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To adapt to the Michigan State football culture, new coach Pat Fitzgerald had to call upon an East Lansing legend to show him the ropes.
Since returning to college football last winter, Fitzgerald has not only had to reconnect with the Big Ten but also with himself, remembering that his legacy could still be written the way he wants.
In a new interview with the Big Ten Network, Fitzgerald unpacked the impact former Spartans coach Mark Dantonio has had on him thus far, now that they are colleagues rather than coaches on different teams.
"Toughness was born in East Lansing, and Coach D embodied it, and so did his teams," Fitzgerald said. “That's not only physically, but also mentally. I mean, those teams were resilient; they fought, they battled.”
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The Spartans have not had consistent success in recent years, but Fitzgerald said his team isn’t too far away from returning to relevance.
"J [Batt] is not going to hide and shy away from it," Fitzgerald said. "We want to be back to being a top-10 athletic department, and the football program getting back to where it was with Coach D and a multitude of other coaches; that's what we need to get back to."
Fitzgerald said his ultimate goal is to win a Big Ten title, even if it takes a bit of time. Fitzgerald said he has been influenced by Dantonio’s presence, having direct experience winning conference titles in the past.
"He's been in the building multiple times,” Fitzgerald said of Dantonio. “He's gonna be every bit a part of what we're trying to build, and he's got the blueprint. He had us in the Final Four not too long ago [during the 2015 season]. As long as he wants to come around, he's always welcome. It's his house, and we're just here to make sure he's proud of it."
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The Fitzgerald era will open at home Sept. 4 vs. Toledo on FS1.
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