assistant coach Bobby Williams and he coached them to a victory in the Citrus Bowl over Florida. It would be the best season in terms of wins for the Spartans since 1965, and it would see the Spartans reach their highest ranking since the 1966 team.

Their was no doubting the coaching ability of Nick Saban. Many feel it was the difficulty of beating the University of Michigan for prized recruits that hastened Nick Saban’s departure, along with the preceived problems with the MSU administration. Because of is continued success, many people are still bitter over the departure of Nick Saban. He has many people who do not like him for what they felt he did to the University. Suddenly leaving for another program before the bowl game was played in their most successful year since 1965 (most wins) was an act of betrayal in the eyes of many.

Minimizing the Damage

What Saban did was leave a huge hole to fill, with recruits left out of the decision, and many re-evaluating their commitments. With player sentiment clearly in Bobby Williams favor. the university moved quickly and named Bobby Williams head coach of Michigan State football on December 6, 1999.

In three seasons, Coach Williams went 5-6, 7-5 and 3-9. It was the last year where it all unraveled for Bobby Williams. Many players were in trouble with the law and the team finished in last place of the Big Ten. His three year record in conference play was 6-15 which was unacceptable to the administration and he was fired.

A Different Cowboy

After the 2002 season, John L. Smith was hired as the head coach. This was surprising to many who did not really know much about John L. Smith. Smith was hired before Louisville’s bowl game that season, and he did not inform his Louisville players of the decision until halftime of the bowl game. It turned out to be a fiasco played out on ESPN that night.

The 2003 season was very good for MSU, considering the previous 3 years under Williams. The Spartans went 8-4 during the regular season before falling to Nebraska 17-3 in the Alamo bowl. It was all downhill after the first season with John L’s teams going 5-7, 5-6. and 4-8 his final three years. His last season was particularly disturbing going 1-7 in the conference tied for last place.

His teams seemed to play well especially in the first half but would collapse in a sea of mistakes, penalties, and turnovers. In November 2006, he was told he would not be retained and his contract was bought out.

Back to the Roots

After John L. Smith was fired, MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon took a personal interest in the hiring process. She formulated a search team including Athletic Director Mark Hollis and basketball coach Tom Izzo. They turned to a former assistant who was coaching the Cincinnati Bearcats, Mark Dantonio.

The Spartan faithful was generally fired up about Dantonio, who like Perles, preaches toughness and a traditional smash mouth approach to winning football games. His first three years, he went 7-6. 9-4. and 6-7. The 2009 season was especially disappointing to the coach as they lost several close games and was marred by players in trouble with the law for a dormitory fight which happened just after the season ending awards banquet for the team.

What has endeared Coach Dantonio to the Spartan faithful is his tough talk against Michigan and his back to back wins against the Wolverines. The first time that has happened in 42 years. This YouTube video has become a very popular video for the Spartan Nation.

Michigan State Football History – Part 1 of 4
Michigan State Football History – Part 2 of 4
Michigan State Football History – Part 3 of 4
Michigan State Football History – Part 4 of 4

Tags: MSU Football, biggie munn, muddy waters, michigan state university, duffy daugherty

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