Michigan State is still without a head coach after being turned down by Luke Fickell yesterday, however, Drew Stanton has his guy in mind.
The former Michigan State quarterback stated publically that his former coach in East Lansing Jim McElwain would be a “great hire” to replace Mark Dantonio to abruptly retired last week.
“I loved him,” Stanton told The Detroit News on Monday. “He was charismatic, a guy that bought into the players and someone people wanted to play for. I was somewhat heartbroken my senior year because him and (quarterbacks coach Doug) Nussmeier left at the same time and there was talk of Coach McElwain becoming the quarterbacks coach and I was all for it, but it didn’t work out.
“He was one of those guys that found a way to relate to everybody in the locker room and had that ability to do so in special teams. I had no intention of playing special teams my redshirt freshman year, but at the end of the year I was playing all four because I’d do anything for that guy.”
Not that we’re publically making that same endorsement as Stanton but McElwain has had plenty of success at many of his coaching stops throughout his career. He’s won multiple coaching of the year awards including the MAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Chips to an 8-4 record and a trip to the MAC Championship game where he, unfortunately, lost to Miami at Ford Field. However, his success in Mt. Pleasant came on the heels of taking over a 1-11 program which could come in handy considering the assumed current mess the Michigan State football team is in. McElwain also has connections in SEC country having spent time at Florida and Alabama.
Our question to Stanton though would be when he may end up taking on coaching and if HE would be interested in a job at Michigan State?
