Jonathan Smith was let go after two seasons in East Lansing at the conclusion of the season.
The Spartans lost eight of their last nine games of the season to finish 4-8. He left the program with a 9-15 record overall.
In likely the quickest search of the 2025-26 coaching cycle, athletic director J Batt moved swiftly to secure former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald as their new head coach.
Fitz had spent the last three seasons away from the college sidelines after being wrongfully terminated, and was later fully exonerated of any wrongdoing.
Fitzgerald hit the ground running by retaining some defensive coaches, bringing a few key trusted pieces from his time at Northwestern, and scored an early home run hire among fans by prying former Spartan linebacker Max Bullough away from Notre Dame, where he was mentoring the Irish linebackers, with co-defensive coordinator responsibilities.
OFFENSE
ROLE | COACH | PREVIOUS STOP |
| OC | Nick Sheridan | Alabama Co-OC / QBs |
| WRs | Courtney Hawkins | Michigan State WRs |
| TEs | Brian Wozniak | Michigan State TEs |
| OL | Nick Tabacca | Wake Forest OL (2014-24) |
| QBs* | TBA | TBA |
| RBs | Devon Spalding | Wisconsin RBs |
* The team had initially hired UMass offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian as quarterbacks coach, but he left for the same post with the Clevland Browns
DEFENSE
ROLE | COACH | PREVIOUS STOP |
| DC | Joe Rossi | Michigan State DC |
| Co-DC / LBs | Max Bullough | Notre Dame LBs |
| Safeties | James Adams | Michigan State Safeties |
| DL | Winston DeLattiboudere | Arizona Cardinals DL |
| CBs | Hank Poteat | Iowa State DBs |
SPECIAL TEAMS
| Special Teams Coordinator / AHC | LeVar Woods | Iowa STC |
SUPPORT STAFF
ROLE | PERSON (PREVIOUS ROLE) |
| HEAD S&C | Joel Welsh (Central Michigan Head S&C) |
| GENERAL MANAGER | Bryan Gasser (Toledo GM) |
| Chief of Staff | Jacob Schmidt (Northwestern NIL executive director) |
| Director of player development | Kurt Richardson (Michigan State director of player development) |
2024 STAFF
| HEAD COACH | Jonathan Smith |
| OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR | Brian Lindgren |
| DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR / LINEBACKERS | Joe Rossi |
| CO-SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR / RUSH ENDS | Chad Wilt |
| QUARTERBACKS | Jon Boyer |
| RUNNING BACKS | Keith Bhonapha |
| WIDE RECEIVERS | Courtney Hawkins |
| OFFENSIVE LINE / RUN GAME COORDINATOR | Jim Michalczik |
| TIGHT ENDS | Brian Wozniak |
| DEFENSIVE LINE | Legi Suiaunoa |
| SECONDARY | Blue Adams |
| SAFETIES | James Adams |
| HEAD S&C | Mike McDonald |
| General Manager | Cole Moore |
| Assistant S&C | Joe Powell |
| Assistant S&C | Matt King |
| Assistant S&C | Shaquille Lee |
| Assistant S&C | Ben McCarthy |
| Director of recruiting and player relations | Michael Doctor |
| Executive director of player personnel | Antwon Murray |
| Director of player engagement | Kurt Richardson |
| Director of player personnel | Sean Levy |
| Director of player support | Bobby Pleasant |
| Director of football creative video | Colin Ludema |
| Assistant director of football recruiting operations | Madilyn Weigand |
| Assistant director of football creative | Dylan Gray |
| Director of football technology | Dustin Smith |
| Assistant DFO | Chaz Davis |
| Assistant director of football technology | Kyle Ranson |
| Player personnel analyst | Frank Herzog |
| Director of recruiting communications | Malik Gill |
| Defensive backs assistant | Elijah Douglass |
| Special teams assistant | Mason Ruddy |
| Player personnel analyst | Michael Morales |
| Personnel intern | Tre'shon Devones |
| Assistant director of football creative video | Allen Bernard |
| Assistant football equipment manager | Jacob Crane |
| Head football equipment manager | Andrew Kolpacki |
| Assistant football equipment manager | Jacob Guskiewicz |