Michigan State AD 'had to step up pursuit' to land Jonathan Smith - ESPN

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State had enough competition from Power 5 college football teams also hoping to hire Jonathan Smith that it added a seventh year to his contract, helping a shaken program land the former Oregon State coach.

«I was nervous a couple weeks ago because there were jobs that were talking about being open — and there were jobs that were open — that were looking at him,» athletic director Alan Haller said Tuesday, adding that Smith will make $7.25 million in his first season. «I had to step up my pursuit.»

The Spartans had a lot at stake to get it right.

They're coming off a 4-8 season stunted by news that led to Mel Tucker being fired and entering a year with the Big Ten expanding to include Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA from the Pac-12.

«There's no other Big Ten coach that is going to have that jumpstart on those four schools,» said Haller, who interviewed 12 coaching candidates at least once.

Smith will need all the help he can get because Michigan State has had only one winning season in four years.

The program's history is marked by inconsistency, showing it can win 36 games and two conference titles in a three-year span as former coach Mark Dantonio did, and yet failing to sustain success in any decade since joining the Big Ten in 1953.

«A lot of us in this room understand, this is going to take some work,» Smith said at his introductory news conference at the Breslin Center. «I am definitely excited and up for the challenge — and the opportunity.»

This will not be Smith's first shot at turning around a team, and the Spartans who stay and those who choose to come will hear his mantra, «low ego, high output,» early and often.

Oregon State was winless in conference play and had only one