MSU will pay Bobby Williams $550,000 to end his contract with the university, officials announced Wednesday.
The buyout deal is more than twice what the university had to pay under the terms of its 5-year rolling contract with Williams, which was in its third year. According to the contract, MSU could have ended the deal at any time for one-year's salary - about $214,800.
The $550,000 severance package is the amount Williams would have made through June 30 plus the termination payment. The money will come from the athletics department budget, which is not tied to tuition dollars or state appropriations.
Mason fired Williams after the football teams' Nov. 4 practice. Offensive coordinator Morris Watts was named interim head coach to finish the season, but will not be considered a candidate for the top coaching job.
Mason has said he doesn't have timetable set to name a new head coach.
"I feel this final settlement is reasonable and appropriate, and allows MSU and Bobby to move on from here," Mason said in a written statement. "We wish Bobby and his family only the best because they have been friends and members of the Spartan family for a long time. As I have said, I respect Bobby as a person; he has been a colleague who takes with him our hopes for success in the years ahead."
Williams went 16-17 at the helm of the MSU football team. He was the first Spartan football coach to be fired since George Perles was terminated Nov. 8, 1994. But Perles, who had two games remaining on the schedule, was allowed to finish the season as the head coach.
"For me, this is a fair settlement that permits us all, personally and professionally, to be future-oriented with confidence," Williams said in a written statement. "I am sure both the university and I share the pride in accomplishments during this tenure, with support from within the University, alumni, and fans. I particularly thank the players who I hope will all grow through this experience and turn the lessons from the field into catalysts for prosperity."
MSU struggled this season both on and off the field. In the preseason, MSU was expected to contend for its first Big Ten title since 1990. But the Spartans stumbled from the beginning and lost two of their four co-captains - junior quarterback Jeff Smoker was indefinitely suspended Oct. 24 and entered rehab for a substance abuse problem and senior tailback Dawan Moss was indefinitely suspended after he was arrested Nov. 3 by Lansing police on charges that include a felony.
After the Spartans' 49-3 loss to Michigan on Saturday, Williams was asked if he felt he had lost control of the team. He said, "I don't know."
Mason said no single incident was responsible for his decision, but Williams' answer was a defining moment.
There are four open Division I jobs now - MSU, Wyoming, Utah and Baylor. Possible candidates for MSU's coaching job include Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, Bowling Green head coach Urban Meyer, Pittsburgh head coach Walt Harris, Oklahoma defensive coordinator and associate head coach Mike Stoops and Miami defensive coordinator Randy Shannon.
It's unknown exactly what Mason is looking for in candidates. He held his final advisory meeting Nov. 19 with a panel of community and university leaders that helped him define what MSU's next coach should embody. Late last week, he said he was putting together a finished list to submit to the MSU Board of Trustees and President M. Peter McPherson.
