Michigan State football: 5 potential replacements for Mark Dantonio

1. Pat Narduzzi, Pitt head coach

Narduzzi is in his fifth season as head coach at Pitt, with a 4-2 record this season, a 32-26 overall mark and three bowl game trips in his four full seasons.

Prior to taking the job at Pitt, Narduzzi was defensive coordinator under Dantonio at Michigan State from 2007-2014. As the heat ramped up under Dantonio a couple of years ago, coming off a 3-9 season in 2016 and in the wake of player exits due to a variety of circumstances, Pete Thamel of Yahoo! pointed to Narduzzi as a top target to step in.

"It’d be foolish to cast Dantonio as being squarely on the hot seat for 2017. But it would be equally naïve to believe that Michigan State administrators don’t need to see drastically different results on and off the field to have the same support for Dantonio after this season. Lukewarm can simmer quickly to hot. And don’t think for a second that MSU brass isn’t aware of the job former defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi is doing at Pittsburgh. He’d clearly be their top target to replace Dantonio."

Michigan State rebounded and won 10 games in 2017, to ease the pressure on Dantonio in a broad sense. But with this year’s struggles against good teams, the heat is back on. In that piece over two years ago, Thamel pointed to a retention bonus that Dantonio is now on the doorstep of getting, with a prediction that may stand as prescient.

"Dantonio is slated to receive a $4.3 million retention bonus if he stays at Michigan State through Jan. 15, 2020. If I were a betting man, my money would be that Dantonio isn’t still on the Spartan sideline to collect that bonus."

Narduzzi has surfaced as a rumored candidate for the job opening at Rutgers, which he was, of course, quick to dismiss after Chris Ash was fired. But Michigan State would surely be a different case for him to consider a move. Any buzz attached to Narduzzi as the front-runner to succeed Dantonio, when or however that move happens, is not going away.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.