Michigan State football: 5 potential replacements for Mark Dantonio

EAST LANSING, MI - SEPTEMBER 28: Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio paces the field during warm ups prior to a college football game between the Michigan State Spartans and Indiana Hoosiers on September 28, 2019 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, MI. (Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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Mandatory Credit: David Purdy/Getty Images /

2. Matt Campbell, Iowa State head coach

Campbell has orchestrated a nice turnaround in Ames, with eight wins in 2017 and 2018 and a 4-2 mark this season after Saturday’s win over West Virginia. He has become an easily tabbed candidate for bigger jobs, including looks from the NFL (New York Jets and Cleveland Browns) after last season. Going back to his time as head coach at Toledo, Campbell has a .617 win percentage (58-36).

Any talk of a coach moving has to start with acknowledging contracts and buyouts. Campbell is under contract at Iowa State through 2023, with a $3.5 million salary this year and a $6 million buyout. Dantonio got the annual rollover in his contract back in February, according to the Detroit Free Press, and he’s now extended through 2025. Without knowing Dantonio’s buyout if he’s fired, assuming it can’t be done with cause due to the recruitment of a player with a troubling history and a lawsuit now attached to it, Michigan State could be laying out a lot of money to move on and get a new football coach.

But based strictly on his merits, including the ability to cultivate talent that has moved on the NFL at smaller schools, Campbell has to be on Michigan State’s list of options to replace Dantonio (under the assumption they are forming one). The bigger questions are if he wants to leave Iowa State and more specifically what job or jobs he would consider leaving for.

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