Kansas football: Michigan State finally has their guy, and it isn’t Lance Leipold

The rumors of Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold being a candidate for the vacant Michigan State head coaching position should be put to rest in the next few days.

Over the course of the 2023 season, there have been persistent rumors that Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold was a top candidate for the Michigan State job — even after he stated his unwavering loyalty to KU. However, it appears the Spartans have found a new man to lead them for the coming years.

According to countless media outlets, Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith has emerged as the leading target for MSU. It is all but a done deal at this point. They have been looking for a Mel Tucker replacement ever since he was fired for sexual misconduct allegations.

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated writes: “With both regular seasons concluded, the Michigan State search is expected to move quickly from this point and could be concluded this weekend.”

A starting quarterback with the Beavers from 1999 to 2001, Smith has guided his former university to tremendous success since he arrived at Corvallis in 2018. He has guided OSU to three consecutive bowl games and a top-20 finish in the CFP rankings in the last two seasons.

Leipold and Smith have built their respective programs from the bottom up. Oregon State, like Kansas, had not enjoyed consistent football success for over a decade, and both coaches have brought the schools back to prosperity.

It is a very unfortunate situation for Oregon State. Smith is just 44 years old and could have done some special things with his alma mater. However, MSU has much more money to offer, and the Beaver head coaching position could be difficult to fill with uncertainty regarding their stance in conference realignment.

Lance Leipold has been mentioned in other head coaching searches such as Texas A&M, but Kansas football fans can officially take a big sigh of relief in knowing that he can’t bolt for the Big Ten school anymore.