No matter how big of a Mark Dantonio fan you may be, it is not debatable that he left Michigan State in a very tough position when he announced he was stepping down as head football coach.
Up to this point, the search for a new football coach has been an absolute disaster for the Spartans as at least 5 potential candidates (that we know about) have taken their names out of the hat.
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Included on that list is who was believed to be MSU’s top target, Luke Fickell. On Monday, despite some reporting that Fickell to the Spartans was almost certain to happen, the Cincinnati head coach made the decision to turn down Michigan State.
With Fickell out of the picture, where do the Spartans turn next? Do they just roll with Mike Tressel as interim head coach for a season while continuing their search throughout the 2020 season? Do they hire former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema, who is reportedly interested in taking over for Dantonio? Or is the best option to replace Mark Dantonio still available?
On Monday, following the report that Fickell was going to remain at Cincinnati, a plethora of former Michigan State players voiced their opinion on who the Spartans should hire and the reviews were absolutely amazing.
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That man is is none other than Harlon Barnett.
Barnett, who is 53, was a coach at Michigan State from 2007-2017 (Co-defensive coordinator 2015-2017) before leaving to become the defensive coordinator at Florida State for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. When Florida State fired Willie Taggart, Barnett was not retained as DC.
Michigan State may have swang and missed with Luke Fickell, but could Harlon Barnett actually turn out to be the best person for the job?
