MSU hires Minnesota DC Joe Rossi
44 year old. Seems to be well respected. Solid hire unfortunately.
December 10th, 2023 at 4:47 PM ^
Big ten west DC. Fools gold.
December 10th, 2023 at 4:59 PM ^
Also, he wasn't even that good there
December 10th, 2023 at 5:51 PM ^
Yeah, that's a pretty uninspiring hire if you're Sparty, but whatever.
December 10th, 2023 at 8:27 PM ^
They did have top 10 defenses in ‘19, ‘21 and ‘22. Schedule caveats apply, but I’d still say that’s pretty good.
December 10th, 2023 at 5:52 PM ^
Phil Parker says 'Hi'!
December 10th, 2023 at 6:31 PM ^
Did you watch our last game? Dude is legit.
December 10th, 2023 at 4:50 PM ^
That seems like a lateral move for Rossi
December 10th, 2023 at 5:17 PM ^
Not financially. MSU gave Smith a large budget for assistant salaries. This is his biggest hire and I bet it includes a significant raise that Fleck couldn't match.
December 10th, 2023 at 5:38 PM ^
If this is his big splash coordinator hire, I’m not confident they’re going to be lighting the world on fire anytime soon.
December 10th, 2023 at 5:59 PM ^
They can keep lighting themselves on fire tho.
They're basically a relegated team next year with Washington, Oregon, and USC coming next year.
December 10th, 2023 at 6:18 PM ^
I’m not confident they’re going to be lighting the world on fire anytime soon.
All the lighter fluid has already been used on their couches.
December 10th, 2023 at 6:47 PM ^
Big splash could mean high drama. And I know no one in East Lansing wants that right now.
December 10th, 2023 at 6:10 PM ^
Or he just got sick of working with Fleck
December 10th, 2023 at 6:25 PM ^
Yeah I think the wheels are coming off with Fleck.
December 10th, 2023 at 8:21 PM ^
Fleck has the best winning percentage of any Minnesota coach since 1950.
December 10th, 2023 at 8:58 PM ^
How many more .500 seasons until that’s no longer the case? Can’t hide behind a Big Ten West schedule anymore
December 10th, 2023 at 7:37 PM ^
Word is that Minnesota/Fleck was one of only a couple B1G schools that didn't join the OUTRAGE over in-person scouting. That makes me root for him. Sparty can repeatedly step on a rake, however. Sorry Smith--you're tainted by association.
December 10th, 2023 at 6:23 PM ^
Sparty can spend a little, but should never be at Michigan's level on anything related to football. Mork was so damn lucky that we fucked up and hired Rich Rod and Fred Flintstone - we opened up the door for them to run the state for a few years.
Little Brother is who they are, and if we do the right stuff - that is who they will always be. It is their destiny - the world needs ditch diggers too...
December 10th, 2023 at 6:35 PM ^
Little Brother is obviously not on our level, but as between Little Brother and Minny, Little Brother > Minny.
December 10th, 2023 at 7:33 PM ^
That doesn't have to be the case. Minnesota was once a national power (one of their most active message boards is named "7 national titles") but lately they can't seem to decide if they're serious about football or not. They went out and got Fleck, but he's been complaining about a lack of a budget and NIL support.
December 10th, 2023 at 8:32 PM ^
Strongly disagree. MSU’s program is a toxic cesspit right now. Minny is a far healthier program
December 10th, 2023 at 7:02 PM ^
So he goes from rowing the boat to a sinking boat, not sure that is a lateral.
December 10th, 2023 at 8:28 PM ^
Lateral? I’d say Minnesota’s program is WAY healthier than Sparty
December 10th, 2023 at 8:45 PM ^
Yes, but he might be concerned with how much longer they'll be rowing the boats in Minnesota.
December 10th, 2023 at 4:53 PM ^
Wasn’t particularly impressed with DC Rossi while at Minnesota. Not sure what to think at this moment
December 10th, 2023 at 5:26 PM ^
Rossi be like “already got a guilty conscience. Might as well have the money, too. Good day, now.”
December 10th, 2023 at 5:52 PM ^
Then you aren't impressed with this hire either.
December 10th, 2023 at 4:53 PM ^
Solid hire? Minnesota just gave up 52 to Michigan, 49 to Purdue, 37 to OSU, and 37 to Northwestern. Not sure they were very good at defense.
December 10th, 2023 at 4:54 PM ^
To be fair they had no talent at Minn last year. So expect similar results at MSU.
December 10th, 2023 at 6:26 PM ^
According to the preview on this site, they had some decent talent.
December 10th, 2023 at 6:37 PM ^
It was a difficult assignment for Minter, who was seeking to repair a program that endured a winless season under former coach Derek Mason. The Commodores finished 2-10 in 2021 while ranking 119th in scoring defense (35.8 points per game), 107th in rushing defense (193.1 yards per game), 114th in passing defense (264.3 yards per game) and 118th in total defense (457.3 yards per game).
Our own great DC didn’t exactly light it up in one year at Vanderbilt.
December 10th, 2023 at 8:22 PM ^
Mild step up in talent here from Vandy which will….<aughs hysterically> not be the case going from Minne to MSU.
also Minter stepped into us running the defense he already ran, which is rather complicated.
I’ll lose sleep over the is when MSU isn’t getting pantsed by everyone by a million
December 10th, 2023 at 8:37 PM ^
One season at a job doesn't tell us a lot about a coach. The DC is coaching players he didn't recruit. It's clear that Minter walked in a bad situation there.
Four years tells us much more. Rossi was coaching his own guys this season. For them to be this bad is not great, Bob.
December 10th, 2023 at 4:54 PM ^
On FEI (which, IMO, "normalizes" for B1G West defenses better than SP+ does, you don't see B1G West defenses rank universally as high) .........
Minnesota was 21st in D in 2021, 20th in 2022, and now 69th in 2023.
I know they lost a lot of talent, but that's a pretty big fall. Maybe it's just time for Rossi to make a change (or, maybe he's simply trying to tour the B1G. He was also Rutgers DC in 2014 & 2015).
December 10th, 2023 at 5:11 PM ^
To be fair, that ranking in 2023 is......nice!
December 10th, 2023 at 4:56 PM ^
This is Smith’s first assistant hire who has any significant experience recruiting the Midwest. I suppose it’s a good move from that standpoint alone - the entire rest of the staff has virtually zero experience recruiting East of the Mississippi.
December 10th, 2023 at 7:14 PM ^
Yes, and given that all the Detroit and Cincinnati and Pittsburgh recruits have definitely visited and love the Twin Cities, this will be a major plus! ;-)
December 10th, 2023 at 5:02 PM ^
Interesting..I am not really a fan of Fleck, understanding that is also a tough place to win consistantly..seems that program is regressing after he started out decent
December 10th, 2023 at 5:05 PM ^
He's got to get his game day outfit in order before he can succeed at anything
December 10th, 2023 at 5:10 PM ^
Yup..practice rowing and running between quarters as well
December 10th, 2023 at 7:21 PM ^
I will never understand the dislike towards Fleck here. He seems like someone who knows football and can coach, but being at Minnesota he will never get the talent. He also seems like a good human being.
December 10th, 2023 at 8:21 PM ^
Well a couple of years ago someone posted on here how he met his latest wife..from what I remember something like she sold him his car?? and he cheated on last wife with her
Never been fan of his but do appreciate him supposedly not being an asshole about the whole "sign" mess
December 10th, 2023 at 5:04 PM ^
On the Minnesota side, that's 4 times in 5 off-seasons a OC/DC left on his own accord, for the same job somewhere else:
- After 2019, OC Kirk Ciarrocca (to PSU).
- After 2021, OC Mike Sanford Jr (to Colorado, this is pre-Deion Colorado).
- After 2022, OC Kirk Ciarrocca (to Rutgers --- yeah, him again, Fleck hired him back after he lasted 1 year at PSU and spent 1 year as an Analyst at WVU).
- After 2023, DC Joe Rossi (to MSU).
That seems like a lot, given none of them were promotions (to HC) and they're not all necessarily higher schools on the CFB food chain. Maybe that says something about the overall health of that program?
December 10th, 2023 at 5:51 PM ^
It says PJ Fleck knows what he's doing, clearly. Or at least others think he does.
December 10th, 2023 at 5:09 PM ^
Upon further review, "Solid hire" is probably a bit generous. Saw he had some top 10 defenses, but that doesn't mean as much in the B1G west. Pretty rough 2023
December 10th, 2023 at 5:16 PM ^
MSU will be competently coached, probably. Good for them. That doesn't make them a threat. Maybe it will be nice to have reasonably competitive games that aren't driven by hate.
December 10th, 2023 at 5:30 PM ^
They'll still be driven by hate.
That's all they have going for them. They didn't hire new fans.
December 10th, 2023 at 5:31 PM ^
I’d rather we destroy them every year. They have no business being reasonably competitive in this rivalry.
December 10th, 2023 at 7:10 PM ^
I agree. If we have to play them every year -- and apparently we do -- then we should just nuke them into the sun every year. That way, we can forget them quickly and move on to something significant.