Pat Fitzgerald calls MSU opportunity 'almost a no-brainer' - ESPN

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Pat Fitzgerald spoke with eight schools about potentially coaching their football teams, looking for the best place to resume his career, before choosing Michigan State.

The former Northwestern coach and All-American linebacker signed an incentive-laden, five-year, $30 million contract to lead the Spartans back to relevance.

«It was almost a no-brainer for me when the opportunity was presented,» the 51-year-old Fitzgerald said Tuesday.

Fitzgerald will make $5 million guaranteed in his first year and will be paid at least $500,000 more in each of the following four seasons. If he helps Michigan State win seven games in any of his first three seasons, an extra year and $500,000 will be added to his contract.

If the Spartans simply win six games or more in the regular season, he will earn a $500,000 bonus; seven wins would give him an additional $1 million and an eight-win season would trigger a $1.5 million bonus.

Fitzgerald would make more than $1 million in bonuses if Michigan State wins a national championship — for the first time since 1952, according to The Associated Press poll — and $400,000 for leading the school to its first Big Ten championship since 2016.

It won't be easy to reach any of those incentives.

Michigan State fired Jonathan Smith on Sunday after he was 9-15 and 4-14 in the Big Ten, giving him more than $30 million to buy out the rest of his contract. Two of the team's top players, standout receiver Nick Marsh and running back Makhi Frazier, plan to enter the portal.

The program has struggled since Mark Dantonio retired and ended a record-breaking, 13-year run with consecutive 7-6 seasons and a .500 Big Ten record over two years.

With limited choices in the winter of 2020,