Michigan State Spartans coach Jonathan Smith is tired of the disrespectful media narrative surrounding his program, and recently went on a passionate rant to plead his case that he should remain the coach long-term despite a seven-game losing skid (sanctions included)
“I feel like even in a couple of those games, a few plays could change the game," Smith told reporters. "We’re not that far away from getting ourselves, two, three, four [more] wins. I’m not here to say seven but two, three, four, I don’t think we’re that far away.”
Smith, whose team was obliterated this past Saturday on Senior Day, 28-10, against a Penn State Nittany Lions team fighting for bowl eligibility by season's end, quickly moved past the narrative that his team is in a brutal spot while wanting to focus on the present.
"As coaches, we want to model a way so what we ask of our players, can we model the same in regards to going back to work, understanding that, yeah, we’ve come up short,” Smith said. “Well, what do you do? You start to point the finger, that kind of thing? You own what you control, we do this thing together and all of those things."
The togetherness aspect has not boded well for a Spartans team that has largely remained non-competitive in nearly every loss this season (minus maybe games against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Michigan Wolverines).
"I try to model in regards to being the leader of a group of guys that have been working really hard," Smith said. "We’ve come up short and that’s tough to go through but a lot of times the best things in life come after hard. I’m still optimistic on that end.”
Smith's seat is warm. If anything, he's doing all he can to protect a fragile image where winning has been hard to come by.
“I love being in a place that’s competitive. I want to get things right, I want to come out on the right side of the scoreboard," Smith said per WXYZ in Detroit in October.
This Saturday, Michigan State could have a fresh start to the Smith era should it find a way to upset the Iowa Hawkeyes (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1).
Nonetheless, though, the clock is ticking and Smith knows it.