Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. is an American sportscaster and former professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's College GameDay, a television program covering college football. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest football coaches of all time. Saban served as head coach of the National Football League (NFL)'s Miami Dolphins and at four universities: Louisiana State University (LSU), Michigan State University, the University of Toledo and most famously the University of Alabama, where he last coached from 2007 to 2023.
Jim Bates is a former American football coach in the National Football League (NFL), most recently serving as defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He primarily ran a 4–3 scheme, using fast, undersized linebackers. Bates served as interim head coach for the Miami Dolphins during the 2004 NFL season.
Renaldo Hill is an American football coach and former player who is the pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos from 2019 to 2020, the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021 to 2022. Currently in 2023 serves as an assistant defensive coach for the Miami Dolphins.
Robert Vann Williams is an American football coach who most recently served as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at the University of Oregon, from 2018 to 2021. Williams served as the head football coach at Michigan State University from 1999 to 2002, compiling a record of 16–17.
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University (MSU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Spartans are members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State claims a total of six national championships, including two from the major wire-service: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll. The Spartans have also won eleven conference championships, with two in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and nine in the Big Ten.
Morris Watts is a former American football player and coach. Until his retirement in 2016, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Central Michigan University. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, having joined the RedHawks coaching staff in 2009 as the quarterbacks coach. Morris served as the interim head coach at Michigan State University for the last three games of the 2002 season after Bobby Williams was fired, compiling a record of 1–2.
Mark Justin Dantonio is an American football coach and player. His most recent head coaching position was at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019, presiding over one of the most successful eras in the program's history. He led the Michigan State Spartans to three Big Ten Conference championships, and eight victories over archrival Michigan in 13 years. In 2013, he coached Michigan State to its first 13-win season and the program's fifth trip to the Rose Bowl, where they defeated Stanford and finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation. This was the second time a Big Ten team reached the 13-win mark, the previous being Ohio State's national championship season in 2002, where Dantonio was the defensive coordinator. The 2013 season also marked the first time a Big Ten team won nine conference games each by double digits. In 2015, Dantonio became the first head coach in Big Ten history to achieve at least 11 wins in five of six seasons. On December 6, 2015, Dantonio's Spartans qualified for the College Football Playoff for the first time in the program's history.
The 2007 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Mark Dantonio began his first season as the Spartans' head coach. The Spartans play their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.
Harlon T. Barnett is an American football coach and former player who is currently the defensive backs coach at Northwestern University. He was the interim head coach at Michigan State University for most of the 2023 season. Barnett previously served as associate head coach/co-defensive coordinator at Michigan State as well as defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach at Florida State University. As a player, Barnett was a four-year letter-winner as a defensive back for Michigan State University, serving as team captain and earning All-America honors during his senior year, and spent seven seasons in the National Football League.
The Toledo Rockets football team is a college football program in Division I FBS, representing the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete in the Mid-American Conference. Toledo began playing football in 1917, although it did not field teams in 1931, 1943, 1944, and 1945. Since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936, Toledo has finished in the Top 25 four times. Its highest finish came in 1970 when it ranked No. 12 after finishing 12–0. Toledo has an 11–9 record in bowl games. The Rockets were the 2017 MAC champions. The team's head coach is Jason Candle.
Melvin Gene Tucker II is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Michigan State University from 2020 to 2023.
Gary Tranquill is a retired American football coach and former player. He was last the offensive coordinator at Boston College, a position he held until 2010. From 1982 to 1986, Tranquill served as the head football coach at the United States Naval Academy, compiling a record of 20–34–1.
The 2006 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Michigan State competed as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans were led by fourth-year head coach John L. Smith. Smith had compiled a combined 18–18 record in his previous seasons at Michigan State, and he was fired after the 2006 season in which the team finished 4–8. The Spartans did, however, set the record for the greatest comeback from a deficit in college football history.
The 2003 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Spartans play their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. This was the first year for head coach John L. Smith, who would win Big Ten coach of the year in his debut, but would later be fired after the 2006 season.
The 2010 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of Michigan State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Head coach Mark Dantonio was in his fourth season with the Spartans. Michigan State played their home games in Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.
The 2005 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. Michigan State competed as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans were led by third-year head coach John L. Smith.
The 2004 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. Michigan State competed as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans were led by second-year head coach John L. Smith.
The 2000 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. This was the first year for head coach Bobby Williams, who took over the program after previous head coach Nick Saban had left to take the head coaching position at Louisiana State University.
The 1997 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by third-year head coach Nick Saban, the Spartans compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the Big Ten. Michigan State was invited to the Aloha Bowl, where they lost, 51–23, on December 25 to Washington. The team played home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.
The 2020 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Spartans competed as members of the East Division of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. This was the program's first season under head coach Mel Tucker.
