It's being reported today that Mark Dantonio has signed a new 5-year contract that will keep him in East Lansing for several more years. Dantonio said that this contract, "lets Spartan Nation know that I deeply appreciate their loyal support and that I'm here for the long haul." Folks, this confirms that five years ago, MSU's decision makers made the best possible choice when they hired Dantonio.
I'll be honest, when Dantonio was first hired, I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I thought he would be a solid coach, good for 8 or 9 wins a season. But I wanted an "elite" coach, I wanted Brian Kelly -- who would have succeeded, but probably would not have been loyal to MSU. Well, I was wrong. I'll admit it.
Dantonio has not only exceeded expectations, in terms of wins and recruiting, but I have also come to see him as MSU's version of Barry Alvarez (see my earlier article on that). I really do believe now that if Dantonio does not succeed in winning a national championship in the time he has left as head coach, he will build a solid program that can be handed off to someone who will be able to win it. As I said earlier, Dantonio may still turn out to be Alvarez and Bielema all rolled into one. In fact, I'm really excited about MSU's chances to compete for the national title next year -- I expect the defense and offense to be even better.
Anyway, MSU's future looks bright, and (as I state in my Blog's subtitle) I'm proud to be able to help document the rise of this elite football program.
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