Michigan State almost got lost in the flurry of this week’s coaching carousel.
It’s been more than 50 days since the Spartans fired former coach Mel Tucker amidst a sexual misconduct complaint by sexual abuse survivor and advocate Brenda Tracy; Michigan State officials formally dismissed Tucker, and his boondoggle contract, for cause and blasted Tucker for bringing “public disrespect, contempt and ridicule” upon the school.
But the search moves on to find Tucker’s replacement.
Even with Saturday’s win against slumping Indiana, the Spartans have lost seven of their last nine games -- with interim coach Harlon Barnett able to get a home win to start this month against Nebraska.
With Northwestern removing the interim tag from David Braun and awarding him the full-time job with a multi-year contract, Michigan State remains the team on the clock the longest in its coaching search.
The Spartans were rather active this week, multiple sources told FootballScoop.
While Michigan State has for several months done its due diligence on multiple coaches, including Duke head coach Mike Elko and Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi, the former Spartans defensive coordinator, sources told FootballScoop that Michigan State this week had multiple conversations with some candidates viewed at or near the top of their search.
In mid- to late-week conversations, Michigan State is said to have spoken with/interviewed Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith, Toledo coach Jason Candle and also has had conversations with North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren, per sources.
If UCLA opens, Smith – a Pasadena, Calif., native – also is expected to be a top target for the Bruins, losers of two straight and battling cross-town rival USC Saturday night.
Smith’s work at Oregon State, his alma mater, is of note; the Beavers have 25 wins and counting their past three seasons and are again headed to the postseason with eight wins already this fall.
Candle has perhaps the deepest Midwest ties of the Spartans’s top targets; an Ohio native, Candle owns eight years’ head coaching experience atop the Rockets program and has produced multiple seasons of double-digit wins.
Toledo is 19-6 in its last 25 games, and Candle particularly in the last two coaching cycles has been a top target in multiple searches, nearly getting the Cincinnati job this past time before the Bearcats pivoted late to hire Scott Satterfield from Louisville.
Candle honed his coaching style through several seasons as a top assistant under Matt Campbell.
In his 11th season at North Carolina State and 13th as an Football Bowls Subdivision head coach, Doeren does have Midwest ties and Big Ten experience. His work as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator led Doeren to land the head job at Northern Illinois, which in turn helped him take over the Wolfpack in 2013.
Doeren has a career 102-61 record as a head coach.
Timing for the Spartans, and all other openings, remains a critical element. The NCAA Transfer Portal officially opens Dec. 4 for its 30-day window, down 15 days from previous years. Additionally, the early signing period for the 2024 recruiting class runs Dec. 20-22.