After three and a half seasons with LSU, the Tigers are parting ways with former Grand Valley State and Central Michigan head coach Brian Kelly. Kelly is a coach with strong Midwest ties, obviously starting his head coaching career in Michigan before going on to coach at Cincinnati and Notre Dame. Shortly after the reports of Kelly being bought out by LSU dropped, one writer, Matt Zemek of TrojansWire, suggested that Brian Kelly could be a fit with Michigan State football if they decide to fire Jonathan Smith after a 3-5 start to the season.

Zemek said he initially thought about Penn State, and I agree that Penn State seems like a good fit for Brian Kelly in what could become his final coaching destination of his career. Zemek then followed up by saying Brian Kelly to Michigan State could ‘make the most sense’ if Smith is fired:

Smith has been on the hot seat, at least in the eyes of fans and media, for a few weeks now as the Spartans’ continued their five-game losing streak with a tough loss to Michigan.

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EAST LANSING – The Spartans just capped a winless October with a defeat against their top rival.

Michigan State (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) lost 31-20 against No. 25 Michigan (6-2, 4-1) on Saturday night for their fifth straight defeat overall and fourth in a row against the Wolverines.

Here are notable quotes from embattled second-year Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith and players after the game:

Smith on the overall performance: “Obviously it’s just not good enough. I thought these guys prepared throughout the week, energized for this one and it came down to sloppy play.”

Quarterback Aidan Chiles grading his own performance after finishing 14-for-28 passing for 130 yards, a fumble and a rushing touchdown: “D-minus. Careless with the ball, not very good in the passing game.”

Smith on the quality of Michigan’s defense: “They’ve got a solid scheme, they’ve got solid players, we definitely helped them to look better.”

Linebacker Jordan Hall on the defense: “We did a lot of good today. We just didn’t do well enough when it mattered most.”

Smith on the offense, which had just 14 yards and zero first downs in the opening quarter: “I think about offensively, the execution side, playing catch. We’ve got a guy open, we’re not throwing an accurate ball, we’ve got a couple drops there. I do think the protection was hit and miss a little bit on edges there.”

Smith on the defense, which forced six punts and generated one turnover: “I did think the effort defensively, those guys played with passion throughout the night.”

Smith on a questionable offsides call against defensive back Malcolm Bell that wiped out a third-quarter fumble recovery by the Spartans: “That’s a gut punch. You’re not going to get every call go your way, those are bang-bang. I’m not here to say this thing is easy to officiate, I’ll just say again I’ve seen that not called plenty of times.”

Hall on having the play overturned: “I didn’t know what was happening until I was on the field the next play.”

Smith on keeping the offense on the field to get stopped on fourth-and-3 from the Michigan 27 while down 11 points early in the fourth quarter: “We were going to need a touchdown at some point during the game and where our distance was, that’s not a guaranteed three points. … It felt like the best call was to go get a touchdown on that drive.”

Chiles on getting downfield for a block on Makhi Frazier’s 49-yard run in the second quarter: “I just decided to lead block. I got rocked but it is what it is but it helped him get a few more yards. Just being a team guy, nothing special.”

Smith on his mild-mannered approach: “If I felt like there was a lack of effort going on, yeah, I’d be pretty pissed off at that but I don’t feel that in any way in our guys.”

Smith on his message to fans: “Understand it, know that we’re frustrated at the same point. Staff, players, all of us, we are working to get this thing better and it was not good enough tonight.”