Former Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio is on the College Football Hall of Fame 2024 ballot. Dantonio is the winningest head coach in Michigan State history with a record of 114-57. Let’s look at the case of Coach D and the legend he was at MSU.

Mark Dantonio, MSU History

It was Mark Dantonio who turned around the MSU football program after years of frustrating seasons. On November 27, 2006, Dantonio was hired to become the new MSU football head coach. Bringing a terrific defensive mindset to the program to help win MSU football games Dantonio beat Michigan eight of the 12 times that they played in his tenure and beat the Wolverines a school record four times in a row from 2008 to 2011.

Beating his rivals wasn’t the only thing Dantonio accomplished as he led MSU to the 2010 Big Ten Championship. Then, in 2011, MSU went to the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game after winning their division. MSU won outright Big Ten Championships in 2013 and 2015, with wins in the Championship Games both those years. He also took Michigan State to the College Football Playoffs in 2015.

Mark Dantonio’s Greatest Moments

MSU would only miss making a bowl game once during the Dantonio era, and there were plenty of dramatic victories for Michigan State during that time. It was on Sept. 21, 2019, that Dantonio became Michigan State’s winningest head coach and achieved his 110th win to pass Duffy Daughtry. Coach D surprised many MSU fans when he announced his plan to step down as head coach on Feb. 4, 2020. Aside from his victories with Michigan State, he was the defensive coordinator for Ohio State during their 2002 National Championship.

Michigan State fans will never forget the things that he did for the football program and the university. It should be a no-brainer for the College Football Hall of Fame committee to vote him in when it’s time. Regardless of the outcome, Dantonio will be immortalized in Green and White lore forever.

Photo Credit: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press