MSU coach Mark Dantonio and the football team line up before the game against Michigan on Oct. 17, 2015 at Michigan Stadium. The Spartans defeated the Wolverines, 27-23.
—MSU head football coach Mark Dantonio was named a member of the 2015 Paul Bear Bryant Awards Watch List Wednesday — joining 21 other FBS coaches also on the list.
The Paul Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award is given out annually to the national coach of the year in NCAA Division College Football. Presented and voted on by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA), the award honors “excellence in college football coaching” according to a press release sent out today.
Dantonio is no stranger to the Paul Bear Bryant Award as he was named a finalist for the award in 2010 and 2013. The 2010 season saw the Spartans go 11-2 and share a Big Ten title with Wisconsin after a dismal 2009 season. The 2013 campaign saw the Spartans again capture a Big Ten title, this time outright, and win the 2014 Rose Bowl over Stanford.
Dantonio has this year’s Spartans off to a 7-0 start, which is even more impressive when noting they have suffered key injuries along the way but have still mustered through and won games. Dantonio is also joined by three other Big Ten coaches on this year's list — Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, Ohio State's Urban Meyer and Michigan's Jim Harbaugh.
Another well-liked coach and familiar name to Spartan fans, Pat Narduzzi, also graced this year's list. Narduzzi, who left the program this past offseason to take the helm at Pittsburgh, has the Panthers off to a 5-1 start, and has quickly turned around a program that has lost its way in the past few seasons.
Dantonio has won two Big Ten Coach of the Year awards in 2010 and 2013. He also has won a plethora of other national coach of the year awards given out by various outlets and organizations. He has won the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Region 3 Coach of the Year, and National Coach of the Year honors from CBSSports.com, Scout.com and Rivals.com.
Past MSU coaches to take home national coach of the year awards include Clarence “Biggie” Munn in 1952 and Duffy Daugherty in 1955. Both won the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Coach of the Year Award.
The finalists for the award will be announced in December as the pool of 22 coaches will be narrowed down to anywhere from five to 10 coaches. Voting for the award will be held from Jan. 11, 2016 to noon the day of the awards. The winner will be announced Jan. 13, 2016 at a live ceremony in Houston, Texas.
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