Opportunity in front of Harlon Barnett as Michigan State interim head coach

Most of, if not all, the talk involved with Michigan State football will be focused on off-the-field issues in the near future. But the Spartans still have 10 games, plus a potential bowl game, to play during the 2023 season. Harlon Barnett has taken over as interim head coach, while Mark Dantonio will be involved in some capacity as well.

Barnett is someone with a lot of experience in East Lansing. He was an assistant for Dantonio for a decade, serving as the DB coach and eventually, the co-defensive coordinator. But when Willie Taggart took the Florida State job, Barnett left to become the DC with the intention of taking the next step of his coaching career.

Things did not exactly go according to plan.

“This is his best chance in some ways,” Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal said during Monday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “He’s always wanted this. He’s wanted to be a head coach. I believe that when he went to Florida State to be the defensive coordinator, the hope from Mark Dantonio and him was that it would go well down there. And then when Mark Dantonio retired, (Barnett) would be a natural heir apparent.”

Florida State gave up an average of 31.5 points per game in 2018 and followed it up with 27.8 points during the 2019 season. Sure, it’s an improvement but Taggart was fired shortly after with the program being in a disastrous place. Barnett was not retained by Mike Norvell and rejoined Mel Tucker‘s stuff for the 2020 season.

There is clearly a lot of respect for Barnett in the Michigan State program. And with how the Tucker situation is unfolding, the Spartans are going to be in search of a new head coach in the future. Barnett will have 10 games to prove himself as Tucker’s worthy replacement.

Wins and losses will matter plenty as it does with any college football head coach. How Barnett is able to manage the locker room will play a huge factor in leadership’s decision.

“I still think it’s well more than likely the go outside the program at the end of this year,” Couch said. “But it’s not just one game or two games. It’s 10. It’s a team that could go a lot of different ways. He’s going to have to deal with a lot of different challenges.

“If it goes well, the vibes stay good, they look like they’re a program that continues to improve and is heading somewhere under this coaching staff, there’s an argument that maybe this is the guy to lead this coaching staff and continue forward.”

Michigan State is already off to a good start, sporting a 2-0 record. Central Michigan and Richmond have been the two opponents, not being the best competition. But there have still been flashes of improvement throughout the roster, giving them a chance to be competitive this season.

“Defensively, they look more like a sound group,” Couch said. “Tackle better space, look better up front. Noah Kim looks like a guy who has a chance to be at least a solid quarterback. Got in a real groove. Fifteen straight completions last week… They’ve got a number of young receivers that they’re high on. The offensive line, we’ll see.

“But I think it has a chance to be a .500 or better team if they can maintain focus. If when Mel Tucker, if the team stays together — there are going to be hiccups. If they can deal with all that and they can be focused week in and week out, I think they have a chance of a decent season.”

Saturday will be the first test for Barnett, with a top-10-ranked Washington coming to town. Getting a win would set the tone for his interim tenure and be a great data point toward eventually getting hired full-time.