The night before Tom Izzo put a new-look Michigan State squad on the court, he threw more support behind his football counterpart.
To kick off coach Jonathan Smith’s weekly radio show on Wednesday night, Izzo was front and center at the start.
With speculation about Smith’s job security lingering midway through his second season, the Hall of Famer attempted to rally the fans at One North Kitchen & Bar in East Lansing.
“I didn’t come tonight to be on this (show), I’ll be honest with you,” Izzo said, acknowledging frustration from fans while also recalling thinking he’d be fired three decades ago amid a rocky start. “The natives were a little restless and I understood it. My wife had me sleep in the garage but things got turned around.”
Following an unscathed run through nonconference play, Michigan State (3-4, 0-4 Big Ten) has dropped four in a row by double digits. A lifeless performance in a 38-13 loss on homecoming against ULA was a major red flag and started generating speculation – real or contrived – about Smith’s future.
Izzo, who is heading into his 31st season leading the Spartans, already made a public plea last week for fans to keep backing the football team. He doubled down on Wednesday ahead of Michigan State hosting archrival No. 25 Michigan (5-2, 3-1) on Saturday night.
“I’m all in,” Izzo said. “We’re going to be there with bells on. We’re practicing early that morning because I want to even be able to tailgate or something – not drink, but tailgate.”
Smith was hired by former athletic director Alan Haller in November 2024 as a rising star who rebooted his alma mater, Oregon State. The Pac-12’s demise played a role in leaving his West Coast roots for East Lansing and picking up the pieces after the messy end of the Mel Tucker era.
Michigan State finished last season 5-7 with a few blown opportunities to pair with blowout losses against top competition and the hits keep coming this fall. Three straight years without reaching a bowl game – and that trend looks likely to continue – falls well short of program standards.
“We all go through it, it’s part of the process,” Izzo said during the radio show. “I don’t know about you, Jonathan, but every day I tell my players you’ve got to embrace the process, it takes time. … And anything that’s a quick fix is probably not long-lasting.”
Izzo randomly jumping on the football coach’s weekly radio show – or just generally weighing in on the program at any time – is standard. This pitch was more awkward with speculation about Smith’s future but Izzo has been the unofficial Michigan State spokesperson for a long time.
“It means a ton, it really does,” Smith said of Izzo’s support. “Oftentimes, football coaches, basketball coaches, they’re not getting along. All of a sudden, we’ve got to be sharing resources, sharing the attention maybe so for him to come out here and spend a little time with us and speak to some of the things we’re continuing to work on, it means a lot, coach.”
The pressure to win now is at an all-time high as the revenue skyrockets with more parties piling in. Just a few years ago, speculation about Smith being out in the second season of a seven-year, $52.85 million deal that’s 85 percent guaranteed would have been brushed aside. Life moves fast and Izzo continues banging the drum knowing his rise was a grind that also came with fewer external challenges.
Michigan State has a new athletic director in J Batt and president in Kevin Guskiewicz who weren’t at Michigan State when Smith was hired. It’s an obviously tricky spot to make mid-season statements regarding job security but Izzo went on the radio to stress changes that make program building a lot more difficult.
“I did it in an era that was normal,” Izzo said. “This era is not normal to try to rebuild a program. Everybody thinks because of the portal it’s easier. I told Jonathan this morning, until you get your culture right, it doesn’t matter who you bring in, it’s hard.”
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