OPINION: Pat Fitzgerald won Big Ten Media Days – and may have sold Michigan State fans on coming back

Pat Fitzgerald has not coached a game at Michigan State, but he accomplished something important this week at Big Ten Media Days.

He restored the credibility of Michigan State football.

That may sound like too much credit for a day of interviews in Chicago. Press conferences do not fix offensive lines, prevent injuries, improve tackling, or erase losing season after losing season after losing season.

But credibility matters, particularly for a program that has spent several years losing it.

Michigan State has changed coaches, turned over its roster, cycled through athletic directors, endured presidential instability, and repeatedly promised that another new beginning would eventually produce better results. Fans have been asked to remain patient through one disappointing season after another while the program struggled to explain what it was building or why anyone should believe it would work.

Many of those fans entered this summer understandably skeptical. I hear from them all the time.

But, by the time Fitzgerald finished speaking, it was difficult not to feel at least a little differently.

Fitzgerald won Big Ten Media Days because he understood the moment without appearing to manufacture it. He was energetic without becoming theatrical. He was confident without pretending Michigan State’s problems had already been solved. Most importantly, he spoke with enough substance to make his message feel like more than another collection of offseason slogans.

What has struck me most this offseason is the difference between the people who seek me out to talk about Fitzgerald. Fans of Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and other Big Ten programs have approached me in person to say they are genuinely nervous that he is going to bring Michigan State back. They see an experienced Big Ten coach, a proven program builder, and a personality that fits East Lansing almost perfectly.

The Michigan State fans who stop me, however, are often the ones still expressing doubt. That skepticism is understandable after everything the program has endured, but it is also telling that rival fan bases appear more willing to recognize the threat Fitzgerald presents than some Spartans are willing to believe in the possibility themselves.

In Chicago this week, though, Fitzgerald gave Michigan State fans a vision of what the program could become while demonstrating that he understands what they believe it should be.

That combination probably sold some season tickets.

There is no public data yet to prove how many previously undecided fans logged onto Michigan State’s ticket website after watching Fitzgerald speak. But anyone who followed the response from fans, reporters, radio hosts, and podcasters could see the momentum building in real time.

Fitzgerald did not restore credibility by pretending Michigan State’s problems had disappeared. He restored it by showing that the program once again has a leader who understands those problems, appreciates its potential, and appears to have a coherent plan for connecting the two.

He was not presenting Michigan State as a convenient opportunity for him to return to coaching. He presented it as a natural fit – a Big Ten program with history, resources, a passionate public-school fan base, and the potential to become nationally relevant again.

Fitzgerald described himself as someone whose background and identity are deeply connected to the Big Ten and said Michigan State was among the limited number of programs that felt like a natural fit. When the opportunity became available, he did not need to be persuaded. He aggressively pursued it.

After years of wondering whether coaches, administrators, and players were fully committed to Michigan State, fans heard a coach explain that he actively wanted to be there.

He sounded grateful for the opportunity without sounding overwhelmed by it.

He sounded confident in Michigan State without ignoring its problems.

And he sounded like someone prepared to fight for the program.

Fitzgerald rejected the familiar idea that he or the program merely had a chip on its shoulder. He described the motivation within the building as something much larger – an entire bag of chips.

It was the kind of line that immediately traveled through the fan base. It gave Michigan State supporters a phrase that captured the defiance they want their program to rediscover.

But Fitzgerald’s success in Chicago was not built around one memorable line.

He won Big Ten Media Days because the words matched the personality, and the personality matched the program.

He looked comfortable representing Michigan State. His players looked comfortable beside him. Reporters crowded around him because they knew he would provide thoughtful, entertaining answers. Online, fans responded because he spoke directly to what they had been missing.

For the first time in a long time, Michigan State football looked like it had the right person speaking on its behalf.

That becomes even clearer when comparing Fitzgerald with Jonathan Smith. Smith appeared to understand that Michigan State had a distinct football culture, and he made a genuine effort to learn it, embrace its traditions, and present himself as someone who could fit within it.

But it often felt like an adaptation – a coach studying what Michigan State had been and trying to determine how he belonged. Fitzgerald does not have to make that effort.

His football identity was formed in the Midwest and the Big Ten, built around toughness, development, loyalty, and winning without the advantages enjoyed by the conference’s traditional powers.

Smith tried to fit Michigan State’s culture. Fitzgerald, in many ways, already is that culture.

You've reached the midway point of this article, and thus, the dreaded paywall. The rest of the column goes into detail to explain why this felt different from the usual offseason optimism – and why Michigan State fans may finally have reason to believe again. Subscribe to Spartans Illustrated to read the full column.