The last time I spoke with Jonathan Smith was at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis. It was 2023 and Smith had not yet lost a game at Michigan State.

Standing to the side of a ramp leading to the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, I asked how long the former Oregon State coach thought it would take to find success in his new job with the institutional mess he inherited.

He turned serious and, with a sober look, said, “It’s gonna take a while.”

College football coaches don’t get “a while” any longer. Not when millions of dollars are invested in the roster every single season. So, after going 9-15 in two seasons, with just four Big Ten wins in that span, Smith was unceremoniously fired on Sunday.

There is an impulse here to write about regret, or maybe schadenfreude. Smith had it good at Oreg

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