One of Michigan State’s splashier hires for the football program this offseason was defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi.
The 45-year-old Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native has spent the last 12 years in the Big Ten. First, he was at Rutgers from 2012 until 2015 (starting as the special team coordinator and later as the defensive coordinator/safeties coach), and most recently at Minnesota as the Golden Gophers' defensive coordinator from the 2019 season through the 2023 campaign (prior to that, he started with the Gophers as a defensive quality control coach in 2017, coached the defensive line in 2018 and was named interim defensive coordinator on Nov. 4, 2018 before being named permanently to the role on Nov. 24, 2018).
His coaching career began in 2001 as the defensive line coach at Thiel College, a Division III Football program in Greenville, Pennsylvania. He was at Thiel in various roles — including four seasons as the defensive coordinator — through the 2006 season. He also spent time at Maine from 2007 through 2011, including stints as both the special teams coordinator and defensive coordinator.
Rossi brings to Michigan State experience, a new defensive scheme and a blue-collar perspective to adversity that goes back to his Pennsylvania roots. When asked if he carries sympathy for the players having to yet again learn a new scheme, along with reproving their position and skill set, he offered his view.
"I mean, that's life, right?” Rossi retorted. “I'm doing that as a coach, like you go get a new job, you've got to do that. You go to a new school — gotta do that. You go to the NFL — gotta do that.
“So to me, I understand there is a challenge to it, but I think any time in life you throw it (adversity) to a life lesson, which is what we do (as a staff). You are always constantly proving yourself. And the second you feel like you don't need to prove yourself anymore, that's when you get passed by someone else.“
Progress report
A new staff alone presents challenges and takes time for everyone involved to come together and gain comfortability. Add in an entirely new defensive scheme, and a learning curve is expected.
For more on what to expect from Rossi's defense, Spartans Illustrated’s Chase Glasser breaks down the defensive scheme here.
Rossi gave an update on the defensive side's progress thus far throughout the spring.
“The guys are working hard, they've been very willing — studying film, practicing hard," Rossi said, and stressed the importance of being aware versus just raw unabashed effort.
“There's a difference between effort and intentionality,” Rossi added. “There’s effort, but then there is being intentional about what you're doing. That’s the key difference.”
