After the regular season came to an end on Saturday Night, Michigan State quickly got to work examining the future of the program. On Sunday Afternoon, the Spartans decided that Jonathan Smith winning the final game of Big Ten play wasn't good enough to save his job firing him two seasons into his tenure.
When a coaching carousel search starts, you typically expect the process to take at minimum days, if not a week or more. Michigan State instead moved quicker than you'd ever expect, reportedly hiring former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald after he spent three seasons out of College Football.
Pat Fitzgerald returns to college football at Michigan State
As of Sunday Afternoon, the Michigan State Spartans are reportedly planning to hire Pat Fitzgerald according to The Free Press.
Michigan State plans to hire Pat Fitzgerald as next football coach with @Graham_Couch https://t.co/EFz1uaX6oj
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 30, 2025
If Michigan State hires Pat Fitzgerald, it's an All-In level move that should help turn the program around. Considering how quickly this plan has come together, it's clear that Michigan State was already working with Fitzgerald, and felt comfortable enough they could hire him that they fired Jonathan Smith.
Michigan State isn't the easiest place to build a winner at which makes hiring Pat Fitzgerald a perfect fit. During his time at Northwestern, Pat Fitzgerald went 110-101 putting together some incredible seasons, and some where having lesser talent certainly hurt him.
In this NIL era, building a winner at Michigan State will be far easier for Pat Fitzgerald than it was at Northwestern. Fitzgerald has always been the most impressive at developing overlooked talent, and he'll have a chance to blend that ability with the Transfer Portal to quickly turn around this program.
Michigan State has watched Ohio State and Michigan win the last two National Championships, and they're now finally pushing to build a team capable of competing for Big Ten Championships once again.