Will MSU fire Jonathan Smith? Assessing, predicting his future with the Spartans

Will Sunday be the final day for Jonathan Smith at Michigan State? We should hopefully finally know within the next 24 hours whether the Spartans are going to retain Smith for a third year or move on now that the season is officially over.

For the first time in over two months, Michigan State football picked up a victory this weekend -- earning a thrilling win over lousy Maryland from a mostly empty Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the game, a victory for the Spartans was much needed to at least end this dreadful season on a high note. But, now, things are about to get serious.

Ever since Michigan State lost to UCLA in early October, there has been chatter on the future of Smith and whether or not he'll be leading the Spartans next season. Here at Spartans Wire, we have speculated, predicted, and really just guessed what could happen, but now, we should finally get an answer on what is next for Smith. Of course, I will wrap up this article with a prediction on Smith's fate at Michigan State, but by this time tomorrow, we should hopefully know the plan for the Spartans moving forward.

So, without further ado, let's break down the latest status on Smith and whether or not I believe he'll be back for another year as the Spartans' head coach.

Thoughts on Saturday's performance

Michigan State finally won a game, so obviously that is a feather in the cap for Smith and his staff. It was honestly a long time coming as the Spartans should have beaten Minnesota and Iowa within the last few weeks, but failed to close out those games.

The first half was impressive for the Spartans but the second half was yet another disappointing performance as Michigan State continues to struggle in the second half under Smith. But, they made enough plays down the stretch to get the win and that is big for Michigan State. I'm not confident that it makes a difference in Smith's fate (more on that below), but it's still important for the program to get this win.

Where things overall stand with Smith

A miserable second year under Smith is officially over, with the Spartans failing to build off where things ended last season and actually going backwards. But at least things ended on a high note on Saturday in the Motor City.

This was a really bad year for the Spartans and Smith. There is no sugarcoating it here. There was juice and momentum building in the offseason thanks to some big recruiting wins. Combine that with a fast 3-0 start to the year and many (including myself) were believing Smith had this thing on the right track. But then s**t hit the fan and the Spartans went on a collapse that I never could have expected.

With the win over Maryland on Saturday, Smith is 9-15 in his two seasons at Michigan State (not taking into account the "vacated" wins), and he won one less game in his second year. So the Spartans took a step backwards this year, and there's reason to have doubts in Smith's plan moving forward. There are certainly signs to believe in the staff and the culture that he's built, but wins and losses are what ultimately determine your success and he failed this year. Now, the question is whether that failure is enough to make a change or will he get another chance to right the ship.

Predicting Smith's future at Michigan State

It's hard to truly know where athletic director J Batt's head is at right now, because it has felt like a decision on Smith's fate could have been made weeks ago. At least since they lost to Penn State two weeks ago and were officially out of contention for a bowl game. So how do you even predict the unpredictable? That's the million dollar -- well 30-plus million dollar -- question.

I don't believe Saturday's result against Maryland will have any impact on Batt's decision on Smith, and I have felt that all week. That didn't change after what we saw on Saturday night at Ford Field. So with that being said, my gut feeling is that Smith is going to be back for a third season next year. Why do I think he'll be back? Well, it would have been easy to let him go already, but that never came. Then, there's the fact that the Spartans never quit on this coaching staff, which bodes well for what Smith has built as far as culture.

If Smith is retained, I could see a path forward for Michigan State to get things back on track. Coaching staff changes will be needed and they'll need to get the donor buy-in to go deep sea fishing in the portal, but I wouldn't hate that they brought him back if those two things happened. What I will hate, though, is that Batt never came out earlier to support Smith and state he's returning so Michigan State could truly start preparing for next year without being in limbo. That will be a big red mark against Batt as I have to believe he made up his mind on Smith before this final week.

If Smith is let go, then I won't be surprised and will be excited for what could come with a new coaching staff next year. This would be the option that will generate more buzz for the program but buzz doesn't always translate to success on the field so this isn't necessarily the home run move many fans think it is.

Either way, we better know by the end of this weekend what is next for Smith and the Spartans. This can not be dragged out any further -- now is the time a decision should be made. My guess is that he'll be back next year, but we better find out either way on Sunday.

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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Will MSU fire Jonathan Smith? Assessing, predicting his future with Spartans