Pat Fitzgerald in, Jonathan Smith out for Michigan State football

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Pat Fitzgerald in, Jonathan Smith out for Michigan State football

Pat Fitzgerald in, Jonathan Smith out for Michigan State football

Matthew Glenesk and Chris Solari, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Sun, Nov 30, 2025 ·

3 min read

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Less than two hours after it was reported Michigan State was firing football coach Jonathan Smith after just two seasons, it appears the Spartans have already found their man.

Former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald will get his chance to return to coaching, back in the Big Ten in East Lansing.

People with knowledge of the situation who couldn't speak publicly confirmed to the USA TODAY, Detroit Free Press and Lansing State Journal, Fitzgerald is the pick. A contract had not yet been signed as of midday Sunday, Nov. 30.

College football coaches on the move: Carousel in overdrive, keep up with hirings, firings

College football coaching carousel: Grades for each hire, how they fit

Penn State hired Matt Campbell as its next head coach. Campbell, 46, coached 10 seasons at Iowa State and was the winningest coach in school history.

(Nirmalendu Majumdar, USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Kyle Whittingham is finalizing a new deal to be the coach at Michigan after 177 wins in 21 seasons at Utah. Whittingham replaces Sherrone Moore who was fired Dec. 10.
(Rob Gray, Imagn Images)

UCLA hired Bob Chesney as its next head coach, ending the longest coaching search in country of a coach fired midseason in 2025. Chesney spent two seasons at James Madison and led the Dukes to the Sun Belt championship game this season after coaching Holy Cross, where he won five conference championships.
(Bob Donnan, Imagn Images)

South Florida hired Brian Hartline, replacing Alex Golesh, who left to become head coach of Auburn. Hartline has been an assistant at Ohio State since 2017 first as wide receivers coach then offensive coordinator and helped the Buckeyes win the national championship last season.
(Adam Cairns, USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Florida hired Jon Sumrall as its next head coach, replacing Billy Napier, who was fired midseason. Sumrall, 43, spent two seasons at Tulane and two at Troy and led his teams to the conference championship game in each of those four seasons.

(Stephen Lew, Imagn Images)

LSU hired Lane Kiffin as its next football coach on Nov. 30. Kiffin spent six seasons at Ole Miss and led the Rebels to a spot in this year's College Football Playoff, though he won't coach in it.
(Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger)

Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as its next head coach. Franklin was fired earlier this season at Penn State. He replaces Brent Pry, who was fired midseason by the Hokies.
(Brian Bishop-Imagn Images)

Michigan State football hired Pat Fitzgerald as Jonathan Smith's replacement. Fitzgerald coached 17 seasons at his alma mater Northwestern, posting a 110-101 overall record.
(Michael Reaves, Getty Images)

Auburn is hiring South Florida coach Alex Golesh to be the Tigers' next head coach. Golesh is 23-15 in three seasons with the Bulls, with three bowl bids.
(Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images)

Ole Miss promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach after Lane Kiffin left for LSU. Golding is in his third season as Rebels DC and served as Alabama's DC before.
(Justin Ford, Getty Images)

Morgan Scalley is taking over as Utah coach with the departure of Kyle Whittingham following 21 seasons in the job. Scalley, a former Utes defensive back, was an assistant under Whittingham for 18 seasons and coach-in-waiting since 2024.
(Rob Gray, Imagn Images)

Arkansas is set to hire Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield to lead the Razorbacks program. Silverfield is 50-24 in six seasons in Memphis with a fifth bowl appearance on the way.
(Wesley Hale-Imagn Images)

Oklahoma State hired Eric Morris from North Texas to be the Cowboys next head coach. Morris replaces longtime OSU coach Mike Gundy, who was fired earlier this season.
(Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images)

Stanford hired Washington Commanders quarterback coach Tavita Pritchard to be the Cardinal's next head coach
(Eric Canha-Imagn Images)

Colorado State hired Jim Mora Jr. as its new head coach. Mora led UConn to back-to-back nine-win seasons and replaces Jay Norvell, who was fired midseason.
(David Butler II-Imagn Images)

Kentucky moved on from Mark Stoops after 13 seasons and hired Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein to fill its vacancy. The Kentucky native previously played for Louisville.
(Ben Lonergan, The Register-Guard)

Iowa State hired Jimmy Rogers as its next head coach. Rogers, 38, spent one year as the coach of Washington State after coaching South Dakota State for two seasons and an FCS national championship in 2023.

(James Snook, Imagn Images)

Kansas State has brought back former player and assistant Collin Klein as its football coach after Chris Klieman stepped down after seven seasons. Klein spent the past two years as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M.
(Peter Aiken, Getty Images)

Tosh Lupoi is returning to alma mater California after the school fired Justin Wilcox. Lupoi, a longtime college and NFL assistant, was defensive coordinator at Oregon for four seasons.
(Ben Lonergan, The Register-Guard)

Charles Huff is the new Memphis football coach after one season at Southern Mississippi after leading the Golden Eagles to a bowl game. He previously was at Marshall for four seasons.
(Matt Bush, Special to the Clarion Ledger)

Connecticut hired Toledo coach Jason Candle to replace Jim Mora. Candle won 81 games in 10 seasons with the Rockets.
(Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)

James Madison moved quickly to hire Billy Napier, a former coach at Florida and Louisiana-Lafayette, after the departure of Bob Chesney to UCLA.
(Matt Pendleton, Imagn Images)

After losing Jon Sumrall to Florida, Tulane elevated offensive coordinator Will Hall to the job. Hall previously coached four seasons at Southern Mississippi.
(Matt Bush, USA TODAY Sports)

Toledo found the replacement for Jason Candle with the addition of Mercer's Mike Jacobs, who led the Bears to consecutive FCS playoff appearances in two seasons at the school.
(Will McLelland, Imagn Images)

Oregon State hired Alabama co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard as its head coach, replacing Trent Bray who was fired after an 0-7 start this season.
(Jason Clark, Getty Images)

North Texas hired former West Virginia coach Neal Brown as the replacement for Eric Morris, who departed for the head coaching job at Oklahoma State. Brown spent six seasons with the Mountaineers and won 35 games in four seasons at Troy.
(Ben Queen, Imagn Images)

Ohio promoted interim coach John Hauser after the team defeated UNLV in the Xbox Bowl. Hauser replaces Brian Smith, who was fired in December.
(Raymond Carlin III, Imagn Images)

After the departure of Jimmy Rogers, Washington State hired Kirby Moore, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Missouri after previous stops at Fresno State and Washington.
(Denny Medley, USA TODAY Sports)

Caostal Carolina filled its coaching vacancy after the firing of Tim Beck by hiring Ryan Beard from Missouri State, who led the Bears to a bowl game in their first FBS season.
(Michael Gulledge, Special to the News-Leader)

Southern Mississippi promoted offensive coordinator Blake Anderson to fill its coaching vacancy following the departure of Charles Huff. Anderson was previously the head coach at Utah State and Arkansas State.
(Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports)

Alex Mortensen took over as interim coach of Alabama-Birmingham after the firing of Trent Dilfer. Mortenson was promoted to full-time coach after going 2-4 to finish the season.
(David Butler II, Imagn Images)

Fitzgerald, who turns 51 on Tuesday, went 110-101 over 17 seasons with his alma mater from 2006-22, the entirety of his head coaching career and the Wildcats' longest-tenured coach in school history. The Midlothian, Illinois, native was an All-Big linebacker for Northwestern from 1993-96 and was a consensus All-American, won the Big Ten defensive player of the year and was the national winner of both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award in both the 1995 and 1996. He received the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1997.

As a coach, Fitzgerald won the Big Ten West title in 2018 and was named Big Ten coach of the year, and he won a second West division title in 2020 and earned the national Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.

The hire doesn't come without concerns.

Northwestern fired Fitzgerald in July 2023 due to a hazing scandal the school said "included forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature." Fitzgerald, who reportedly was owed $68 million from the private school on his contract that ran through 2031, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in October 2023 for $130 million.

Fitzgerald reached a settlement in his wrongful-termination lawsuit against Northwestern and was back on the market as an established winner with extensive Big Ten experience. On paper, this looks like a perfect fit. Fitzgerald would need to show a plan on offense and for how he's going to adapt to the NIL-driven landscape that has exploded during his three years off the sidelines. But a search that ends with him returning to the Big Ten would be a coup for the Spartans.

The Spartans program isn't without its own issues. MSU was hit with NCAA sanctions earlier this fall that occurred in 2022-23 under Mel Tucker, who received a three-year show-cause penalty for failing to monitor the program and two staff members who also received show-cause penalties. The NCAA said Tucker was not involved with providing improper benefits of around $11,000 to three players and six recruits, however, in its negotiated settlement with MSU.

Fitzgerald, who has been out of college coaching for three seasons, was 5-9 against the Spartans during his tenure at Northwestern. The Wildcats were 4-20 in his final two seasons, which included MSU's season-opening win under Tucker in 2021 in Evanston, Illinois.

Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts , Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan State football hire Pat Fitzgerald as new head coach

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Pat Fitzgerald in, Jonathan Smith out for Michigan State football

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