As Couch and Sheehan see it, Michigan State’s reset starts with energy
Graham Couch and Matt Sheehan help assess where Michigan State football went wrong, why energy faded, and how a new coaching direction aims to revive a stalled program.
What began with hopes of a dream season quickly devolved into a nightmare for Michigan State football. The Spartans hit historic lows in 2025, sparking debate that soon hardened into widespread calls for a program reset. Quiet sidelines, mounting injuries, and stagnant performances defined the year - but a turnaround, at least structurally, is already underway.
“There’s lots of ways to do it … and it starts with getting the right coach,” said Lansing State Journal sports columnist Graham Couch.
Former Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith, who was dismissed within 24 hours of the team’s final game of the 2025 season, arrived in East Lansing with optimism following a successful run at his alma mater, Oregon State. Smith led the Beavers to a No. 17 national ranking in 2022 and posted an 18–6 record across the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
At the time, the hire appeared sound - a coach on the rise entering his prime.
In hindsight, it proved to be a mismatch.
Reality set in quickly.
Michigan State struggled to gain traction in Big Ten play during Smith’s first season, earning just three conference victories against Maryland, Iowa, and Purdue. Until a Nov. 29 win over Maryland this season, the Spartans endured a full calendar year without a Big Ten victory - marking the program’s worst conference drought since 1958. Michigan State finished 2025 at 4–8 overall and 1–7 in league play, prompting growing questions about Smith’s leadership and accountability.
“I do think he was accountable - but not in ways people wanted to hear,” Couch said. “At some point, if you think you should be the coach, you should fight for your job if you have a reason. Sometimes, in his ‘being accountable,’ he was just giving people reasons to fire him.”
Rather than visible progress, the fanbase saw low energy and diminishing returns. Michigan State has now missed four consecutive bowl games dating back to 2021, when the Spartans defeated Pitt in the Peach Bowl and finished No. 10 nationally under then-head coach Mel Tucker. As losses accumulated, frustration spilled into public view - including criticism from high-profile alumni such as Magic Johnson.
Locked On Spartans podcast host, Spartans Illustrated contributor and MSU alumnus Matt Sheehan identified a clear turning point during the 2025 season.
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