Michigan State officially fired Mel Tucker, for cause, as head football coach on Wednesday. The 51-year-old was previously suspended as the university figured out what to do next, but his suspension is over and he is now unemployed.
Things are likely going to get even more messy and litigious in coming weeks. Tucker does not believe that the school had “cause” to fire him without paying out the $70 million left on his contract.
No matter what plays out in that regard, the Spartans need a new football coach. Harlon Barnett is the interim. It is possible that he gets promoted to the full-time role, but it seems unlikely.
Thus, a coaching search is set to begin!
Michigan State will need to interview candidates, come to a decision on who is best to lead a program that could miss bowl games in back-to-back years, and make a hire.
The list of potential candidates include:
- Mike Elko, head coach at Duke
- Mark Stoops, head coach at Kentucky
- Charles Huff, head coach at Marshall
- Jason Candle, head coach at Toledo
- Matt Campbell, head coach at Iowa State
- Chris Creighton, head coach at Eastern Michigan
- Lance Leipold, head coach at Kansas
- Jim Leonhard, former defensive coordinator at Wisconsin
- Pat Narduzzi, head coach at Pittsburgh
- Mike Tressel, defensive coordinator at Wisconsin
- Sean Lewis, offensive coordinator at Colorado
- Dave Clawson, head coach at Wake Forest
- Jonathan Smith, head coach at Oregon State
- Matt House, defensive coordinator at LSU
- Dave Doeren, head coach at N.C. State
Those are just some ideas.
Michigan State must cross one name off of its list before the coaching search begins.
Chris Klieman, head coach at Kansas State, was another name that may have been in the mix. “Been,” in the past tense, is the key word.
The 56-year-old made it abundantly clear — on his birthday — that he is not interested in leaving Manhattan for East Lansing. The Spartans can go ahead and cross him off.
Michigan State will not be hiring Chris Klieman. He took himself out of the conversation before he was in the conversation.