Pat Fitzgerald hires his former player, Al Netter, as MSU's senior offensive analyst and assistant OL coach

Michigan State has hired Al Netter as a senior offensive analyst and assistant offensive line coach, sources tell Spartans Illustrated. He has already arrived in East Lansing.

Netter’s bio on X (formerly Twitter) reflects his new role at MSU as well.

With Michigan State, Netter will work under head coach Pat Fitzgerald, offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan, offensive line coach Nick Tabacca and the rest of the staff.

Netter has an established relationship with Fitzgerald, as he played under Fitzgerald at Northwestern as an offensive lineman from 2008 through 2011. A four-year starter, Netter started 52 games at left tackle for the Wildcats. He was a two-time team captain (2009 and 2010), three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention selection (2009, 2010 and 2011), and three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2009, 2010 and 2011) during his time in Evanston, Illinois.

Additionally, Netter was teammates at Northwestern with Jacob Schmidt, who now serves as MSU’s chief of staff. Schmidt played running back for the Wildcats 2007 through 2011, including as a starter in 2011, and Netter blocked for him.

Following his collegiate playing career, Netter went on to play in the NFL for multiple seasons. He spent time with the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans from 2012 until 2014.

As a coach, Netter most recently spent three seasons at Stanford from 2023 through 2025. He spent the 2025 campaign as the sole offensive line coach for the Cardinal. In 2023 and 2024, Netter worked as co-offensive line coach alongside Viane Talamaivao.

Prior to that, Netter spent five years at Yale from 2018 through 2022. He began as the offensive line coach for the Bulldogs in 2018. He added the title of run game coordinator in 2020 and was eventually promoted to assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator before leaning New Haven, Connecticut.

While at Yale, Netter coached Dieter Eiselen and Sterling Strother, who both went on to earn All-Ivy recognition in 2018. Eiselen later earned All-America honors in 2019, which was the same season Yale won an Ivy League championship.

Eiselen went on to play in the NFL after signing with the Chicago Bears. He also played for the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Netter started his coaching career at Michigan as a graduate assistant from 2015 through 2017, where he worked with the offensive line. During his time with the Wolverines, Netter learned under head coach Jim Harbaugh, whom he played for during his stint with the 49ers.

A Rohnert Park, California native, Netter received his bachelor's degree in economics from Northwestern in 2011. He later went on to earn master's degree from Michigan in sports management in 2017.