The most important person in the Michigan State athletics universe is athletic director J Batt. What he does in the coming weeks or months could shape the direction of MSU football for a long, long time.
It’s pretty fair to say that the Jonathan Smith era has not gone well so far. Michigan State is too proud of a program to be happy with a coach holding an 8-12 overall record and a 3-11 mark against fellow Big Ten schools. Smith is now 0-2 against rival Michigan after a 31-20 loss on Saturday night.
For the average person, especially in an era where Indiana and Vanderbilt are suddenly College Football Playoff contenders, it’s completely fair to look at Smith and think “MSU can do better.”
Perhaps that is the case. But things are a little bit more complicated than that.
Factors for Batt, Smith
Buyout $$$
Imagine paying someone $33 million to NOT work for you anymore. If Batt were to fire Smith, that’s pretty much exactly what he would be doing. That type of decision is difficult to make, business-wise…