Athletics administrators seem to think the Spartans' newest football head coach is the right person to turn what became black and blue in 2002 into Green and White once again. We hope they made an investment that won't prove too costly.
John L. Smith was named MSU's 23rd football head coach Dec. 19 and awarded a six-year, $9-million contract, making him the highest paid Big Ten football head coach. Smith's contract also puts his earnings above MSU men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo, who led the Spartans to three Final Four appearances and an NCAA National Championship.
Athletics Director Ron Mason said Smith's record along with his no-nonsense approach to coaching are the ingredients MSU's program needs to have the chance to return to the Rose Bowl.
Mason's observations are promising after the nonsense that was the Spartans' 2002 season, in which the football team saw three of its four co-captains either suspended or benched for problems on and off the field and its head coach fired midseason.
Smith comes to the Spartan sidelines with a 110-60 overall record. The 54-year-old Idaho native has led his last six teams to bowl games and is responsible for turning an 1-10 Louisville squad in 1997 to a 11-2 team by 2001.
Louisville finished 7-6 this season after a 38-15 loss to Marshall on Dec. 18 in the GMAC Bowl, where news of Smith's new job prospect reached the Cardinal sideline by halftime.
While MSU should be apologetic to Smith's former team for helping bring down their spirits during a bowl appearance, it is understandable Mason had to act with haste to hire the head coach he wanted before another institution swooped in on the deal.
While it was impossible for Mason to appease 100 percent of Spartan fans with his head coach pick, Smith is a wise choice. MSU has the potential to keep Smith around longer than they would somebody like Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, who has more timely professional football aspirations.
Smith began his head coaching career at Idaho in 1989 and reminded their until he took over the sidelines at Utah State in 1995, where he remained three years before joining Louisville in 1997.
The only questionable aspect of Smith's move to MSU is the outrageously high price tag he came with. But now that his $9 million has been approved, that issue is a moot point. The only thing left for Smith is to prove to the MSU community that he is worth such a lump sum.
Smith has said no Spartan gridders will wear the number one on his jersey as a sign of team unity. While all is fine if that digit doesn't appear on the grass in Spartan Stadium, we hope Smith doesn't have anything against making his team No. 1 in the Big Ten.
The new head coach already has shuffled things up on the Spartan sidelines bringing five of his Louisville assistants with him to East Lansing and naming former San Jose State and Cal State Northridge football head coach Dave Baldwin MSU's new offensive coordinator.
We hope Smith's leadership decisions will help MSU's football program regain the integrity it lost in the 2002 season and prove as prosperous for the Green and White as his contract will prove for his own bank accounts.
