The Michigan State Spartans fired head coach Mel Tucker following an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. While Tucker is moving forward with a lawsuit after being fired, the Spartans’ coaching search is reportedly already underway.
After first suspending Tucker, the Spartans named Harlon Barnett as interim coach. The 56-year-old played at Michigan State (1986-’89) before making it to the NFL. He later made his way back to the Spartans as an assistant coach, working with defensive backs (2007-’17, 2020-’23) before replacing Tucker for the remainder of the season.
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The Spartans originally seemed to strike gold in 2020 after hiring Tucker to replace Mark Dantonio. In Tucker’s second season, Michigan State went 11-2 and won the Peach Bowl. However, after Kenneth Walker left for the NFL, the Spartans’ football program collapsed.
Kicking off their second coach search in four years, the Spartans’ athletic department is reportedly looking to some familiar names to potentially take over as head coach in 2024.
According to Brett McMurphy of Action Network, Michigan State has identified Mike Elko (Duke), Dan Enos (Arkansas), Matt House (LSU), Charles Huff (Marshall), Pat Narduzzi (Pittsburgh) and Mike Tressell (Wisconsin) as candidates to replace Tucker.
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Enos, House, Narduzzi and Tressel all have ties to the Spartans’ football program. Enos played quarterback at Michigan State (1991-’93) and then became a graduate assistant with the program. Now serving as the Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, he would provide the Spartans with a coach with heavy Michigan ties.
Matt House is another Michigan State alum who later became a grad assistant (2001-’02) for the team. After working as the Kansas City Chiefs linebackers coach (2019-’21), he followed Brian Kelly to LSU as the team’s defensive coordinator.
While Huff and Elko don’t have ties to the university, they are rising names in college football. Elko, age 46, has thrived since becoming Duke’s head coach (13-4 record). Meanwhile, Huff landed his first head-coaching gig at Marshall in 2021. Since landing the gig, the former Alabama Crimson Tide running backs coach has gone 19-10, but he’s 12-4 over the last two seasons.
For Michigan State, the coaching search is expected to last for months with all potential candidates likely wanting to finish out the season with their teams. While the Spartans will have to be patient, they are the first marquee Power 5 program to begin a coaching search this fall.
