Dantonio on ESPN right now

Context for the screwing around at work crowd?

Caught only the last 30 seconds or so. He was interviewed on College Football Live at the Jerry Dome sitting next to Lou'th.

He made a comment about beating Baylor by 1 and went on to say that doesn't mean the Big Ten is a better conference than the Big 12

ESPN just said Dantonio will be on again coming up, talking about playing both Oregon & OSU

Dantonio''s gang no longer green giant
by Jim Carty

Wednesday, January, 12 2014

It'll be easy to remember when it became clear Michigan State's football dynasty had peaked and was on the way down.

Easy to remember because Mark Dantonio himself delivered the message.

It was just last week. Dantonio popped up on the television, in between games on ESPN, doing college football analysis for the national championship game. There he was, sitting next to some hair-sprayed anchor, talking football when he could be coaching it.

Writing his own obit to Michigan State's amazing run of 11 win seasons, Big Ten titles and big bowl game wins.

Greatness takes everything you've got, sometimes more than you even think you can give. Dantonio could have never built what he's built in Lansing by taking time out mid-season to play Howard Cosell on national television.

The fact that he's willing to do it now is proof in living color that on some level he's ready for a change. Make all the excuses you want about having a lot of time off between games or the ESPN gig being a fun way to promote the program, the bottom line is that football suddenly isn't enough to keep Dantontio busy. He needed a getaway, a little fun, something different at a point in the season when most big-time football coaches are in the office 10 or more hours a day six or seven days a week.

Those are the kind of hours University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh puts in.

Harbaugh has the drive and focus Dantonio had back in 2007 when he replaced John L Smith, when he had to prove he deserved the job, had to win over Jerel Worthy and everybody else.

Harbaugh won't take time out to do 15 minutes on Detroit sports radio - he tells his media relations guy he's just too busy during the season - let alone give ESPN a day of his time. He and his staff don't have time to watch TV, let alone appear on it. They're mad, they're this bad and consumed by making sure they never are again.

Some folks will tell you Dantonio can and will coach circles around Harbaugh. Maybe. They'll tell you Dantonio is much, much better at promoting his program in the media. That's true, but nobody ever won a game that way.

They'll say the Spartans again outrecruited Michigan this year, and that this year's little two loss slump in Lansing is to be expected, and that even in a bad year Michigan State will make a bowl game

Maybe.

But maybe everyone has yet to grasp just how big a threat Harbaugh and Michigan are, just how hard it's going to be to maintain Michigan State's dynasty, even if Dantonio's at his best.

If Harbaugh isn't the best young recruiter in America, he's close. At Stanford he attracted a good recruiting class to a school with on-campus facilities comparable to some Michigan community colleges, a school that sits on the outskirts of a Palo Alto slum. They came for one reason: Kids and parents fall in love with and trust Jimmy Harbaugh.

It's starting already here. Harbaugh may have already found his own Connor Cook in Texas QB McLane Carter. He's going to sign super junior Rashan Gary, just watch, and Gary will only be part of yet another great class.

The University of Michigan, meanwhile, is this state's historically dominant football program, and Michigan kids will flock here over any other option if the Wolverines are decent.

What Dantonio has accomplished the last four years towers over the best four years at Michigan in terms of achievements, but for some reason Michigan State has never approached that UM level of buzz outside of ... say ... Lansing and some Flint neighborhoods. UM was a national story. Every little kid with a pair of cleats and a football in his neighborhood knew Mike Hart and the boys.

A lot of those kids are now going to the camps, and they remember those years. Most of them can't name four starters from UM but it doesn't matter. When it comes down to Michigan vs. Michigan State, Dantonio vs.Harbaugh for a recruit, Harbaugh is going to be a tie-breaker. Mark it down.

Dantonio been lucky up until now, he hasn't had to really deal with Michigan. He's received a huge boost in his program building by circumstances like the Dave Brandon scandal, the ugly end of the Rich Rod era, the inability of Brady Hoke to figure out how to coach.

This isn't to say Dantonio and the Spartans are done now, mind you.

They'll probably beat the heck of Harbaugh and Michigan tonight at Michigan Stadium in the fall.

They need to. The free pass has been canceled. Michigan vs. Michigan State is an even fight again, and it's going to be a fight. The Spartans are ahead now, and will be a factor as long as Dantonio is in Lansing, but in the long run my money is on the guy who's too busy coaching to appear on the radio.

On now

Turtleneck wrote:Dantonio''s gang no longer green giant
by Jim Carty

Wednesday, January, 12 2014

It'll be easy to remember when it became clear Michigan State's football dynasty had peaked and was on the way down.

Easy to remember because Mark Dantonio himself delivered the message.

It was just last week. Dantonio popped up on the television, in between games on ESPN, doing college football analysis for the national championship game. There he was, sitting next to some hair-sprayed anchor, talking football when he could be coaching it.

Writing his own obit to Michigan State's amazing run of 11 win seasons, Big Ten titles and big bowl game wins.

Greatness takes everything you've got, sometimes more than you even think you can give. Dantonio could have never built what he's built in Lansing by taking time out mid-season to play Howard Cosell on national television.

The fact that he's willing to do it now is proof in living color that on some level he's ready for a change. Make all the excuses you want about having a lot of time off between games or the ESPN gig being a fun way to promote the program, the bottom line is that football suddenly isn't enough to keep Dantontio busy. He needed a getaway, a little fun, something different at a point in the season when most big-time football coaches are in the office 10 or more hours a day six or seven days a week.

Those are the kind of hours University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh puts in.

Harbaugh has the drive and focus Dantonio had back in 2007 when he replaced John L Smith, when he had to prove he deserved the job, had to win over Jerel Worthy and everybody else.

Harbaugh won't take time out to do 15 minutes on Detroit sports radio - he tells his media relations guy he's just too busy during the season - let alone give ESPN a day of his time. He and his staff don't have time to watch TV, let alone appear on it. They're mad, they're this bad and consumed by making sure they never are again.

Some folks will tell you Dantonio can and will coach circles around Harbaugh. Maybe. They'll tell you Dantonio is much, much better at promoting his program in the media. That's true, but nobody ever won a game that way.

They'll say the Spartans again outrecruited Michigan this year, and that this year's little two loss slump in Lansing is to be expected, and that even in a bad year Michigan State will make a bowl game

Maybe.

But maybe everyone has yet to grasp just how big a threat Harbaugh and Michigan are, just how hard it's going to be to maintain Michigan State's dynasty, even if Dantonio's at his best.

If Harbaugh isn't the best young recruiter in America, he's close. At Stanford he attracted a good recruiting class to a school with on-campus facilities comparable to some Michigan community colleges, a school that sits on the outskirts of a Palo Alto slum. They came for one reason: Kids and parents fall in love with and trust Jimmy Harbaugh.

It's starting already here. Harbaugh may have already found his own Connor Cook in Texas QB McLane Carter. He's going to sign super junior Rashan Gary, just watch, and Gary will only be part of yet another great class.

The University of Michigan, meanwhile, is this state's historically dominant football program, and Michigan kids will flock here over any other option if the Wolverines are decent.

What Dantonio has accomplished the last four years towers over the best four years at Michigan in terms of achievements, but for some reason Michigan State has never approached that UM level of buzz outside of ... say ... Lansing and some Flint neighborhoods. UM was a national story. Every little kid with a pair of cleats and a football in his neighborhood knew Mike Hart and the boys.

A lot of those kids are now going to the camps, and they remember those years. Most of them can't name four starters from UM but it doesn't matter. When it comes down to Michigan vs. Michigan State, Dantonio vs.Harbaugh for a recruit, Harbaugh is going to be a tie-breaker. Mark it down.

Dantonio been lucky up until now, he hasn't had to really deal with Michigan. He's received a huge boost in his program building by circumstances like the Dave Brandon scandal, the ugly end of the Rich Rod era, the inability of Brady Hoke to figure out how to coach.

This isn't to say Dantonio and the Spartans are done now, mind you.

They'll probably beat the heck of Harbaugh and Michigan tonight at Michigan Stadium in the fall.

They need to. The free pass has been canceled. Michigan vs. Michigan State is an even fight again, and it's going to be a fight. The Spartans are ahead now, and will be a factor as long as Dantonio is in Lansing, but in the long run my money is on the guy who's too busy coaching to appear on the radio.

Excellent effort.

I missed it. Thanks for the recap. This exposure is awesome.