Michigan State Football head coach salary is $2.5 million after making amendments to his previous contract. Harlon Barnett is also the defensive backs coach.
Barnett has been serving as the DB coach since 2020 and after taking on the role of Acting Head Coach last month, he signed a $2.5 million contract (annually) without making any changes to the terms of the contract which he signed in 2022 and is set to expire on March 31, 2024.
As a result, he will be paid a prorated amount as he will not be completing a full year in the position. The calculated amount totals up to $1.4 million. He previously earned an annual salary of $525,000.
Harlon took on the role of interim head coach in a game against the Washington Huskies on September 16, 2023. Mel Tucker who was the head coach for the starting two games was officially fired on September 27.
Tucker had signed a 10-year contract extension worth a whopping $95 million ($9.5 million annually) in November 2021. In comparison to his salary, Barnett is getting paid a lot less.
Associate Head Coach Mark Dantonio also bagged a raise in his salary as he too signed a new contract without any changes made to the terms. He signed a $1.1 million annual salary contract and will receive a prorated amount of $550,000 as his contract as an ambassador ends on February 29, 2024.
Assistant Head Coach Chris Kapilovic also signed a two-year contract extension in 2022 and will be earning $1 million annually.
Urban Meyer to Michigan State rumor has been answered by Bruce Feldman who has made it clear that there is no truth to it. Meyer is very happy at Fox.
Michigan State Football Head Coach History
Henry Keep was the first head coach of the Michigan State Football team from 1897 to 1898. He served for two seasons and had an 8-5-1 record.
| Coach | Years Active |
| Henry Keep | 1897-1898 |
| Charles Bemies | 1899-1900 |
| George Denman | 1901-1902 |
| Chester Brewer | 1903-1910, 1917, 1919 |
| John Macklin | 1911-1915 |
| Dutch Sommer | 1916 |
| George Gauthier | 1918 |
| George Clark | 1920 |
| Albert Barron | 1921-1922 |
| Ralph H. Young | 1923-1927 |
| Harry Kipke | 1928 |
| Jim Crowley | 1929-1932 |
| Charlie Bachman | 1933-1942, 1944-1946 |
| Clarence Munn | 1947-1953 |
| Duffy Daugherty | 1954-1972 |
| Denny Stolz | 1973-1975 |
| Darryl Rogers | 1976-1979 |
| Muddy Waters | 1980-1982 |
| George Perles | 1983-1984 |
| Nick Saban | 1995-1999 |
| Bobby Williams | 2000-2002 |
| John L. Smith | 2003-2006 |
| Mark Dantonio | 2007-2019 |
| Mel Tucker | 2020-2023 |
The Spartans did not have a head coach in their inaugural season back in 1896. Keep became the first coach in the history of the Michigan State Spartans football team in their second season.
Henry Keep ended his two-year coaching career with a winning percentage of .607, and since then, there have been 23 more personnel to have taken the role of head coach of the Spartans.
Brewer who became the head coach in 1903 was the first one to hold the position for more than two seasons. He served as the head for 10 seasons and had a good 58-23-7 record with a winning percentage of .699.
An even better winning percentage of .853 was recorded by Brewer's successor, John Macklin who served for five seasons. He had 29 wins and only 5 losses during his tenure.
Mark Dantonio has the most wins as a head coach with 114 victories among all the former Michigan State football coaches. Daugherty is second with 109 wins.
The Spartans have won six National Championships in its history with their first being under head coach Clarence Munn in 1951. Munn helped the team to another title the following year as well.
In terms of championships, Duffy Daugherty is the most successful head coach having won four titles during his tenure. He won the National Championships in 1955, 1957, 1965, and 1966.
The titles in 1952, 1965, and 1966 were consensus national championships by NCAA designation and Michigan State has claimed all of them.
Daugherty is also the longest-serving head coach of the Spartans having held the position for 19 seasons. He had a .609 winning percentage during his tenure.
Legendary coach Nick Saban was also part of the college football team as the head coach for five seasons.
Michigan State has won three division titles in 2011, 2013, and 2015. All three came under the then-head coach Mark Dantonio.
Michigan State Football Assistant Coaches
Chris Kapilovic has been the Assistant Head Coach of the Michigan State Spartans since 2021. He also serves as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
Mark Dantonio made his return to the Spartan's coaching unit in September 2023. The former head coach will now serve as the Associate Head Coach.
Chris Kapilovic
Kapilovic was hired by Michigan State in February 2020 as an OL/RGC. The ongoing college football season is his fourth season in that role.
Almost a year later in January 2021, he was promoted to the position of assistant head coach. Kapilovic has been an integral part of the Spartans, especially in the recruiting department.
The former college football player has a sharp eye for talent. He can spot talented players and also recruit them which is a skill that comes to him naturally.
He has brought in highly-rated prospects such as Geno VanDeMark (four-star) in the past. Stanton Ramil, Cole Dellinger, and Keyshawn Blackstock are the other four-star prospects of the current class that Kapilovic signed.
The three are all offensive linemen and are under the wings of one of the best OL coaches in college football.
His contributions came to light in 2022 when the Spartans were ranked 34th in FBS and 4th in the Big Ten as they only allowed 1.5 sacks per game.
Prior to joining Michigan State, Kapilovic had been part of many college football teams. He began his coaching career with Alabama State in 2001-2002 as the offensive line coach.
- 2003-2005 - Alabama State (OC/OL)
- 2006-2007 - Missouri State (OL/RGC)
- 2008-2009 - Southern Miss (OL)
- 2010-2011 - Southern Miss (OL/RGC)
- 2012-2013 - North Carolina (OL/RGC)
- 2014-2015 - North Carolina (co-OC/OL)
- 2016-2018 - North Carolina (AHC/OC/OL)
- 2019 - Colorado (OL/RGC)
One year ago, #MichiganState OL coach Chris Kapilovic had multiple job offers from elite programs. He turned them down to stay at MSU.
— The SD4L Show (@SD4LShow) May 4, 2023
He explains how Mel Tucker, the culture at MSU, & the (surprisingly) decades-long familiarity with other staff members kept him in East Lansing: pic.twitter.com/7SvS1hPvJV
He first experienced the role as an assistant head coach while he was with the Tar Heels program where he spent quite a lot of time serving various roles.
Kapilovic has experience in all departments of the game and no wonder he has been so crucial for the Spartans. Under his guidance, several players have made it to the NFL as well.
- Jarrett Horst - Miami Dolphins
- Jacob Slade - Arizona Cardinals
- Kendell Brooks - Arizona Cardinals
- Xavier Henderson - Washington Commanders
- Ben VanSumeren - Philadelphia Eagles
- Jayden Reed - Green Bay Packers
- Bryce Baringer - New England Patriots
- Ameer Speed - New England Patriots
- AJ Arcuri - Los Angeles Rams
- Kevin Jarvis - Detroit Lions
- Matt Allen - New York Giants (rookie minicamp)
- Arlington Hambright - Chicago Bears
He has been integral in creating many college records while he was at UNC such as the points per game (40.6 ppg in 2012 and 40.7 in 2015) and total offense (485.6 ypg in 2012 and 486.9 ypg in 2015).
He will surely create a few more records with the Spartans as well.
Mark Dantonio
Former MSU head coach Mark Dantonio came out of retirement to help his longtime assistant and interim head coach Harlon Barnett in September.
With over four decades of experience as a coach, he is the perfect candidate to assist Barnett in his first stint as head coach. Dantonio will be behind the scenes mainly playing the role of a consultant or advisor.
Michigan State and Dantonio go a long way back as he first joined the school back in 1995 until 2000 when he served as the defensive backs coach. During that period, he was also the assistant coach under Nick Saban.
After serving for 13 seasons as the head coach winning three division titles and an overall record of 114-57, Dantonio announced his retirement in February 2020.
Although he was not part of the coaching unit, the former coach has always been part of Michigan State as an ambassador.
Michigan State Football Coaching Staff
Michigan State football coaching staff for the 2023 season:
- Jay Johnson - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
- Scottie Hazelton - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
- Ted Gilmore - Tight Ends
- Courtney Hawkins - Wide Receivers
- Ross Els - Special Teams/Linebackers
- Effrem Reed - Running Backs
- Diron Reynolds - Defensive Line
- Jim Salgado - Cornerbacks
All of the coaches in different positions are entering their fourth year, except for Reynolds and Salgado. This will be their first season as coaches for the Spartans.
Marco Coleman was replaced by Reynolds as the DL coach in January as Coleman signed with Georgia Tech in the same role.
Buffalo Bills safeties coach Salgado replaced the outgoing Brandon Jordan who was hired by the Seattle Seahawks in March.
The coaching unit has been in sync for a few years now and will be looking to improve their records. Since 202, the Spartans haven't performed up to the expectations and have an overall record of 2-3 in 2023.
After starting the season with two wins, they have recorded losses in the next three games.
Michigan State football coach search is going on for the vacant head coach position and it has been reported that Urban Meyer is not interested at all.
Even if he was a potential candidate for the job, he is very much content with his current role as an analyst for Fox Sports. If he ever joins Michigan State, Meyer would suurely bring a lot of experience.
