Thoughts on Roushar

Folks, I don't like to talk about replacing coaches because, of course, human beings are involved. It's a serious matter, and fans often forget that. Moreover, who am I to suggest that someone should be replaced? Who are any of us?

Look, Dan Roushar knows more about football than I'll ever know, and we have to keep in mind that the Spartans have not been as talented on offense during the Dantonio era as many people would like to believe. This year's offense was decimated by graduations and injuries, and the Spartans have never had the o-line talent they've needed. This was going to be a tough offense to manage.

Ironically, I think next year's offense will be loaded. The pieces are coming together: depth and talent at receiver, depth and talent on the o-line, depth and talent at tight end, depth and talent at running back, and best of all, a senior quarterback. So Roushar may finally have the pieces to succeed...somewhat.

You see, I think Roushar is an OK coordinator. He's not as terrible as this year suggests, but, he's also not outstanding. The Indiana game made me realize that. Indiana's first year offensive coordinator looked pretty good, and it made me wonder if MSU could find a guy like that. Michigan also had me thinking about this. Michigan had a decimated receiver corps and they don't even have a running back as good as Bell, and yet they're scoring quite a few points a game. Part of that is Dennard Robinson, but part of it is UM's OC adapting to Dennard's talents. I realize UM pays their OCs quite a bit, and maybe that's the main issue.  Maybe MSU can't go out and hire an elite OC.

So what's the answer? I have no idea. I mean, I used to get upset with the Nardawg and look at how that turned out. Narduzi is now one of the top defensive coordinators in the country. Maybe Roushar just needs one more year and a talented o-line to start looking like a genius. Then again, maybe MSU will never be able to get the kind of o-line talent for Roushar to succeed at MSU. Maybe they need more of a spread offense to deal with the lack of elite talent on the o-line. I don't know. But next year will settle quite a bit of these things. MSU will be as talented on offense as it's ever been. If they continue to struggle next year, then it's time to make fundamental changes.

Of course, the problem with waiting until after the 2013 season to replace Roushar is that the Spartans have the opportunity in 2013 to make their run at a national championship. If everyone comes back, the defense will be elite and the offense will be the most loaded offense MSU has had in my lifetime. A decent offensive coordinator could make the difference.  So many things to weigh!