Mark Dantonio is wasting no time in his effort to turn around the MSU football program.
On Thursday, he penciled four names into his coaching staff: offensive coordinator Don Treadwell, defensive line coach Ted Gill, offensive line coach Dan Roushar and tackles/tight ends coach Mark Staten, who also will serve as recruiting coordinator.
On Friday, he named three additional position coaches: secondary coach Harlon Barnett, linebackers and special teams coach Mike Tressel and quarterbacks coach Dave Warner.
All seven worked under Dantonio at Cincinnati.
"When I first found out and knew that there were possibilities about coming to Michigan State, the first thing I did was check with our staff, in terms of where they would be at with everything," Dantonio said Friday. "I think that's important because I want continuity in our football program."
Pat Narduzzi, Dantonio's defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, also may join the staff in the near future. Narduzzi is currently the interim head coach for the Bearcats. He has given the university until Wednesday to name him the permanent head coach, or he will join Dantonio in East Lansing.
"We'll see," Dantonio said. "We'll know here in the next couple of days or so which direction they're gonna go."
The final member of Dantonio's staff could be Dan Enos, who served as quarterbacks coach under former head coach John L. Smith.
Unless Enos is hired, no coaches from Smith's staff will remain with the Spartans.
"It's the nature of the business," Dantonio said. "People usually understand that with the new staff comes change.
"It's tough on everybody. In terms of the past staff, they're excellent coaches. They're good people. We're just gonna go in a different direction."
Among the departed is offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who was widely considered MSU's best recruiter. After Smith's firing, several recruits said their commitment to MSU hinged on whether Stoutland was retained.
Quarterback Keith Nichol of Lowell High School and defensive back Quincy Landingham of Bloomfield Hills Lahser have already decommited from MSU in the wake of the coaching overhaul. Both are four-star recruits, as rated by Rivals.com.
"These are tough decisions that young people have to make when decisions are forced upon them," Dantonio said. "I think it's gotta be their family's and their decision. We have a great thing to sell here at Michigan State University — tremendous facilities, great tradition, fan support. We're gonna get our share."
Dantonio's staff already is on the road making sure the Spartans do "get their share" of the wealth.
"I left the (Nov. 27) press conference, flew back to Cincinnati … had a recruiting meeting right there at the airfield and sent seven coaches up here," Dantonio said. "Those seven coaches were processed and got out on the road the very next day. We've been out (since) day one.
"We got into Michigan. We got down in Ohio. A little bit in New Jersey. We've been in Atlanta. We've been in Tallahassee. We've been around."
A bit trivial, but …
Dantonio said the team will decide which modifications, if any, will be made to MSU's uniforms. Helmet, jersey and pant combinations may be experimented with during spring practice. The team also will decide whether names are placed on the backs of jerseys, something Smith did away with during his tenure. Only one thing is certain: No player will wear the No. 1 jersey.
