Michigan State was paying their head coach $10MM/yr, but that budget is soon to free up as Mel Tucker has been served his pink slip. A few names that have popped up immediately are uw's Kalen Deboer and OSU's Jonathan Smith. Deboer is set to make $4.3M in 2024 after receiving an extension this offseason. Smith will make $3.65M in 2024 and has a buyout of $3M.

MSU has pillaged Colorado for coaches before. That could mean Deion or former Kent State coach Sean Lewis. Lance Leipold at Kansas has been fantastic. Wake's Dave Clawson, Duke's Mike Elko, Pitt's Pat Narduzzi, and Western Kentucky's Tyson Helton are all guys you could see getting a call, and that's all before you get to the up-and-coming coordinators.

UW OC Grubb just gave MSU a live look at what he can bring. WSU HC, Dickert, has strong ties to the Midwest, and if he wins 10 games this year he will land a better job. Smith is a very good coach, but is it worth taking a little brother job again? Or does he wait on a better job?