At Home in East Lansing: Michigan State football DC Joe Rossi continues to build trust, leadership and growth

Third-year defensive coordinator Joe Rossi — one of the staff members retained by new head coach Pat Fitzgerald from previous head coach Jonathan Smith’s coaching tenure — has solidified his home at Michigan State and is excited to in East Lansing for the upcoming 2026 season.

The emphasis on building relationships as a part of MSU's culture is paramount to each program throughout the athletic department, and it is important for players and staff alike. It also matters for the fan base.

Michigan State men's basketball Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo has done it for years, as well as MSU's former football head coach and Hall of Famer Mark Dantonio — true Spartan legends who will never give up on the pride that comes with the Green and White.  

But Rossi found his own way of building relationships with the student-athletes, as well as the staff, helping MSU become more successful by implementing new techniques during spring practices to gain perspective — and to simply just be around more of the athletes. 

The reason why Rossi has more time to spend around the entire defense this spring is because he can now focus on the defense as a whole instead of splitting his time coaching one positional group while also being responsible for coordinating the entire defensive unit. Rossi previously coached linebackers, while also having the role of defensive coordinator, under Smith. When Rossi was retained by Fitzgerald, it was for the sole role of defensive coordinator. MSU brought in former Spartan great Max Bullough as co-defensive coordinators and linebackers coach.

“It allows me to be attached to all the positions and develop closer relationships with all the positions because basically I’ll switch, be in different meetings, and I bounce around during practice,” Rossi said about making the change to the sole role of defensive coordinator and not coaching a specific position. “But also, I think it allows me to quality control, to make sure — with all the revision, all the language — we’re all on the same page.” 

Having an understanding of the culture at MSU is beneficial for the success of the defense heading into the 2026 campaign, but also knowing the climate of collegiate sports — with player movement at an all-time high through the transfer portal — and still putting an emphasis on relationship-building has served Rossi well throughout his career. 

“It's disappointing at times right? Because you get relationships,” Rossi said about players transitioning out of schools. “If you don’t get relationships with players, you don’t care. It’s just like, ‘OK, who cares?' Well, we do — and I value that.”