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Published Sep 12, 2023
MSU Acting Head Coach Harlon Barnett: 'We're Spartans, we're resilient'
Ryan O'Bleness  •  Spartans Illustrated
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Michigan State acting head coach Harlon Barnett spoke to the media on Tuesday, which was his first appearance since head coach Mel Tucker was suspended without pay on Sunday amidst a sexual harassment investigation.

Given the current situation, it would be easy for Michigan State's current players to be distracted, but Barnett's overall message was that the Spartans are focused, working hard and preparing for the home game against No. 8-ranked Washington on Saturday (5 p.m. Eastern Time, streaming exclusively on Peacock).

"I'm here today to talk about our team and our game against a very good opponent in Washington," Barnett said in his opening comments. "Our focus and energy has been really good after these first two days of practice, and our job as a staff is to focus on our guys and get them ready and prepared for the game on Saturday."

Barnett told the team that now is the time to band together and rally around each other. By all accounts, it seems that the players are doing just that. It's important for the team leaders to step up and fulfill that role now more than ever, while everybody on the team remains focused and connected with each other.

"We had a team meeting on Sunday where I met with them and I told those guys that, 'Hey men, we gotta all come together in this time of adversity and we have to be unified through the adversity ... We need all our leaders to lead, not only the coaches, but the leaders (on the team) to lead.' I told them they lead by love, encouragement, accountability and discipline. So, we have to lead. We all have to lead.

"This is a determined group. They worked very hard this offseason. They've worked very hard so far this season. Hey, we're 2-0, right? And they're still motivated and excited to move forward in this season. We have a mission to complete, so we're mission-focused."

Barnett is now in charge, but will have certainly have a lot of help along the way.

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The return of Mark Dantonio 

While Barnett is the acting head coach with Tucker suspended, Michigan State has also brought in a familiar face to assist Barnett with his new role: associate head coach Mark Dantonio.

Dantonio was the head coach for Michigan State from 2007 until February of 2020. He is the all-time winningest coach in MSU program history with 114 victories, and won three Big Ten championships.

Barnett spent 11 seasons coaching under Dantonio as the secondary coach for the Spartans from 2007 through 2017, including three seasons as the co-defensive coordinator from 2015 through 2017. Barnett was also the secondary coach at Cincinnati while Dantonio was head coach there from 2004 through 2006 at as well.

The two have worked together for a long time and have a strong rapport with each other.

"Coach D, that's my guy," Barnett said about Dantonio. "My first coaching job was with Coach Dantonio at the University of Cincinnati back in 2004, and we were together 14-straight years. We did three years there at the University of Cincinnati and another 11 here at Michigan State.

"And Coach D brings the calming presence, the wisdom, the knowledge of being a head coach — a very successful head coach at that — and so, he's bringing all of that as our associate head coach. And so, any and all ways, he's willing to help with us, and that's what he's going to do. So he's helping in all aspects of the operation."

Dantonio's role may be a little less on the X's and O's side (though he may certainly have some insights there) and more so to provide stability to the program and assist Barnett with the new role, but he is ready to hope in any way that is needed.

Barnett named Dantonio, Nick Saban and Bill Belichick (who he played for in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns) as coaches who taught him attention to detail and discipline in his coaching career.

"A Spartan through and through"

In addition to being a longtime coach at Michigan State, Barnett is a former Spartan football player. The Cincinnati native played defensive back for MSU, and was a four-year letterwinner from 1986-1989 under then-head coach George Perles. He was named captain during his senior season.

After his college career, Barnett played seven seasons in the NFL. He of course got into coaching following his playing days, but of all the stops he's been at as a player and coach, East Lansing has remained the most special place in his heart.

Being the head coach of Michigan State's football program has long been a dream of Barnett's, but he obviously didn't want it to happen due to this situation. Still, he looks to make the most of it.

"I'm being totally honest here, I wanted to be the head coach of Michigan State, but not in this way, obviously," Barnett said. "That's always been a goal of mine. I'm a Spartan through and through, and anybody that knows me knows that I am a Spartan. They will tell you, 'That dude is green all day.'

"I really appreciate the opportunity to be able to be the head coach here. Again, not in the circumstances. I think the players, I connect with those guys in a good way ... I am really very, very, very excited about this coming week and this opportunity to show what I got."

Barnett played together with Alan Haller, Michigan State's vice president and athletic director, at Michigan State in the late 1980s. The two obviously go way back. Barnett mentioned that there was no previous contingency plan in place to make Barnett acting head coach if the something were to happen with Tucker. However, Barnett did mention that he told Haller years ago that it was his goal to be a head coach one day.

When the choice for acting head coach needed to be made, Haller trusted Barnett with the role. Now, he hopes to make the most of the opportunity, and give himself a chance to earn a full-time head coaching job in the future, either at Michigan State or elsewhere.

"It's set up that way, I'm just being honest," Barnet said when asked about if this could lead into a full-time head coaching role. "That's just being honest about it. I'm looking forward to this, this, this great opportunity that I'm having. Let's go. It's a great opportunity. I have desired to be a head coach since I became a college coach, and I'm very grateful for this opportunity."

How the Michigan State football players have responded

Barnett said he will have individual meetings with every player on the team. On Monday, he met with 27 players. On Tuesday, he plans to speak with 20 or more players again, and he will continue to do this until he speaks with everyone on the team. He also plans to do the same thing with the coaches, trainers and support staff and everybody around the program.

"I'm meeting with all the players, all of them," Barnett said. "Yesterday I got 27 in. I'm going for another 20-plus today. I told them on (Monday) I want to meet with everybody, everybody in the room. I started with the players individually. I'll go into the coaches, the support staff, training, everybody just so everybody's on the same page. Again, I keep talking about unity. That's part of, I think, helping people mentally when we're all together and they know they have somebody to lean on and trust in. And so, when I was talking to them ... I gave my story. I said, 'I'm going to tell y'all my story really fast, so when y'all come to my office, you don't have to hear my story again. I want to hear about you guys.' And so we go five to 10 minutes just to get everybody.

"Of course I know the defensive backs, obviously, and a lot of guys on the defense. I know the offensive guys as well, but not intimately like I would want to. So that's why we were meeting with everybody. Let them know that I'm open and honest. I'm there for them anytime they want to come, along with the rest of the staff. And we have things set in place where if they need to go get some extra help, what have you, it is set in place here in Michigan State."

When asked about the players' responses to the situation, Barnett reiterated that the players were focused and moving forward.

"It was actually really good," Barnett said when asked about the players' reactions. "Like I said, talking with 27 of them yesterday, it was almost like they had a scripted answer, which fired me up. Because we're out at practice, I'm like, these guys, they're moving on. They're young people. They're resilient. They're going. And so they were confirming that when I saw it at practice. You know, 'Coach, we know what it is. We're going to keep moving. We're going to keep fighting. We're mission-focused. Let's go.' They're pushing forward."

Barnett also mentioned that there is yet to be a single player who has told him they want to redshirt or sit the rest of the year out to preserve eligibility.

"We're Spartans, we're resilient" 

Barnett was also asked if he plans to change anything or if he plans to keep most of the current procedures and pillars in place. His answer was the latter, as much of what has already been taught to the players has been engrained in the Michigan State program even prior to Tucker's arrival.

"Well, a lot of stuff is going to stay the same," Barnett said when asked if anything will be changing with him at the helm. "Tough, disciplined, selfless, do your job — those are things that are staples of Michigan State football, since I've been a Spartan since 1985 ... We're going to still talk about those same things. Playing smart, fast, and physical that's who we are. From that standpoint, that's the foundation of it, and we're going to continue to build on top of that foundation."

On the field, Barnett hinted that there could be some sort of changes that he spoke with Dantonio about, but he did not go into detail on what those may be.

With his new role of acting head coach, Barnett will obviously have a lot more responsibilities. Through two practices, he is still gravitating toward the defensive backs he would normally coach to help out there, but he also said he is trying to "wean away" from that group, but plans to still help with the secondary in some capacity.

"I love coaching DBs," Barnett said.

When Barnett is unable to coach the secondary, Jim Salgado (cornerbacks and safeties) and Ross Els (nickel backs, as well as special teams) will coach up the defensive backs.

Overall, Barnett believes the program is going to move forward together.

"We're tough, we're Spartans, we're resilient," Barnett said. "For another term that I tell people sometimes, I'm a dawg. Be a dawg. We're gonna push through this as Spartans do, and Spartans will ... We will push through this and we will become better for it, like everybody does when they come through adverse situations — they keep fighting, they keep pushing through. So I expect that to happen."

Barnett mentioned that he has not spoken with Tucker since Saturday night, outside of a text message Tucker sent in support for the players and staff, following Michigan State's 45-14 win over Richmond.

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