Ad Disclosure
Pupil vs. master: Comparing Michigan State tenures of Nick Saban, Mark Dantonio
By Will Heath
Published:
It was the latter stages of Alabama’s Capital One Bowl victory over Michigan State on Jan. 1, 2011.
The Tide — finishing up a disappointing 3-loss season (as it turned out, the wart in the midst of three national championships) — was polishing off the Spartans, with scrubs running basic run plays in an effort to kill the clock.
Only it didn’t exactly work. Third-string tailback Eddie Lacy (yep) turned a simple dive into the middle of the line into a 62-yard touchdown. The play worked to the dismay of Bama head coach Nick Saban, who raised his arms in apparent frustration, presumably at Michigan State defenders who failed to make the tackle.
When the gun finally sounded — Alabama won the game 49-7 — Saban rushed to the middle of the field to greet Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio, one of his former assistants. Fancy lip-reading skills weren’t necessary; Saban’s first words to Dantonio were, “I’m sorry.”
It is, admittedly, strange to think of Dantonio as someone who once worked for Saban. The man with the perpetual scowl actually came back to East Lansing the same season Saban took over in Tuscaloosa (2007), and is only 5 years the junior of the man he once called “boss.” On New Year’s Eve, of course, the two will shake hands at midfield of Cowboys Stadium, prior to the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl.
That relationship began, according to Saban, when Dantonio was actually still in high school in Zanesville, Ohio. Saban, a young assistant at Kent State University, was in charge of recruiting that part of Ohio. Dantonio went on to play defensive back at South Carolina.
Their coaching paths crossed in 1995, when Saban took the job at MSU and brought in Dantonio — then the DBs coach at Kansas — to coach the same position with the Spartans. Defensive backs, you may recognize, are also Saban’s specialty; Dantonio calls that the reason he became a coach, and the two men continue to call each other friend.
Saban’s tenure at Michigan State was decidedly uneven. The Spartans went 34-24 in five seasons, while dealing with NCAA probation resulting from infractions that pre-dated his tenure there. The seeds of Saban’s process began in November 1998, when a 4-4 Spartan team went to Columbus, Ohio, and shocked the No. 1 Buckeyes, 28-24.
The 1999 season was a gem: Michigan State finished 11-2, including wins over Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan (their two losses came on the road against Purdue and Wisconsin). Saban took the LSU job, and assistant Bobby Williams coached the Spartans to a 37-34 Citrus Bowl win over Florida.
Dantonio’s tenure at MSU began with a similarly uneven track, with records of 7-6, 9-4 and 6-7 in his first three seasons. Since 2010, though, MSU has been nothing short of sublime. The Spartans have finished short of double-digit wins only once (they went 7-6 in 2012) and turned in consecutive seasons ranked in the Associated Press Top 5 (they are currently ranked 2nd in the AP).
So things have changed a little since Saban apologized to Dantonio at midfield. One thing remains, however: MSU hasn’t won a national championship since 1966, and is currently a 9-point underdog against Alabama in Dallas.
Which is probably how they like it.
Will Heath is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football.
