- Mark Dantonio
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Mark Dantonio Sport(s) Football Current position Title Head coach Team Michigan State Conference Big Ten Record 42–21 Annual salary $1,800,000 Biographical details Born March 9, 1956 Place of birth El Paso, Texas Playing career 1976–1978 South Carolina Position(s) Defensive back Coaching career (HC unless noted) 1980
1981
1982
1983–1984
1985
1986–1990
1991–1994
1995–2000
2001–2003
2004–2006
2007–presentOhio (GA)
Purdue (GA)
Butler CC (DC)
Ohio State (GA)
Akron (DB)
Youngstown State (DC)
Kansas (DB)
Michigan State (DB)
Ohio State (DC)
Cincinnati
Michigan StateHead coaching record Overall 60–38 Bowls 1–4 Statistics College Football Data Warehouse Accomplishments and honors Championships 1 Big Ten (2010) Awards Big Ten Coach of the Year (2010) Mark Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is the current head football coach at Michigan State University. He was hired on November 27, 2006 and became the 24th head coach at Michigan State. He is credited for winning the 2010 Big Ten Championship and his 4 game win streak over arch-rival Michigan. Dantonio compiled an 18–17 overall record in his three years as the head coach of the University of Cincinnati including a win in the 2004 Fort Worth Bowl. Known as a defensive-minded coach, Dantonio has compiled a 42–21 record while at Michigan State, giving him a .667 winning percentage, the highest of any MSU coach since Clarence Munn. On October 8, 2011, Dantonio signed a contract extension that made him a "Spartan for life."[1]
Contents
Childhood and education
Dantonio grew up in Zanesville, Ohio and attended Zanesville High School. He was a three year letter winner at the University of South Carolina where he played defensive back from 1976 to 1978. After earning his bachelor’s degree from South Carolina, Dantonio moved on to Ohio University where he earned his master’s degree in education in 1980.
Early coaching career
Dantonio began his coaching career at Ohio University where he was a graduate assistant. In 1981, he made his first stop in the Big Ten when he moved on to Purdue as a graduate assistant. He spent two years in Columbus as a graduate assistant for Ohio State in 1983 and 1984 under then head coach Earle Bruce. In 1986, he began a five-year stint on Jim Tressel’s staff at Youngstown State as a defensive secondary coach. In 1990, Dantonio led the Penguins' defense to an 11–0 record and a #2 ranking nationally. Glen Mason hired Dantonio in 1991 to be the defensive secondary coach for the Kansas Jayhawks. When Nick Saban was hired at Michigan State in 1995, he hired Dantonio to join his staff in East Lansing where he remained even after Saban left for LSU. After Bobby Williams was named head coach in 1999 following Saban's departure, Dantonio was promoted to associate head coach where he remained through the 2000 season. Following the 2000 season, Dantonio was hired by new Ohio State University head coach Jim Tressel.
Defensive coordinator at Ohio State
In 2001, Dantonio reunited with his former Youngstown State boss and good friend Jim Tressel when he opted out of East Lansing to serve as defensive coordinator at Ohio State University for three seasons. His defense became known as one of the stingiest in the country. During the Buckeyes' 2002 National Championship season, Ohio State ranked second nationally in scoring defense and third in rushing defense. In the 2003 season his defense ranked number one in the country in rushing defense and ninth in total defense, which led the Buckeyes to an 11–2 record and #4 national ranking. Six Buckeye defenders were named first team All-Big Ten during Dantonio's tenure there and thirteen were drafted into the NFL, including two first round picks in Chris Gamble and Will Smith.
Head coach at Cincinnati
Dantonio was named head coach at Cincinnati on December 23, 2003. He became the first head coach in 23 years to lead the school to a winning season in his first season at UC. The Bearcats' 7–5 record included a 5–3 record in Conference USA, which was good enough for a second place finish. The Bearcats finished the season on a winning note with a 32–14 win over Marshall in the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl. During Dantonio’s time at UC, he led the Bearcats to a bowl game victory and directed the team's transition into the Big East Conference. As head coach, Dantonio had fifteen players earn all-conference honors and twenty-five received conference academic recognition.
Head coach at Michigan State
Mark Dantonio became the 24th head coach at Michigan State on November 27, 2006. Upon his arrival, Dantonio planned to return MSU to a more traditional philosophy on offense and defense, eliminating the spread offense and the "bandit" linebacker/safety position used under previous head coach John L. Smith.[2]
Dantonio began his MSU career well at Spartan Stadium when on April 21, 2007 Michigan State drew over 25,000 fans to watch the team's spring scrimmage game. The white team led by sophomore quarterback Connor Dixon defeated junior quarterback Brian Hoyer and the green team by a score of 21–8. During the game, Dantonio was seen behind the line of scrimmage watching and coaching the action.[3]
Dantonio won his first game at Michigan State on September 1, 2007, when the Spartans defeated the UAB Blazers, 55–18.[4] His first season at Michigan State was the school's most successful since 2003. Dantonio's Spartans went 7–5, losing all five games by seven points or less, and were bowl eligible for the first time in four years. However, the Spartans lost to Boston College in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando on December 28.[5]
Dantonio's second season at MSU began with a loss at Cal, after which the Spartans came home and won six straight games against Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Notre Dame, Indiana, Iowa, and Northwestern. The victories propelled Michigan State into the top 25. Following a lopsided 45–7 loss against the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Spartans beat Michigan, 35–21, in Ann Arbor for the first time since 1990. Michigan State won its final two home games against Wisconsin and Purdue before losing to Penn State in Happy Valley. A win against Penn State would have resulted in Michigan State splitting the Big Ten Conference title with Ohio State. The nine regular season wins was Michigan State's most since 1999. Michigan State finished third in the conference and was invited to play Georgia in the Capital One Bowl. Michigan State lost the game, 24–12, finishing the season 9–4.
The third season for Dantonio (2009) was mixed in terms of performance and off-the-field issues. The team lost five games (Central Michigan, @ Notre Dame, Iowa, @ Minnesota, Texas Tech) where they held the lead in the fourth quarter, leading to a disappointing 6-7 record on the season.
On September 19, 2010, just hours after a stunning fake field goal touchdown pass gave MSU a 34-31 overtime victory over Notre Dame, Dantonio checked himself into the hospital after noticing chest pains. He later suffered a heart attack. He had a stent put in a blocked artery near his heart. His doctor stated the damage was minimal and expected him to make a full recovery. Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell became acting head coach while Dantonio recovered.
On September 30, 2010, after Mark Dantonio had stated he would be coaching the next game from the press box and just two days before Michigan State played Wisconsin, Dantonio was admitted back into the hospital as a blood clot was found in his leg. Dantonio did not coach the game but rather watched the game from his hospital room. He was reportedly released from Sparrow Hospital around noon on October 4, 2010. On October 9, 2010, Dantonio coached his first game since his heart attack against rival Michigan. Michigan State won the game, 34–17, in Ann Arbor.
The Spartans under Dantonio continued to win and on November 20, 2010 reached 10-1 on the season, setting the record for most wins (32) by a senior class, as well as winning all home games for the first time during his tenure. It is just the third time in school history that Michigan State has won 10 or more games in a season, the other two seasons being 1965 and 1999. On November 27, 2010, Mark Dantonio's Spartans defeated Penn State 28-22 in Happy Valley, to finish the season 11-1 and clinch a share of the Big Ten Championship for the first time since 1990. On December 5, 2010, MSU announced that the Spartans were selected to play in the Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2011 against Alabama (number 15 in the BCS standings).[6] The Spartans lost 49-7 and finished the season 11-2.
Coaching tree
Two of Dantonio's former assistants are currently head coaches at other schools:
Notable quotes
- "I find a lot of the things they do amusing. They need to check themselves sometimes. But just remember, pride comes before the fall... This game is an important game. So they want to mock us all they want to mock us, I'm telling them: it's not over. So they can print that crap all they want all over their lockerroom. It's not over. It'll never be over here. It's just starting... I'm going to be a coach here for a long time. It's not over. It's just starting." (Regarding arch-rival Michigan. Dantonio would later lead his MSU program to four straight wins over the Wolverines.)[7]
- "We came here with an idea that we were going to have to weather the storm or be the storm." (Before a 37-21 victory over Iowa, the Spartans' first win at Kinnick Stadium since 1989.[8]
- "Winner take all."
Head coaching record
Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP° Cincinnati Bearcats (Conference USA) (2004) 2004 Cincinnati 7–5 5–3 2nd W Fort Worth Cincinnati Bearcats (Big East Conference) (2005–2006) 2005 Cincinnati 4–7 2–5 6th 2006 Cincinnati 7–5 4–3 4th International* Cincinnati: 18–17 11–11 *Departed Cincinnati for Michigan State before the Bowl Michigan State Spartans (Big Ten Conference) (2007–present) 2007 Michigan State 7–6 3–5 T–7th L Champs Sports 2008 Michigan State 9–4 6–2 3rd L Capital One 24 24 2009 Michigan State 6–7 4–4 T–6th L Alamo 2010 Michigan State 11–2 7–1 T–1st L Capital One 14 14 2011 Michigan State 9–2 6–1 (Legends) 12 12 Michigan State: 42–21 26–13 Total: 60–38 National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll.
°Rankings from final AP Poll.References
- ^ http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7075489/new-contract-michigan-state-spartans-coach-mark-dantonio-makes-spartan-life
- ^ Rexrode, Joe. "Inside the Deal". Lansing State Journal. November 28, 2006. http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006611280334 Accessed March 13, 2007
- ^ Associated Press. "Dantonio presides over first spring game as Michigan State coach". Sporting News. April 21, 2007. http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=199429 Accessed July 10, 2007
- ^ Associated Press. "Spartans 55, Blazers 18." ESPN. September 1, 2007 http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=272440127
- ^ Associated Press. "Ryan, Gunnell help BC extend bowl winning streak to eight". ESPN. December 28, 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=273620127
- ^ Press Conference. "Big Ten Champions Accept Invitation from Capital One Bowl" "Michigan State Spartans" East Lansing, 5 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-5.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3PKMzD5ogo
- ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/gameflash/2011/11/12/47968/index.html
External links
Cincinnati Bearcats head football coaches No coach (1885–1893) • W. Durant Berry (1894–1895) • William A. Reynolds (1896) • Tom Fennell (1897) • Frank Cavanaugh (1898) • Daniel A. Reed (1899–1900) • Henry S. Pratt (1901) • Anthony Chez (1902–1903) • Amos Foster (1904–1905) • William Foley (1906) • No team (1907) • Ralph Inott (1908) • Robert Burch (1909–1911) • Lowell Dana (1912–1913) • George Little (1914–1915) • Ion Cortright (1916) • Frank Marty (1917) • Boyd Chambers (1918–1921) • George McLaren (1922–1926) • George Babcock (1927–1930) • Dana M. King (1931–1934) • Russ Cohen (1935–1937) • Wade Woodworth # (1937) • Joe Meyer (1938–1942) • No team (1943–1944) • Ray Nolting (1945–1948) • Sid Gillman (1949–1954) • George Blackburn (1955–1960) • Chuck Studley (1961–1966) • Homer Rice (1967–1968) • Ray Callahan (1969–1972) • Tony Mason (1973–1976) • Ralph Staub (1977–1980) • Mike Gottfried (1981–1982) • Watson Brown (1983) • Dave Currey (1984–1988) • Tim Murphy (1989–1993) • Rick Minter (1994–2003) • Mark Dantonio (2004–2006) • Brian Kelly (2006–2009) • Jeff Quinn # (2009) • Butch Jones (2010– )
Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.Michigan State Spartans head football coaches Henry Keep (1897–1898) • Charles Bemies (1899–1900) • George Denman (1901–1902) • Chester Brewer (1903–1910) • John Macklin (1911–1915) • Frank Sommers (1916) • Chester Brewer (1917) • George Gauthier (1918) • Chester Brewer (1919) • George Clark (1920) • Albert Barron (1921–1922) • Ralph Young (1923–1927) • Harry G. Kipke (1928) • Jim Crowley (1929–1932) • Charlie Bachman (1933–1946) • Clarence Munn (1947–1953) • Duffy Daugherty (1954–1972) • Denny Stolz (1973–1975) • Darryl Rogers (1976–1979) • Muddy Waters (1980–1982) • George Perles (1983–1994) • Nick Saban (1995–1999) • Bobby Williams (2000–2002) • Morris Watts # (2002) • John L. Smith (2003–2006) • Mark Dantonio (2007– )
Pound sign (#) denotes interim coach.Current head football coaches of the Big Ten Conference Legends Division Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) • Brady Hoke (Michigan) • Mark Dantonio (Michigan State) • Jerry Kill (Minnesota) • Bo Pelini (Nebraska) • Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern)
Leaders Division Ron Zook (Illinois) • Kevin Wilson (Indiana) • Luke Fickell (Ohio State) • Tom Bradley (Penn State) • Danny Hope (Purdue) • Bret Bielema (Wisconsin)
Ohio State Buckeyes Football 2002 Consensus National Champions Will Allen | Tim Anderson | Bobby Carpenter | Drew Carter | Maurice Clarett | Bam Childress | Adrien Clarke | Doug Datish | Mike Doss | Tyler Everett | Dustin Fox | Chris Gamble | Cie Grant | Marcus Green | Andy Groom | Roy Hall | Ben Hartsock | A. J. Hawk | Santonio Holmes | Josh Huston | Michael Jenkins | Craig Krenzel | Nick Mangold | Brandon Mitchell | Donnie Nickey | Mike Nugent | Shane Olivea | Kenny Peterson | Quinn Pitcock | Robert Reynolds | Jay Richardson | Nate Salley | B. J. Sander | Darrion Scott | Rob Sims | Antonio Smith | Troy Smith | Will Smith | Alex Stepanovich | E. J. Underwood | Matt Wilhelm | Justin Zwick
Head Coach Jim Tressel
Coaches Jim Bollman | Mark Dantonio | Mark Snyder | Jim Heacock | Tim Spencer | Mel TuckerCategories:- 1956 births
- Living people
- American football defensive backs
- Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches
- Kansas Jayhawks football coaches
- Michigan State Spartans football coaches
- Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches
- South Carolina Gamecocks football players
- Youngstown State Penguins football coaches
- Junior college football coaches in the United States
- People from El Paso, Texas
- People from Zanesville, Ohio
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