Alan Haller completed the most important hire of his tenure as the Michigan State athletic director.
Haller ended an almost two-month long search for the Spartans’ newest head football coach by announcing the hiring of Jonathan Smith on Saturday afternoon.
“I couldn’t make an emotional hire,” Haller said after Smith’s introductory press conference on Tuesday. “This had to be based off of research, based off of connections across the country and based off of people that I rely on, which is Coach (Mark) Dantonio and Coach (Tom) Izzo.”
From the very beginning of the search, Haller sent out a letter telling Spartan fans that he wouldn’t reveal information about the candidates and who they were and that everything would be kept close to the vest.
That’s exactly what happened, so much so that Michigan State essentially broke its own news about Smith taking over as the next coach.
“What I wanted to do was never publicly talk about any candidate or anyone, so I kept that consistent,” Haller said. “It was important for me to stay that way.”
The length of the search was something that benefitted Haller as well. For most schools, coaching searches might last a week or at most two weeks. Michigan State’s lasted almost two months.
“It was very beneficial,” Haller said about having a long search process. “... At the last search, we had probably six or seven days. And the only time we spoke to the candidates is when we flew them out for two hours. This time, we had multiple conversations, not only with Jonathan (Smith), but others. And then I had eight weeks of research. I had YouTube videos of press conferences. I looked at game film. I found every article I could find and how people were talking about these candidates. This guy, he floated to the top and he just stayed there.”
Haller identified Smith as a candidate and he rose to the top and stood out to Haller.
“These were multiple conversations (with Smith),” Haller said. “These were multiple Zoom calls. Getting to know him as a person, talking about things that are personal to each of us. There was a moment that the light just clicked on and I said, ‘I have to go after him…’
“We had three final candidates. We ended up going to see Jonathan first. Then I saw someone else next. I canceled the third one because I said, ‘There can’t be any more time, he is our guy.’ We didn’t go see a third person. I went after him 100 percent.”
One of the biggest concerns with Smith is his lack of Michigan State, Big Ten or Midwest ties. Smith was born and bred in Pasadena, California, not far from the Rose Bowl. In fact, he’s never coached east of Montana. Haller initially identified that as a concern, but he got over it quickly.
“Initially it was, but once you meet him, this guy connects with people,” Haller said about whether Smith not having ties with the area was an issue. “He’ll come here and then he’ll be here for six months and you’ll think he’s been here his entire life. And he’s a blue-collar guy. He’s not into a lot of flashy things. We talked about our resources we were going to provide. And to be honest, he was like ‘I don’t need that much. I don’t need that many personnel.’ It was refreshing to hear his take on not only just football but just life in general.”
Additionally, Smith already has a plan for building his presence in the Midwest, and plans to "use different avenues to build the roster."
Former Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio was also in attendance for Smith’s introductory press conference. Dantonio knows what it’s like to transition jobs and what that process consists of.
“It’s a step-by-step process,” Dantonio said. “You see the product, most people see the product, you don’t see the process. The process is long and hard.”
Dantonio’s advice to the new coach was simple: “Enjoy the ride.”
Of course, Michigan State University, the fans and the East Lansing community still mean a lot to Dantonio. He feels that Smith is going to fit right in.
“There’s a sense of community and good people here in East Lansing,” Dantonio explained. “The Big Ten conference is a great conference. It’s one of the premiere conferences in the U.S., and he’s going to be able to show his talents at the highest level.”
Smith will attempt to hit the ground running with rebuilding a depleted roster thanks to the transfer portal.
