Editor's Note: This is one part of a three-part series examining three of MSU's top candidates for its football head coach position. Brendan Moore looks at Duke's Mike Elko, Chase Glasser discusses Kansas' Lance Leipold, and Jeremy Dewar breaks down Oregon State's Jonathan Smith. For the latest intel, be sure to click through to our Spartans Illustrated Message Board where we share the latest information (subscribers).
Lance Leipold, the current head coach of the University of Kansas, is attracting attention in Michigan State's search for a new head football coach.
Earlier this month, Spartans Illustrated reported that Leipold was one of the coaches Michigan State was pursuing for its head coaching vacancy. More recently, Spartans Illustrated was able to identify four coaches who advanced to the the second round of interviews. While Leipold's name was not on that more recent list of interviewees, it is important to note that our sources were not able to identify every coach who interviewed at the time.
Based on intel Spartans Illustrated has gathered, Leipold may still be considered in the running, but his timeline for a decision is uncertain. If the timeline pushes out later than Michigan State wants, or if Leipold is not interested, Michigan State will obviously move towards its other targets, such as Oregon State's Jonathan Smith, Duke's Mike Elko, or others.
With all of that said, let's take a look at Leipold's resume and make the case for why he'd be good as MSU's football coach.
A 59-year-old Midwestern native, Leipold played and coached at Wisconsin-Whitewater, winning six Division III titles at the helm for the Warhawks from 2007 through 2014. The only times the Warhawks did not win Division III championship under Leipold's watch was in 2012 and in 2008, losing in the title game to Mount Union. He earned the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Coach of the Year honors six times during his tenure with Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Following his stint at Wisconsin-Whitewater, Leipold accepted the head coaching job at Buffalo in December of 2014. He was a multiple time Coach of the Year Award recipient in the Mid-American Conference as the head coach at Buffalo (2018 and 2020). The Bulls appeared in two MAC title games under Leipold, and had a 10-win season in 2018, the program's first and only double-digit campaign in its history. Leipold finished his tenure in Buffalo with an overall record of 37-33.
Now at Kansas, Leipold has raised the Jayhawks from truly desultory depths to a bowl appearance last year, and the program's first win over a top-10 team since 2008. Also, he led Kansas to its first win against Oklahoma since 1997. In 2023, Leipold has guided Kansas to a 7-4 record thus far. This marks the first time the Jayhawks have won six games in back-to-back seasons since 2007-2008. In the three years prior to Leipold's arrival in Lawrence in 2021, Kansas had won a total of six games, including going 0-9 in 2020. In less than three full seasons at the helm, Leipold has won 15 games with the Jayhawks.
While his resume is strong, and he's proven he can win just about anywhere, his age is somewhat of a concern. However, Leipold's schematic prowess is what makes me deeply interested in him as a coach, personally.
Operating under the assumption that he will have a head coach in waiting under him, Leipold's option-style attack is versatile and unique, putting good - but not great - athletes in position to succeed, and confounding traditional defensive structures.
In a world where every defense is getting lighter and quicker to try to stop the spread offenses of the post-Alabama landscape, teams like Michigan and Georgia have innovated by throwing it back to old school gap schemes that modern defenses are not equipped to handle. Leipold takes that a step further by game-stating opposing teams and holding onto the ball, while also running an option scheme that takes extensive time and energy to prep for.
Despite the protestations of some, Lance Leipold provides a high-upside answer to a Michigan State program in turmoil.
MORE: The case for Duke's Mike Elko as Michigan State's football coach
MORE: The case for Oregon State's Jonathan Smith as Michigan State's football coach
