Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald targeting Winston DeLattiboudere III as defensive line coach
Fitzgerald has selected Winston DeLattiboudere III to be his defensive line coach. More details here.
Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald continues to build his 2026 staff for his first season in East Lansing, and he now has his preferred defensive line coach in mind. Fitzgerald is targeting Winston DeLattiboudere III as his defensive line coach, according to multiple reports.
DeLattiboudere, who turns 28 in January, currently coaches the defensive line for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. He was hired by Arizona in February of 2025.
Prior to joining the Cardinals, DeLattiboudere coached at the college level at his alma mater, Minnesota. He worked under current Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi as defensive line coach 2023, prior to Rossi heading to East Lansing. In his first season with the Golden Gophers, the defense's sack total increased from 19 in 2022 to 26 in 2023. In 2024, DeLattiboudere was promoted to assistant head coach, while still coaching the defensive line as well.
In 2023, DeLattiboudere participated in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship with the Green Bay Packers. He did also did so with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022. Additionally, DeLattiboudere was selected to the American Football Coaches Association's 2024 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, which "is aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession."
He got his first full-time coaching position as Akron's defensive line coach in 2022.
DeLattiboudere started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Charlotte in 2020. He also served as a graduate assistant for Oregon in 2021.
As a player, DeLattiboudere spent five seasons with Minnesota. In 51 career games, including 36 starts, he compiled 83 tackles (43 solo), 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. As a senior in 2019, DeLattiboudere earned academic All-Big Ten honors. That same year, he also earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and the program's Tony Dungy Award (for character and community service).
In 2018, DeLattiboudere graduated from Minnesota with a degree in sociology of law, criminology, and deviance. He later earned a master's of education in youth development from Minnesota in 2019.
Fitzgerald was hired as Michigan State's 27th head coach on Dec. 1, following the firing of previous head coach Jonathan Smith.
As it relates to the 2026 staff thus far, Fitzgerald has retained Rossi as defensive coordinator and safeties coach James Adams from Smith's staff, hired former Spartan linebacker Max Bullough as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, tapped Joe Welsh as strength and conditioning coach and added Jacob Schmidt as chief of staff.
DeLattiboudere Mic'd Up with Minnesota:
