Similarly to Alan Haller’s search for the next football coach, which was tight lipped and ultimately led to the hire of Jonathan Smith, Smith’s defensive coordinator hire has been very ‘hush hush’ and close to the vest.
The clock is ticking for Smith to make a hire as the transfer portal is going crazy, along with early signing day being just under two weeks away.
Naturally, the list of defensive coordinator candidates has definitely shrunk and Smith will be honing in on some specific candidates as he will look to lock-in his defensive staff as the big recruiting month rolls along.
Let’s take a look, based on some educated guessing and intel from sourcing Spartans Wire has obtained, at which five candidates could be on Smith’s shortlist:
Jimmy Lake (LA Rams AHC)
Jimmy Lake and Jonathan Smith have a lot of overlap in their coaching careers and it is no secret to anyone around the program and fan base that Lake is a candidate for the position. Lake has had a very successful run as a defensive coach at Washington and Boise State in his career.
Lake wanting to stay in the NFL could be a hang-up, as well as the timing, but he is definitely a name to look out for.
Joe Rossi (Minnesota DC)
A name that is picking up a lot of steam in MSU circles is Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. A former defensive coordinator at Maine and Rutgers, Rossi has been at Minnesota since 2017. He has been the defensive coordinator since 2019.
In his time at DC, Rossi’s defense’s were highlighted by being the No. 6 unit in 2021 and the No. 4 unit in 2022. A lot of Midwest ties, Rossi is a name to keep a look out for.
Demetrice Martin (Oregon DB/PGC)
Former Spartan and current Oregon defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Demetrice Martin is worthy of getting a call from Smith and I think he has.
Johnny Nansen (Arizona DC)
Nansen has been a part of the huge, successful rebuild that Arizona is undergoing. Nansen and Smith are two guys that are very familiar with one another, and they have some overlap in their careers.
Chad Wilt (Indiana DC)
A sneaky candidate that is looking for a job that could be in contention for the job in East Lansing is Indiana defensive coordinator Chad Wilt. Wilt was the DC and LB coach at IU in 2022 and 2023. Of note, he has experience working at Minnesota, Maryland, Cincinnati and Virginia as well.
