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MSU to keep Joe Rossi as defensive coordinator on Pat Fitzgerald’s first staff

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MSU to keep Joe Rossi as defensive coordinator on Pat Fitzgerald’s first staff


East Lansing — A couple of familiar faces are staying on with Pat Fitzgerald’s first football staff.

Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi and safeties coach James Adams will remain on Michigan State’s staff next season, first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel and confirmed by an MSU spokesperson.

Rossi, 46, joined Jonathan Smith’s inaugural staff in December 2023 after six seasons as defensive coordinator for Minnesota. Rossi originally signed a three-year contract worth $4.8 million in base salary. The Detroit News reported Friday that MSU athletic director J Batt added an extra year worth $1.7 million to Rossi’s contract two days before this season’s opener against Western Michigan, one of four wins in a 4-8 (1-8 Big Ten) season.

A 5-19 record over two seasons resulted in Jonathan Smith’s firing Sunday, and Fitzgerald took over Monday. Rossi’s current contract carries a buyout that would exceed $3.5 million if Michigan State had replaced him as defensive coordinator.

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At the end of the 2025 season, Rossi’s defense allowed 29.9 points per game, which ranked 103rd out of 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and 15th out of 18 Big Ten teams. An average of 378.7 yards allowed per game ranked 73rd in the FBS and 14th in the Big Ten.

Adams joined Smith’s staff in January after leaving Wake Forest, where he was an associate head coach and safeties coach. He began his career at Wake Forest as a graduate assistant in 2009 before making stops at Wofford, Charlotte, Western Michigan, Navy and Purdue. His contract, signed through Jan. 31, 2027, would have carried a buyout of $285,416.67.

Fitzgerald agreed to terms on a minimum five-year, $30 million contract that could automatically extend to eight years, $54 million if he wins seven games in his first three seasons. Fitzgerald previously coached at Northwestern from 2006 to 2022, a Big Ten West opponent of Rossi’s old Minnesota teams. Fitzgerald also coached against Adams in 2021, when the latter was at Purdue.

Of 11 assistant football coaches under contract with Michigan State, five are on contracts that expire Jan. 31. If Michigan State were to turn over the remaining staff beyond Rossi and Adams, it would cost the university $2,524,000.

That is on top of the estimated $33.5 million owed Smith, which Batt told The News on Thursday will be paid by athletic department funds.

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All those contracts, including Smith’s and Rossi’s, are subject to a mitigation clause in which the salary paid by the coach’s next job offsets the buyout amount owed by Michigan State.

cearegood@detroitnews.com

@ConnorEaregood



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Michigan Football S Jordan Young enters transfer portal

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Michigan Football S Jordan Young enters transfer portal


Announced on Tuesday evening, Michigan true freshman safety Jordan Young has entered the transfer portal.

A former four-star prospect from Monroe, North Carolina, Young flipped his commitment at the last moment from Clemson to Michigan in the 2025 class. He played in nine games this season for the Wolverines and had 15 tackles and three pass breakups, with all three pass breakups coming in the final four games of the season.

We wish Young the very best at his next college football program.



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Tom Izzo angry at former Michigan State star for courtside ejection

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Tom Izzo angry at former Michigan State star for courtside ejection


EAST LANSING – Michigan State was rolling to a win against USC when there was a stoppage in play with six minutes remaining in the second half on Monday night.

It had nothing to do with what was happening on the court at the Breslin Center.

Referee Jeffrey Anderson blew his whistle to eject a fan sitting a few rows off the floor. The individual booted happened to be Paul Davis, who starred at center for the Spartans from 2002-06.

“He kind of got after the official and he was 150 percent wrong,” Izzo said of Davis after the No. 12 Spartans (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten) won 80-51 against the Trojans on Monday, “and for a guy like me to 150 percent agree with the official, it’s almost illegal.”

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Michigan State fans were upset about a foul call on the other end of the floor when Davis stood up and said something Anderson immediately objected to. That led to a hook.

Despite being tossed, Davis attempted to stay in his seat while taking a drink from an alcoholic beverage container. Anderson didn’t let it slide and provided an explanation to Izzo, who was less than thrilled and yelled across the court questioning what his former player was doing.

Davis finally stood up after being told to leave by associate athletic director Seth Kesler but took his time and brushed two hands against his chest. That prompted Izzo to scream, appearing to tell his former center to “get outta here.” Davis was walked up the stairs and watched the rest of the game from a concourse box.

“I love Paul Davis, I really do, he’s one of my favorite guys … but what he said he should never say anywhere in the world and that ticked me off,” Izzo said. “Just because it’s 25, 20 years later, I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. You know what he’ll say, ‘I screwed up, coach, I’m sorry.’”

Former Los Angeles Clippers center Paul Davis (40).AP

Izzo claimed he was told what Davis said was nothing racial or sexual in nature but it was obviously enough to get the boot.

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“It was just the wrong thing to say,” Izzo said, “and I’ll leave it at that.”

Davis ranks 10th on Michigan State’s career scoring list with 1,718 points, was a second-round NBA pick by the Clippers and spent four years in the league. Izzo praised the work Davis does with current players but the Hall of Fame coach in his 31st season leading the Spartans has never been ejected from a game.

“He made a mistake but he’s been really good with our players too,” Izzo said of Davis. “In the summer he comes up and helps work a guy out or he’s just around. Jud Heathcote used to always tell me sooner or later the game makes fools of us all. Once in a while, the game makes fools of our fans and definitely it’s made a fool of me more than a couple times.”



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Former Michigan star RB promoted to Eastern Michigan assistant head coach

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Former Michigan star RB promoted to Eastern Michigan assistant head coach


Former Michigan running back and assistant coach Mike Hart is getting a promotion on Chris Creighton’s staff at Eastern Michigan.

The school announced Monday that Hart is being elevated to assistant head coach and will oversee the receivers in 2026. Michigan’s all-time leading rusher spent last season as an offensive analyst for the Eagles.

“Coach Hart is a winner,” Creighton said in a news release. “He has the ‘It’ factor. He selflessly helped us this year as an offensive analyst and made a positive impact. We know that he will be a major addition as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach.”

Hart has 14 years of college coaching experience, including a three-year stint as Michigan’s running backs coach from 2021-23. He served as interim head coach for one game during the Wolverines’ 2023 national championship season when Jim Harbaugh was suspended.

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Under Hart, Michigan’s running backs thrived. Blake Corum rushed for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons and was a third-round pick by the Rams in 2024. The Wolverines won the Big Ten all three years Hart was on staff, but they did not renew his contract after the 2023 campaign.

The 39-year-old began his coaching career at EMU in 2011 and also has had stints at Western Michigan (2014-15), Syracuse (2016) and Indiana (2017-2020).

As a player at Michigan, Hart was a two-time Doak Walker Award finalist and finished fifth in the 2006 Heisman Trophy voting. Last season, EMU finished 4-8 but was No. 2 in the Mid-American Conference in passing yards per game.

“I am excited to be a part of Eastern Michigan football,” Hart said in a release. “Coach Creighton is one of the best leaders of men I have ever been around, and I look forward to learning and being a part of his program. EMU football and the Ypsilanti community have always held a special place in my heart, and I am excited to help the team reach our goals for the 2026 season.”



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