All good things must come to an end. And Mark Dantonio has certainly done a lot of spectacular things for the Michigan State football program. Under Dantonio’s watch, the Spartans went from a team that lacked a lot of things. They lacked toughness, discipline, culture, identity. Those are things they lack right now as well.
For most of Mark Dantonio’s tenure, MSU has been a regional force. At times, it’s been a national power. At a school like Michigan State, you’re not supposed to have expectations. You’re allowed to have your moment in the sun before bowing out to the traditional powers of the Big Ten. From 2011 to 2015, Michigan State had their moment in the sun.
As a fan, I can step back and recognize that there is a definite hierarchy in this sport. Everything regresses to its mean. But the mean for Michigan State does not mean 6-6 or 7-5 with the losses being lopsided blowouts in the games they shouldn’t win. Those losses should not be blown 28-3 leads to Illinois either. But that’s what we have here. Three straight uncompetitive losses followed by the latest debacle this past Saturday. It would suffice to say that I’m not the only one who is fed up.
In any walk of life when things go poorly, our first instinct is to change what we’re doing, how we’re approaching things. Why is it that Mark Dantonio, and coaches in general, are so damn stubborn? When something has worked so well in the past, why change it when things don’t go so well? Everything regresses to the mean right?
Wrong. Never in Mark Dantonio’s time in East Lansing has a team look so unprepared or disinterested. The lack of effort, preparation and results falls squarely on the coaching staff. Since 2016, this thing has been in a free-fall. The toughness and mentality from Dantonio’s most successful teams are gone. In four short seasons, the culture and program he built is a shell of what it once was.
It’s time to move on. There is no indication whatsoever that some significant change to Dantonio’s staff is on the horizon. The change that needs to come is at the head coach position. This is not getting any better under this current regime. It’s time to move on.