If Dantonio retires, what’s an honest assessment of his legacy?
So now that Spartan fans are giving MD the Brady Hoke treatment and want him run out of town immediately, it’s a good time to assess his legacy.
A very interesting career. Kind of blah in the beginning and end years, with a dominant 6 year stretch in the middle. He took advantage of UM and Penn St being down, but still deserves credit for getting guys to play above their recruiting rankings. I think what will hurt him the most is that it looks like the program is in worse shape now then when he took it over.
In terms of how he performed vs UM, 8-5 is probably better than any MSU coach will ever hope to achieve again. But I think he was given a little too much credit for his success vs Michigan. He went 6-1 vs Hoke and Rich Rod. A lot of teams beat Hoke and Rich Rod on the regular. He was very fortunate not to be 0-6 vs Carr/Harbaugh.
Overall, the past 4 years have made his comments about pride coming before the fall a little ironic. A man who was a god in East Lansing is now talked about like we talked about Brady Hoke, an embarrassment. And at least Hoke never had the ongoing string of off field controversies like Dantonio has had. I think he goes down as a coach who had a very strong 6 year run, way overachieved in some fortunate circumstances, and leaves a reputation as being a lax disciplinarian with teams that embrace thuggery. Not exactly statue worthy in my opinion. What’s your take?
November 17th, 2019 at 9:03 PM ^
he's alright
November 17th, 2019 at 9:07 PM ^
Nah, he’s a piece of shit.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:44 PM ^
lol, touché
November 17th, 2019 at 9:57 PM ^
Screw Bark Pooponio!
November 17th, 2019 at 9:03 PM ^
Record against Hoke/RichRod: 6-1
Record against Carr/Harbaugh: 2-4
I think that sums up his career perfectly
November 17th, 2019 at 9:16 PM ^
Record against Carr and Harbaugh is 2-5
November 17th, 2019 at 9:37 PM ^
Show your math.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:38 PM ^
2-4, he lost to Carr in 2007 and is 2-3 vs. Harbaugh.
Those 2 wins are 2 of the luckiest wins ever, a miracle botched punt and a monsoon with JOK at QB, he should be 0-6 quite frankly.
November 17th, 2019 at 10:09 PM ^
Oh yea. Dammit I forgot Hoke won one. Me a dumb dumb
November 17th, 2019 at 9:04 PM ^
Nanu Nanu
November 17th, 2019 at 9:05 PM ^
If I had to bet, I’d wager that MSU fans will be clamoring for MD’s glory years for a long time to come. I doubt he rises to the level of getting a statute or a building named after him, but it’s likely the he’s the best MSU fans will get for a long time. Maybe I’m wrong and they get the next Nick Saban and he doesn’t bolt. What do I know lol
November 17th, 2019 at 9:17 PM ^
You never want a statute named after you.
Dantonio’s Law: He Who Croweth About Pride Doth Fall the Furthest?
November 17th, 2019 at 9:47 PM ^
Pride comes before the fall, because then during the autumn comes the embarrassment.
November 17th, 2019 at 11:36 PM ^
If he doesn’t get a statue or building eventually, I will be shocked.
November 18th, 2019 at 2:19 AM ^
I hope they use the same statue artist they did for this one
(BTW I didn't know Morgan Freeman played basketball at MSU)
November 18th, 2019 at 7:11 AM ^
You mean the kind of clamoring that Spartan fans would deny Michigan fans for when things were at their best for MSU? Michigan pointing to overall records and recent accomplishments only got met with jibes of, "Michigan fans just live in the past"!
Now MSU fans want to throw Dantonio's glory years in our face? Without even factoring in some kind of context about whey they might have been so good? Request denied. You're a shitty football program. You're shitty people. Live in the now and accept your shame.
Sparty may have won a few battles, but we won the war. Deal with it.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:07 PM ^
Like Perles before him, he will be remembered as one of MSUs best coaches....due to cheating and coverups. Nick Saban himself couldnt win at MSU. The only way MSU can compete on par with the big boys is to cheat.
November 17th, 2019 at 11:51 PM ^
....and Joe Bachie says don't forget about the 'roids!!!
November 17th, 2019 at 9:08 PM ^
For those that are too young to remember. This is what the rivalry is s’posed to be like.
November 17th, 2019 at 10:03 PM ^
I’m old enough to remember Bo went 17-3.
November 17th, 2019 at 10:36 PM ^
17-4. He lost in '69 (and was accused of "not understanding the rivalry") and then really emphasized it thereafter and only lost three more times.
November 18th, 2019 at 8:49 AM ^
This is new territory for us.
November 18th, 2019 at 8:49 AM ^
This is new territory for us.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:08 PM ^
Three big ten titles, two divisional titles, one playoff, winning record against Michigan, falloff at end of career, supported corrupt culture in EL
November 17th, 2019 at 9:34 PM ^
I dislike him intensely but so far he has two more division titles than we do, one more playoff appearance than we do and a winning record against his bitterest rival while we still search for our first win.
He may be a total dick but give the devil his due, he's accomplished more than we have on the football field with Harbaugh so far.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:41 PM ^
mgrowold: I love your sage posts and tend to read them in the voice and pace of Sam Elliot.
November 17th, 2019 at 10:56 PM ^
I don't.
Instead, I find myself reading them in the singing voice and pace of Mama Cass Elliott.
November 18th, 2019 at 5:44 AM ^
So, the goal that STAEE had of playing in the Rose Bowl turned out to be California Dreamin'?
I'll show myself out ...
November 18th, 2019 at 7:38 AM ^
Mama Cass had a helluva set of pipes ...
November 17th, 2019 at 9:45 PM ^
I wonder how well M would do while OSU & MSU are in the crapper at the same time (cough 2008-2014 PSU, M cough)
November 17th, 2019 at 11:06 PM ^
You need some tussin’
November 18th, 2019 at 2:12 AM ^
You do realize MSU is still in the same conference as OSU, right?
So the better analogy would be how well M would do if MSU and PSU were down and OSU was still up as always. Dantonio has some great wins against the Buckeyes that we'd kill to have.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:46 PM ^
Some things that Harbaugh hasn't done yet, true - but Harbaugh still (likely) has a few years left here.
He's also gotten his achievements cleanly (morally & legally), which is something that Dantonio can't honestly claim (along with a few lesser program milestones not worth elaborating just now).
November 17th, 2019 at 10:54 PM ^
He's also gotten his achievements cleanly (morally & legally), which is something that Dantonio can't honestly claim
Right... but there's no asterisk by Dantonio's record stating as such. His numbers are solid; that's what his legacy will be. Unfortunately.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:53 PM ^
I don't even know that he's a total dick, or the devil. He took full advantage of the cards he was holding though.
Then the good hands stopped being dealt.
If Michigan held those good cards, can't even imagine what might have been.
November 17th, 2019 at 11:18 PM ^
I don't even know that he's a total dick
Well, the guy mocked Mike Hart's height, he's consistently rude to our stadium staff for no apparent reason whenever they come to Ann Arbor (ask John U. Bacon), and he taunted our fans and his assistants taunted Sarah Harbaugh after the 2015 game.
And that's not getting into all the other fun stuff like his willingness to play guys the week they get released from jail...
November 17th, 2019 at 10:25 PM ^
Very true, but he did well against Michigan at it's worst stretch, while Harbaugh faces OSU at arguably it's best stretch ever.
November 17th, 2019 at 11:23 PM ^
Unfortunately this is the reality of it. Also the reality:
leaves a reputation as being a lax disciplinarian with teams that embrace thuggery.
this is also true to everyone on the outside. You can ask any staee fan and even the ones that want him gone would never admit to this statement. And if they did, they’d be proud of it, not ashamed.
November 18th, 2019 at 7:52 AM ^
He accomplished more in an arguably easier competitive environment. Ultimately, he won the state but he couldn't keep the state, and that should be the essence of his legacy. Great coaches don't leave the program they built in worse shape than how they found it.
November 18th, 2019 at 5:26 AM ^
If michigan could get half the luck staee got in games, michigan would have a big ten title and playoff birth(2016)
November 17th, 2019 at 9:09 PM ^
He would have been gone ten years ago if not for the fact that he benefitted from the RR/Hoke eras,
That, and the fact that he's a dick.
Deserving of his nickname: Dildodio.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:09 PM ^
The best there was and ever will be
November 17th, 2019 at 10:23 PM ^
I thought that was Roy Hobbs
November 17th, 2019 at 9:09 PM ^
Piece of shit person, really good coach
November 17th, 2019 at 9:23 PM ^
Really good coaches don’t go 3-9,
or allow their players to take constant cheap shots throughout their coaching career.
or... cover up rape for their players.
He is not a really good coach or even a good coach in my opinion.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:34 PM ^
Izzy says hold my beer.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:10 PM ^
He gave them a 6 year stretch where they were nationally relevant (albeit aided by division rivals going through turmoil). He leaves the program in the same situation he inherited it as.
Honest assessment is he gave MSU half a decade of success they’ll probably never experience again and now leaves them back to where they were. A middling B1G team that is prone to hilarious gaffes, and an occasional win over a big team every 2-3 years. They are basically now Iowa without Kinnick and in a harder division.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:21 PM ^
Wow you nailed it.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:11 PM ^
Fuck Mork Dantini.
November 17th, 2019 at 9:13 PM ^
He was a good coach for them. Sucked at teaching the important things in life, like staying out of a court room. But football wise, he was fine. He beat our worst head coaches.