What is the difference between Alabama fans and Michigan
State fans this December? One fan base
had to toil and squirm as they sifted through the filth of internet rumors to
find nuggets of truth as to whether or not their head football coach Nick Saban
would leave them for a “destination” job in Austin Texas as the coach of the
Long Horns. Saban was target #1 for the Long Horns. Coach Dantonio's name didn't appear until after Saban signed his extension with the Crimson Tide. Spartan fans on the other
hand sat with reserved confidence in their programs stability until December 16th when they reached
a whole new level of assurance. The head
football coach of Michigan State was quoted on Tuesday, in response to speculation of him and the Texas Longhorns position vacancy, that he viewed his position
at Michigan State as a “destination not a stop.”
Nick
Saban is generally considered the greatest active coach in college football
based on the resume. Spartan fans are
all-to-familiar with Alabama (future Hall of Fame) coach Nick Saban and the
anxiety he can induce. In 1999, Nick
Saban left Michigan State University for LSU stating that at “Michigan State we
were never Number 1 [in the state], there was always Michigan.” Nick Saban did a good job coaching at
Michigan State. Spartan fans are
thankful that one of his assistant coaches eventually went on to be our man of
the hour, B1G Coach of the Year Mark Dantonio.
However, despite the fact that Nick is considered the best, he couldn’t
do what Dantonio has done here at Michigan State. He could never get over the hump.
Maybe
it was stars aligning. Michigan made two
bad hires in a row (do the math, one is Rich Rodriguez the other is not Lloyd
Carr) and Ohio State and Penn State both faced sanctions in the Spartans rise
to the top. Maybe the B1G was down and
this really isn’t impressive (despite being the only B1G team with a bowl
winning streak and beating an SEC darling Georgia two years ago). I’d argue it’s something different. To deny the previous two statements would be
some combination of Arrogance and Ignorance (a freshmen pre-requisite course in
the University of Michigan General Studies major). They have played a part. However that steely focused look in
Dantonio’s eyes he’s held since day one send a different message and he
reiterated that message Tuesday afternoon.
Dantonio
stated “I see Michigan State as a destination, not a stop.”
College
sports fans often have this conversation on message boards and amongst friends
all the time. What jobs are considered
“destination jobs.” A destination job is
defined as the job that you leave a good situation for because it is the end
goal, the Crème de la Crème, the
job you’ve always dreamed of. The funny
thing is there is no formal list or criteria for determining these destination
jobs. Often we are left with the paths
that a select group of men pave from one job to the next to determine a destination. Other times we lay witness to that same group
of men turning down jobs to finish the job at their current position.
Lane Kiffin left Tennessee in
2010 (hindsight Vols fans now view this as a blessing) for USC. USC was thereby solidified as a “destination
job” (unless your aspirations are the NFL).
Likewise the Vols coaching position loses some prestige and has mild
associations with being a “stepping stone”.
In basketball, Bill Self left
the University of Illinois for Kansas.
Kansas therefore continues to be solidified as a blue blood “destination
job” while Illinois falls in overall prestige.
Does this mean that Illinois
will never become a destination job?
No. But the actions of Bill Self
set the Fighting Illini momentum back for years. Does this mean that Tennessee is not big boy
football? No. But perception can creep its way into
reality.
This sports illustrated article from 2009 highlights 12 “premier gigs” or destination jobs in
college football as it was perceived 5 years ago. The article outlines that the following jobs
are considered “Platinum Standard” coaching positions. These positions got there because of a
combination of resources, facilities, fan support, salary, prestige, and
recruiting ease. The SI article lists
Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas and USC as the platinum standard. The site then lists the gold standard
positions as Alabama, Florida, Georgia and LSU and Penn State. Lastly it lists the “Still Destinations, But
Barely” as Florida State, Notre Dame and Michigan.
I’d have to agree with 11 of
those destination jobs. I would argue
that since two years later Michigan let go Rich Rodriguez and went on to be
snubbed by Jim Harbough (after previously being snubbed by Les Miles prior to
the Rich Rod hire) that they’ve lost some of the prestige. They went out and hired Brady Hoke who had a
head coaching overall record of 47 wins and 50 losses. They didn’t pluck him from a power program,
they took him from a stepping stone school named San Diego State. He said he would have walked to Michigan, and
I truly do believe Michigan is his destination school, but I believe he would
have walked to Syracuse, walked to the University of Kentucky, or walked to
(gasp) dare I say … Ohio. Snagging a sub
.500 head coach from a non-BCS conference does not equate to being a
destination school, so for now, I think it’s safe to take them off the list.
Back to the point, being a
destination school has a ton of positive impacts. It allows a coach to recruit with full
confidence knowing that he plans on being there for a long time. It allows others outside of the Spartan
nation to look in and ask “Why does he love that job so much?” It raises the prestige. I am not saying that MSU should be tossed
into the 11 schools mentioned above. We
share a state with those other guys, we don’t unanimously draw the ‘Walmart’
crowd making our fan base comprised mostly of alums, students, Lansing-locals
and the occasional casual dweller. We
have been historically bad for many long stretches of time where our program
resembled present-day Indiana more than present-day Spartans. However, Dantonio is causing a shift.
Dantonio was quoted as saying “In
my eyes, I see Michigan State as a destination.” Basketball Coach Tom Izzo has done the same,
giving us Spartan fans a confidence that other fan bases can’t enjoy, we have
one of the most stable athletic departments in the country and our biggest
concern is whether we are going to lose our favorite assistant coach who just
won the Broyles award for being the best in the country. It’s a great day to be a Spartan.
It’s ironic that Dantonio
phrased that quote starting with the words “in my eyes.” The reality is, Dantonio has seen this vision
in his eyes since day 1. Unlike many
situations around the country, Spartan fans actually lag behind their coach in
regards to what they believe can be accomplished at Michigan State. Dantonio has shifted the culture. He has beaten every B1G team on the
gauntlet. He went on this year to beat
every B1G team by double digits. He has
more depth than 99% of all college programs in the country. He is producing All-Americans from guys that
recruiting services and other programs couldn’t even identify as offer-able. He has defeated the odds and is going to a
Rose Bowl in year seven of his tenure here and we are only looking up.
Saban did some great things at
Michigan State, but it can’t compare to the way Dantonio is building the
foundation. Dantonio had the patience,
the perseverance and the vision to take Michigan State to the next level. Part of me wonders if that quote about always
being number 2 in the state ticked Dantonio off as an assistant. In our seven year relationship with the man,
when have we ever seen him toss up his hands and give up? It goes against how he is wired. It’s not the Dantonio way. I imagine an anxious assistant, watching his
mentor leave in the night for the LSU job being a little dumbfounded that he
would make such a statement. Clearly
Dantonio knew before he got here 7 years ago that not only could you win here,
but that he could make Michigan State number 1 (not just in the state, but in
the conference, and to him … the nation).
When a coach makes
your school a destination, it moves you one step closer to being a last stop
for future coaches. Saban took Michigan
State to one respectable bowl (Citrus Bowl, 99’) and then left. Dantonio has built a monster. He has Wolverines hating him because the
worst thing he can do to them is stay at Michigan State. He just forced Buckeye fans to drop the cute
moniker of support for “little brother” by crumbling their 24 game win streak
into irrelevance. Coach D is here to stay
and Spartans around the nation are scratching and clawing for our Rose Bowl
tickets on January 1st to witness the man who is responsible for
changing the culture in East Lansing.
For now, East Lansing is no longer just a layover location, but rather …
a destination. Next stop ... Pasadena.
