Graham Couch doesn’t think CJS makes it until the end of the season…

SpartyDawg23 said:

Him and Solari (I know people have their opinions on them) discuss it here.

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Just another source who thinks the era is over…

I sadly agree. I wish it would work out for Smith. It seems like there is some scuttle of donors not being all in on Smith. Which, if that is the true case, the program is going to sink deeper and deeper into the abyss. Smith is going to have to win some games. I think the Michigan game is going to determine his future.

He won't make it past UM.

SpartanRoxy said:

He won't make it past UM.

Agreed. If IU lays 50+ on us it could be that game .

a03990 said:

Agreed. If IU lays 50+ on us it could be that game .

They are motivated in multiple ways to hang 50+ on us. They have never been ranked #1 in football and blowouts will help that (granted blowing out MSU is not going to win many voting points). Coach is going to be the hottest name this off season to take an SEC job or getting another raise at IU.

a03990 said:

Agreed. If IU lays 50+ on us it could be that game .

Then they'd best have the interim ready for scUM. Because neither coordinator will bring the juice we need.

I'm a little surprised there is THIS much consensus this early on in the tenure, firing him now still feels somewhat bold by the administration (not in a bad way, I just havent been very certain there would enough push to actually swallow the buyout). I suspect there is already legitimate smoke and these takes are slightly more than just opinions.

SD4L said:

I'm a little surprised there is THIS much consensus this early on in the tenure, firing him now still feels somewhat bold by the administration (not in a bad way, I just havent been very certain there would enough push to actually swallow the buyout). I suspect there is already legitimate smoke and these takes are slightly more than just opinions.

My read is the administration doesn’t want to fire him this year but fan and donor uproar is going to force their hand.

SpartanRoxy said:

Then they'd best have the interim ready for scUM. Because neither coordinator will bring the juice we need.

I wondered about this in a different thread. IF Smith was let go mid season, who would take over? I honestly dont think Lindgren is an option. Rossi is fairly organized but feels like Hawk might be the best bet. Similar idea to promoting Barnett.

SpartanSlav said:

They are motivated in multiple ways to hang 50+ on us. They have never been ranked #1 in football and blowouts will help that (granted blowing out MSU is not going to win many voting points). Coach is going to be the hottest name this off season to take an SEC job or getting another raise at IU.

Only way they get to #1 is if Ohio State loses.

ZodiacSpeaking said:

Only way they get to #1 is if Ohio State loses.

And they are on a crash course to potentially play them in the Big Ten championship game anyways, so the regular reason rankings means nothing. Indiana is already in for a bye at this point. That could be another factor, IU will be playing for a bye if they don't win the conference title (I think the Big 10 champ will be top 4 99.9% of the time). But I would also think a 12-1 (lose Big 10 title game) Indiana team is top 4 anyways.

SpartanRoxy said:

Then they'd best have the interim ready for scUM. Because neither coordinator will bring the juice we need.

What on earth makes you think that some interim coach is going to change the fortunes here? UCLA is the outlier, the unicorn. That happens maybe once every couple years at a school that fires their head coach midseason. I could see MSU making the change if we lose to Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota. After the Minnesota game is a bye week, so the timing might work out best there.

SD4L said:

I wondered about this in a different thread. IF Smith was let go mid season, who would take over? I honestly dont think Lindgren is an option. Rossi is fairly organized but feels like Hawk might be the best bet. Similar idea to promoting Barnett.

Keith Bhonapha

SD4L said:

I'm a little surprised there is THIS much consensus this early on in the tenure, firing him now still feels somewhat bold by the administration (not in a bad way, I just havent been very certain there would enough push to actually swallow the buyout). I suspect there is already legitimate smoke and these takes are slightly more than just opinions.

Yeah, I don't think Graham Couch would say that he wouldn't be surprised if CJS was out next week at this time (which he did say later in the podcast) unless he was hearing some definite smoke.

SD4L said:

I wondered about this in a different thread. IF Smith was let go mid season, who would take over? I honestly dont think Lindgren is an option. Rossi is fairly organized but feels like Hawk might be the best bet. Similar idea to promoting Barnett.

I hope they put the call out to all former Dawgs to be in the sideline for the scUM game.

a03990 said:

Agreed. If IU lays 50+ on us it could be that game .

They may score 50 in the first half and he won't lay off like Ryan Day does with us - he will probably fake a punt with a few minutes left.

ZodiacSpeaking said:

What on earth makes you think that some interim coach is going to change the fortunes here? UCLA is the outlier, the unicorn. That happens maybe once every couple years at a school that fires their head coach midseason. I could see MSU making the change if we lose to Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota. After the Minnesota game is a bye week, so the timing might work out best there.

I'm talking about if Smith is let go before scUM, we need someone on the sidelines to get the fellas juiced.

SD4L said:

I'm a little surprised there is THIS much consensus this early on in the tenure, firing him now still feels somewhat bold by the administration (not in a bad way, I just havent been very certain there would enough push to actually swallow the buyout). I suspect there is already legitimate smoke and these takes are slightly more than just opinions.

I agree, the last few weeks seem to have changed the minds of the CJS supporters.

I am not a fan of firing coaches mid season, at all. In fact I am usually holding out as long as possible while giving the coach and staff some grace and time to figure things out. I feel the same way with Smith. I think it is a bad look to fire coaches in mid season unless they did something really unethical that embarrases the program and the university. I do think the biggest problem for Coach Smith at MSU, is it does not appear he has ingratiate himself with donors and the locals. He just is not out in the community as much as I think a head coach needs to be, whether he likes doing that or not. By not doing so, it makes it easier for donors and others to turn on him, as there is very little to no relationship there. If he built stronger relationships from the time he got to MSU, he most likely would have a camp of folks saying they believe in him and he needs more time. Add to this the perception he does not have passion being here at MSU (I say perception because a lot of people are pointing to his demeanor - I don't necessarily agree with this but it can't be ignored either). Unfortunately I think this has become an issue for him. This all said, I still think he is a good coach and given time and resources he would figure it out and make MSU football relevant again. I am just no longer sure he will get that time.

SpartyDawg23 said:

Yeah, I don't think Graham Couch would say that he wouldn't be surprised if CJS was out next week at this time (which he did say later in the podcast) unless he was hearing some definite smoke.

If MSU fires the guy this early into the process, there better be a solid plan in place with funding, resources, and coaching candidates. Otherwise, MSU athletics and the fans are in for a rude awakening.

blue collar said:

They may score 50 in the first half and he won't lay off like Ryan Day does with us - he will probably fake a punt with a few minutes left.

Ryan Day has let his foot off the gas multiple times vs MSU, thankfully . He could have gotten to 100 in a few of those games . Hell it was 49-0 at half in 2021.

I know people keep saying, fire him sooner (in season) rather than after, but, maybe I'm being dense, but what exactly are we gaining? I know people are saying that we could get a jump on the search, but, if more and more vacancies occur, wouldn't it make sense that candidates would wait to interview until after the season ends to know what all of the openings are? I'm not getting into the pecking order BS as I think MSU, if we have our donor support aligned, is a top landing spot (Dantonio proved that). Maybe they already have someone lined up? Or have a list of potentials that have exibited interest? Again, I'm probably being dense, but, just trying to understand the logic more. All in all, I'm ok with whatever Batt wants to do, I just want to be relevant again. I was at MSU for the entire JLS era (my freshman year was his first year) and with recent success (lack thereof), this is reminding me of those days. We are much better than the current state of the program. Go Green and I hope this is rock bottom for the program moving forward.

a03990 said:

Agreed. If IU lays 50+ on us it could be that game .

I can’t believe we might go into that game for the 2nd time in 3 years with an Interim HC. Truly the worst fall off I’ve experienced.

Thos said:

I am not a fan of firing coaches mid season, at all. In fact I am usually holding out as long as possible while giving the coach and staff some grace and time to figure things out. I feel the same way with Smith. I think it is a bad look to fire coaches in mid season unless they did something really unethical that embarrases the program and the university. I do think the biggest problem for Coach Smith at MSU, is it does not appear he has ingratiate himself with donors and the locals. He just is not out in the community as much as I think a head coach needs to be, whether he likes doing that or not. By not doing so, it makes it easier for donors and others to turn on him, as there is very little to no relationship there. If he built stronger relationships from the time he got to MSU, he most likely would have a camp of folks saying they believe in him and he needs more time. Add to this the perception he does not have passion being here at MSU (I say perception because a lot of people are pointing to his demeanor - I don't necessarily agree with this but it can't be ignored either). Unfortunately I think this has become an issue for him. This all said, I still think he is a good coach and given time and resources he would figure it out and make MSU football relevant again. I am just no longer sure he will get that time.

Yeah if you're making $7 million per year I don't care one bit if you have to do something outside your comfort zone.

SpartyDawg23 said:

Him and Solari (I know people have their opinions on them) discuss it here.

Preview this content on our boards.

Just another source who thinks the era is over

Stout concurred on his show today but didn’t rule out the bye week if things go really bad vs Indy and UM.