These are the coaches that Michigan State needs to look at first

Here are two coaches that the head coaching search committee should consider pursuing possibly being the next football coach at Michigan State.

Coaching career summary

At the college level, he was an assistant coach at Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, and Fresno State. In 2017, he was hired as the offensive coordinator at Indiana.

In his one season at Indiana, DeBoer helped the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in passing yards and points per game. He also helped develop quarterback Michael Penix Jr. into one of the best quarterbacks in the conference that season.

In 2020, DeBoer was hired as the head coach at Fresno State. He led the Bulldogs to a 3-3 record in his first season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his second season, DeBoer led Fresno State to a 9-3 record and a victory in the New Mexico Bowl.

In 2022, DeBoer was hired as the head coach at Washington. He led the Huskies to an 11-2 record in his first season, including a victory in the Alamo Bowl. This season, Washington is 5-0 and ranked in the top 10.

DeBoer is known for his offensive prowess. He is a proponent of the Air Raid offense, which is a pass-heavy attack that emphasizes quick throws and timing routes.

DeBoer is also a good recruiter. He has landed several highly-touted players at each of his head coaching stops.

Overall, Kalen DeBoer is a successful college football coach with a bright future. He has shown that he can turn around programs and lead them to victory. He is also a good recruiter and an offensive mastermind.

Would MSU fans want Deboer? Yes, it would be difficult to find a decent number of people in the MSU fanbase who would not want Deboer. In the two games the Huskies have played the Spartans, the offense that was displayed by Deboer and the Washington offense was very impressive and the MSU fanbase would absolutely love to see an offense like that come to East Lansing. Now Deboer doesn’t have a ton of head coaching experience but he very quickly turned around a Washington football program and has ties to the Midwest region as he was an offensive coordinator at Eastern Michigan and Indiana.

Releastic odds of landing Deboer?  It is very difficult to tell if he would want to leave Washington to become the next head coach at Michigan State for various reasons. One, the Huskies are joining the Big Ten and will be in the same conference as the Spartans, however, Washington will not be getting the same amount of money as Michigan State from the TV and Media Rights deal. Does that mean the Spartans can and would offer him more money per year to coach MSU? The answer is probably yes as Deboer is currently making $4.2 million in 2023 with a raise of $1 million and another $100,000 each year after. He also can receive three potential retention bonuses totaling up to $2 million. Michigan State has proven that they can pay him more than that.

The second reason is that he is having a ton of success at Washington and may not want to leave a program that is doing very well. If he were to take the Michigan State job, it would be another rebuilding project potentially. Lastly, he may be very loyal to Washington for giving him his first Power Five conference head coaching job. All in all, it is anyone’s guess as to if Michigan State would have a legitimate chance of landing him as their next coach.

Coaching career summary

Clawson served as an assistant coach at Fordham, Ohio State, Bowling Green, and Richmond. In 1999, he was hired as the head coach at Fordham.

Clawson led the Rams to a 26-27 record in five seasons. He then left Fordham to become the head coach at Richmond in 2004.

Clawson led the Spiders to a 34-21 record in four seasons. He also won two Southern Conference championships and led the Spiders to two FCS Playoff appearances.

In 2009, Clawson was hired as the head coach at Bowling Green. He led the Falcons to a 29-33 record in five seasons. He also won two MAC East Division championships and led the Falcons to two bowl-game appearances.

In 2014, Clawson was hired as the head coach at Wake Forest. Clawson has led Wake Forest to bowl games in five of the past seven seasons. He also won the ACC Coach of the Year award in 2021.

Would MSU fans want Clawson? Yes, but it would take some convincing for a good portion of the fanbase. If fans were to look at his record and the number of wins he has accumulated since he has been the head coach of Wake Forest, they would at minimum be okay with the hire. Since 2016, he has won at least seven games with the exception of the Covid season of 2020. In 2021, he and Wake Forest won the Atlantic division and ended the season with 11 wins and a Gator Bowl victory. He has an impressive 5-2 bowl record while the head coach of Wake Forest and the MSU fans would appreciate his consistency.

Realistic odds of landing Clawson? Better than most of the other candidates listed. However, he stayed at Wake Forest after the successful 2021 season so he has shown that he is loyal to the university. This is his 10th season as the head coach of the Demon Deacons but he may be open to becoming the head coach of the Spartans. He did coach five seasons at Bowling Green so he has some Midwest ties and Michigan State can easily give him more money than Wake Forest as he makes approximately just under four million a year.