Michigan State hires Jonathan Smith away from Oregon State as next football coach

Michigan State football has a new coach lined up, prying Jonathan Smith away from his alma mater Oregon State to become the Spartans’ 26th head coach, the school announced Saturday.

A native of Pasadena, California, the 44-year-old Smith is 34-35 in six seasons at Oregon State, where he played quarterback from 1997-2001.

The Beavers, who were ranked No. 15 in last week’s US LBM Coaches Poll, lost to No. 6 Oregon on Friday, 31-7.They climbed as high as No. 10 in the nation in early November and were ranked No. 16 in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings.

Another reported candidate for the job, Duke’s Mike Elko, withdrew from consideration just before Thanksgiving.

A team source said players were told Smith is expected to meet with the Spartans on Sunday. Smith reportedly met with his Oregon State players Saturday morning in Corvallis, Oregon, according to The Oregonian.

“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,” Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller said in a statement. “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. On the field, his teams are tough and physical, yet innovative. … He’s shown not only the ability to recruit talented student-athletes who fit his system, but also to develop and maximize players once they’re in the program. At his core, he’s a quarterbacks coach, and throughout his career he’s been instrumental in the development of young quarterbacks, which is essential in today’s college football landscape.

“Beyond the football field, the Smith family will be an excellent addition to the entire Michigan State University community.”

Smith and his wife, Candice, have three children.

Smith replaces Mel Tucker, who was fired Sept. 27 after his admission to sexual improprieties on an April 2022 phone call with a prominent rape survivor and activist proved his undoing became public through a story in USA TODAY. A battle over the remainder of the 10-year, $95-million contract Tucker signed in November 2021 – which did not include a buyout – remains unsettled and appears headed to court.

According to USA TODAY’s coaches salary database, Smith’s was the 37th-best compensated coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision at $4.85 million in 2023 after agreeing to a six-year, $30.6 million deal through 2028 on Dec. 11, 2022. He added an additional rollover year into 2029 when the Beavers won their seventh game of the season on Nov. 4 by beating Colorado.

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When Smith signed his deal last December, OSU also upped the pool for its assistant coaches (to $4.85 million) and support staff (to $2.5 million), with a $100,000 annual escalator to the pool through 2028 included.

Smith has no ties to Michigan State and is just the third coach since Clarence “Biggie” Munn was hired from Syracuse in 1947 who has neither coached or played at the East Lansing school. The others were Darryl Rogers in 1976 and a somewhat similar-named John. L. Smith in 2003.

“Jonathan has a great appreciation for the rich history and tradition of our program, and is committed to doing what’s required to compete for championships at the Big Ten and national level,” Haller said in his statement.

Jonathan Smith arrived at Oregon State as a 5-foot-9 walk-on quarterback, but when he left as a player, his 9,680 passing yards were a Beavers record. Smith remains No. 3 on the all-time passing list thanks to his receivers that included future NFL stars with the Cincinnati Bengals, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Smith’s 55 touchdown passes, 469-yard single game performance and 3,053-yard single-season total all were school records when he graduated after playing for both Mike Riley and Dennis Erickson. In his junior season in 2000, Smith guided the Oregon State to an 11-1 record, a Fiesta Bowl victory and a No. 5 finish in the coaches poll.

Smith remained in Corvallis as a graduate assistant from 2002-03, then spent six seasons as quarterbacks coach at Idaho under three different coaches, including in 2006 with Erickson.

In 2010-11, Smith moved to Montana as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was the quarterbacks coach at Boise State in 2012-13 under Chris Peterson, including when the Broncos lost their season-opener at Spartan Stadium to Mark Dantonio and Michigan State, 17-13. That Boise State team would lose only one more game and finished 11-2.

Smith would follow Petersen to Washington from 2014-17, where the Huskies won 12 games in 2016 and 10 in 2016.

Then after Gary Andersen quit at Oregon State, which had been 12-16 the previous four seasons, Smith returned to his college home in late 2017. After going 9-22 over his first three seasons, Smith directed his program to a 7-6 finish in 2021 and their first bowl berth since 2013 – coincidentally, that last trip was a Hawaii Bowl victory over Boise State in Smith’s final game with the Broncos before leaving for Washington.

The Beavers went 10-3 last year, thumping Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl, 30-3.

But Oregon State and Washington State are heading toward a future next season without a major conference as the Pac-12’s dissolved with USC and UCLA heading to the Big Ten; Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State leaving for the Big 12; and Stanford and California off to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Beavers and Cougars are hoping to rebuild the Pac-12.

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Smith is the youngest Michigan State football coach since Bobby Williams was promoted to the top job at 41 years old in December 1999. His predecessor, Nick Saban, was hired at 43 years old in December 1994. John L. Smith was 54 in late 2002, Mark Dantonio was 50 in late 2006 and Tucker 48 in early 2020 when they were hired.

The hiring of Jonathan Smith will need the OK approval from MSU’s Board of Trustees, which is next scheduled to meet Dec. 15 but could convene sooner to approve a contract.

Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari. Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.