After an incredible win at the Rose Bowl, Mark Dantonio has decided to stay put. He was hired as the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans in 2006, and he will be receiving a new contract for the 2014 season.
Following Mack Brown’s departure, there have been rumors going around about who would be the one to replace him as the coach of the Longhorns.
After Mark Dantonio’s recent success, he was in talks to join the coaching staff of Texas, but says that will not happen.
However, he refused to leave Michigan State, and has said that he feels that coaching job at Michigan State is a destination, not simply a stop along the way.
Mark Dantonio's new deal w Mich. St. will place he and his staff among the three-highest paid coaches in the Big Ten. Texas did reach out.
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) January 1, 2014
Fans of the Spartans are certainly familiar with the situation, and will remember when a similar thing happened, losing Nick Saban to LSU.
The new contract will place Dantonio among the top 3 highest-paid coaches in the Big Ten, and will be increasing his paycheck from $1.96 million to $4 million. Urban Meyer of Ohio State is paid the most at $4.6 million.
Mark Dantonio is a football prophet.
— The Black Sheep (@BlackSheep_MSU) January 2, 2014
He has worked to completely turn around the football program at Michigan State and does not want to abandon his team. He showed an incredible amount of emotion following their win of the 100th Rose Bowl last night, and showed that he has formed quite a strong bond with his players and the university.
After being asked about a potential change in coaching jobs, and being linked to high-profile programs such as Texas, he simply said “That’s very flattering, but it would be hard to leave these guys. So while it’s very, very flattering, my intentions are to be at Michigan State. That’s all I’ll say about those things. I’ll look forward to seeing my guys back on Monday mornings for classes.”
While MSU struggled for several seasons before hiring Mark Dantonio, he has lifted the spirits of the players and fans. As a coach, he boasts an impressive record of 63-29 in his seven seasons as head coach at Michigan State.
Mark Dantiono led Michigan State to their first Rose Bowl bid since 1988, and in a special game for him as a coach, and the program, they defeated Stanford 24-20. The Spartans were able to stop Stanford on a 4th-and-1 to end the game, which is significant of how strong their defense has been throughout the season.
After the game, Mark Dantonio said that Michigan State found “some type of way” to win the game. The phrase comes from a song by rapper Rich Homie Quan, and the team was seen celebrating to the song in the locker room following the game.
Image via Youtube