“Enjoy the ride.”

CMD to CJS

https://www.mlive.com/spartans/2023/12/how-mark-dantonio-helped-michigan-state-hire-jonathan-smith.html

Good Article.

Am I the only one that feels Mark Dantonio is very much responsible for the Mel Tucker era?

Motown Spartan wrote:Am I the only one that feels Mark Dantonio is very much responsible for the Mel Tucker era?

No, I agree, mostly. MSU's BoT & AD should have modified the contract, but CMD was the one who pulled the trigger.

Motown Spartan wrote:Am I the only one that feels Mark Dantonio is very much responsible for the Mel Tucker era?

No.

$4.3 million emphatically says no.

Then again, who negotiated that for MSU?

Motown Spartan wrote:Am I the only one that feels Mark Dantonio is very much responsible for the Mel Tucker era?

if recall correctly (I don't remember much of anything these days), the way his contract was written, he had to hang in through January/February to receive a hefty bonus. He did just that, then announced his retirement.

The timing as it relates to the coach carousel left MSU with fewer options than had he retired in, say, November, early December.

and, of course, the BoT fucked it up.

I don't blame Coach D. I blame the language/timelines within his contract.

I assume that bonus was originally intended to "encourage" coach to stay beyond the traditional hiring period (December) in hopes of keeping him from leaving for another program. Of course, as we found out, it didn't take into account the retirement scenario.

Motown Spartan wrote:Am I the only one that feels Mark Dantonio is very much responsible for the Mel Tucker era?

It was the contract. So, if you are going to weigh out the blame, he’s at least 25% responsible for it, his wife is 25% responsible, Michigan State is 50% responsible. Just my opinion.

Motown Spartan wrote:Am I the only one that feels Mark Dantonio is very much responsible for the Mel Tucker era?

Cough...Beekman...Cough

Tbf, it didnt seem like Tucker was a horrible hire at the time. Especially after 2021. 4 star croots and fancy social media for a while.

Minus well blame Luke Fickell's wife above all.

Or, you know, we could blame Tucker for Tucker.

Can we blame Dantonio’s daughter for getting pregnant?