It wasn’t a surprise to see Mark Dantonio get a contract
extension and bump in pay following this past football season.
It also probably wasn’t a tough decision for Michigan
State to make.
On Tuesday, details
of Dantonio’s new deal came out and the Spartans’ head coach is now going
to be making $3.64 million annually and his assistants are also seeing pay
increases. Most notable of the assistants is defensive coordinator Pat
Narduzzi, who will now be the highest-paid assistant in the Big Ten at $904,583
per year.
Following MSU’s Big Ten Championship, Dantonio’s name
popped up as a potential replacement for Mack Brown at Texas, but he quickly
shrugged off those rumors. Now, Spartans fans shouldn’t have to worry about
Dantonio leaving.
When Dantonio started in East Lansing, there wasn’t a lot
to be excited about in terms of a national outlook. That has completely changed
in his seven seasons with the Spartans.
It took some time, but Michigan State is now a Big Ten
and Rose Bowl champion and Dantonio has turned East Lansing into a destination
job, at least for him. Michigan State and Mark Hollis has also decided to make
MSU a destination job, putting Dantonio near the top 10 in the country in terms
of pay.
Pat Narduzzi sticking around is also a big key. The
defensive coordinator passed up more money and a chance to lead his own program
to stay with MSU for at least another season. Who knows what Dantonio and
Narduzzi have discussed about future plans, but it is clear that Narduzzi
recognizes something within the program. He doesn’t see the momentum train
stopping anytime soon, thus damaging his chances to one day lead a program.
The success of the 2013 season was something Michigan
State fans had been longing for for quite some time. Now the expectations have
been raised and have changed in East Lansing. Time will tell if Dantonio can
sustain this type of success, but the university has made it clear that it is
going to do what it can to help him do just that.
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