AUDIO BLOG: 1 Year Anniversary of Dantonio's Retirement || "Requiem for Mark Dantonio; Thank You"

Fatstacks

BLOG EAST LANSING, Mich. — October 2007. The rivalry was dead. Michigan had just won seven straight and 10 of the last 12 games against their in-state rival Michigan State when in the post game-presser following a 28-24 Wolverines victory in Spartan Stadium, Michigan’s Mike Hart called MSU Michigan’s “little brother”. Then Dantonio took to the podium and changed everything with one (kinda confusing) simple phrase: “The pride comes before the fall”. MSU would go on to win 8 of the next 11 games in the rivalry, turning the Spartans into Michigan’s older brother. Last Tuesday, Dantonio took to the podium once again, this time to announce his retirement before MSU’s basketball game later that night vs. Penn State. Having already announced his retirement via twitter earlier in the day, nothing out of the ordinary occurred at the press conference. Dantonio conducted the press conference the same way he coached on the sidelines: Composed, quiet, stern, and proud. He fought to remain stoic, holding back tears, while he received a barrage of questions regarding the timing of his retirement. The timing of his retirement was fishy, having just been given a $4.3 million bonus three weeks prior and a lawsuit from former staffer Curtis Blackwell earlier the same day. But Dantonio said the lawsuit had “zero relevance” in the timing of his announcement, admitting he had only made the decision a week prior when he typed his retirement letter on the way home from a recruiting trip. The lawsuit against Dantonio likely wouldn’t have ended in anything more than a settlement (see Memphis basketball for evidence on how the NCAA handles these issues) or the loss of a few scholarships, making the belief that “he retired because of the lawsuit” unlikely. The timely $4.3 million bonus he received just before retirement is also a non-issue to anyone within the MSU administration or fanbase. If he did decide to hold off the announcement until after he received the bonus, so what? If anyone deserved it, it was Dantonio. He’s the one who won 114 games in his career, made 11 bowl game appearances, won three Big Ten Titles, a Sugar Bowl, and a Rose Bowl for MSU. The same one who nearly died from a heart attack following his “Little Giants” victory over Notre Dame in September of 2010 and less than a month later was back on the sidelines leading MSU to an 11 win season. I always find it funny watching LeVeon Bell as a special teams player in this video. But despite his glowing resume, Dantonio still has his detractors. Throughout his career, he made a living recruiting less touted players and turning them into NFL draft picks. He also was known for giving players a “second chance” that might not have one otherwise. This backfired on him a few times, most notably when he went against his assistants’ advice and brought a recruit with a checkered past, Auston Robertson, to East Lansing… Only to have him kicked off the team shortly after for rape allegations. But for every Robertson, there are ten to twenty players who Dantonio helped mold into model citizens. But you don’t hear about those ones as much. Dantonio was also a fiercely loyal guy, sometimes to a fault. That’s what made it so difficult for Pat Narduzzi to leave his position as MSU’s Defensive Coordinator for the vacant Head Coaching position at Pittsburgh in December of 2014. He had followed Dantonio to East Lansing from Cincinnati and had coached with him for a long time (over 10 years) — A similarity almost all of Dantonio’s assistants had. So it came as no surprise as that when the Spartans had a 3-9 season in 2016 and a few lackluster years to follow, fans and media alike called for the heads of his coordinators — But Dantonio didn’t budge. (For the full blog go to fatstacks.blog)