Michigan State fired head football coach Jonathan Smith following a 4-8 campaign in Year 2 of his stint in East Lansing, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Smith went 4-15 (9-15 without vacating wins from Mel Tucker era) with the Spartans.

Smith came over from his alma mater, Oregon State, where he went 34-35 in six seasons. After going 9-22, that included a shortened 2020 season, Smith and the Beavers broke through over the next three seasons.

Oregon State went 7-6 in 2021, making the LA Bowl. But in 2022, the Beavers went 10-3, won the Las Vegas Bowl and Smith’s crew finished the season ranked No. 17 in the country. While they couldn’t exactly follow it up in 2023, an 8-4 record was good enough to warrant interest from Michigan State.

But after a rough first season that was an uneven 5-7 prior to vacated wins, Smith’s team did not improve in 2025. The team finished with four wins and a 1-8 conference mark.

Smith was asked if he had talked to AD J Batt about his future beyond Saturday night. He gave a short answer regarding his future following ending the season with a win. 

“We continue to conversate through the week,” Smith said. “I’m sure we’ll be talking again in the coming days.”

There were missed opportunities, particularly against Iowa and Minnesota. If you flip those results, Michigan State is 6-6 and Smith’s team is bowling.

“I think the record is factual in regards to you won or you lost the game,” Smith said. “I think there’s plenty of coaches (who would) get up here (and say), ‘We could have won if this would have taken place.’ Right? And we did. Two of the last three, we were up with under two minutes (remaining). 

“Could we have won those games? Yeah. Okay. But I think the record is what the record is.”

Smith previously acknowledged that it was fair to ask questions about his future, considering where the program was at the end of Year 2. He said as much prior to Saturday’s win over Maryland.

“I think in this landscape of college football, what it is, that’s always a solid question,” Smith said of job security questions, especially for 2026. “Look across the country and (there are) changes and moving. That’s why I go back to understanding that each time you sign up (for) college coaching nowadays, it’s a week-to-week thing, and we’ve got another week to go do it.”