On February 4, the day former Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio retired, Michigan State Athletic Director Bill Beekman received numerous emails regarding his department’s new, high-profile opening.
One called for his resignation, others offered recommendations of potential candidates, including one that suggested the university hire the first-ever female Power Five head coach, and another came from a fellow Big Ten East athletic director, suggesting Michigan State hire a specific search firm if it wanted outside help with the search.
I made a public records request on Feb. 4 to get a glimpse of what Beekman’s inbox looked like on the official first day of a coaching search that emerged late in the coaching cycle.
One 1989 Michigan State alum offered the name of Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton.
“He has over 20 years of head coaching experience,” wrote the alum, whose named was redacted. “He has a winning record, has never had any sanctions with the NCAA, instills a culture of ‘family,’ and is a solid teacher/mentor of young men.
“Coach Creighton would be an excellent fit for the Spartans, while continuing the tradition that Coach Dantonio has built.”
Another emailer, whose name was redacted but who clearly has some affiliation with the university (“I am a [redacted] at Michigan State”), said he or she was born and raised a Michigan State sports fan.
This fan’s recommendation?
Hire San Francisco 49ers assistant Katie Sowers, who was “the first woman to ever coach in the super bowl.”
One called for his resignation, others offered recommendations of potential candidates, including one that suggested the university hire the first-ever female Power Five head coach, and another came from a fellow Big Ten East athletic director, suggesting Michigan State hire a specific search firm if it wanted outside help with the search.
I made a public records request on Feb. 4 to get a glimpse of what Beekman’s inbox looked like on the official first day of a coaching search that emerged late in the coaching cycle.
One 1989 Michigan State alum offered the name of Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton.
“He has over 20 years of head coaching experience,” wrote the alum, whose named was redacted. “He has a winning record, has never had any sanctions with the NCAA, instills a culture of ‘family,’ and is a solid teacher/mentor of young men.
“Coach Creighton would be an excellent fit for the Spartans, while continuing the tradition that Coach Dantonio has built.”
Another emailer, whose name was redacted but who clearly has some affiliation with the university (“I am a [redacted] at Michigan State”), said he or she was born and raised a Michigan State sports fan.
This fan’s recommendation?
Hire San Francisco 49ers assistant Katie Sowers, who was “the first woman to ever coach in the super bowl.”
“Her expertise is evident in the 49ers impressive season, and she has the offensive mind our program needs. Katie Sowers has pushed the boundaries of women in football, and Michigan State would give her an amazing opportunity to push them even further.”
One emailer suggested it was time for Beekman to retire, while providing a link to a Lansing State Journal story from Nov. 8, 2019 that had the headline: "MSU AD Bill Beekman: Moving on from football coach Mark Dantonio 'not even a discussion'"
"This is a great time to retire from MSU," the author of the email wrote to Beekman. "We have had more than enough. Thank you."
Beekman forwarded the email to Michigan State Executive Associate AD/Development Chuck Sleeper and Associate Director of Development/Southeast Michigan Dorn McGaw with the comment, "Not really even sure what he means. Assuming he's expressing displeasure with me. I'm not responding but wanted you to be aware."
Then there was an email directed to Beekman and President Samuel Stanley Jr. from Michigan State University Trustee Brianna Scott, an admitted "newer Trustree" who sought insight into how matters like coach retirements would be communicated to the Board of Trustees.
"I, like my colleagues, was somewhat surprised to hear of the planned departure of Mark Dantonio," Scott wrote. "I am assuming, however, that this may not have come as a surprise to the Athletic Department and that you all have been in discussions about this prior to today. As a newer Trustee, I am somewhat unfamiliar with how development such as this are brought to the attention of the BOT and to what extent the BOT are made aware of the background going into this announcement being made.
"I am hoping that you both will be willing to share that with me and the other Trustees."
The next several sentences are heavily redacted.
One emailer suggested it was time for Beekman to retire, while providing a link to a Lansing State Journal story from Nov. 8, 2019 that had the headline: "MSU AD Bill Beekman: Moving on from football coach Mark Dantonio 'not even a discussion'"
"This is a great time to retire from MSU," the author of the email wrote to Beekman. "We have had more than enough. Thank you."
Beekman forwarded the email to Michigan State Executive Associate AD/Development Chuck Sleeper and Associate Director of Development/Southeast Michigan Dorn McGaw with the comment, "Not really even sure what he means. Assuming he's expressing displeasure with me. I'm not responding but wanted you to be aware."
Then there was an email directed to Beekman and President Samuel Stanley Jr. from Michigan State University Trustee Brianna Scott, an admitted "newer Trustree" who sought insight into how matters like coach retirements would be communicated to the Board of Trustees.
"I, like my colleagues, was somewhat surprised to hear of the planned departure of Mark Dantonio," Scott wrote. "I am assuming, however, that this may not have come as a surprise to the Athletic Department and that you all have been in discussions about this prior to today. As a newer Trustee, I am somewhat unfamiliar with how development such as this are brought to the attention of the BOT and to what extent the BOT are made aware of the background going into this announcement being made.
"I am hoping that you both will be willing to share that with me and the other Trustees."
The next several sentences are heavily redacted.
Perhaps the most interesting email in the 15-page response I received was sent to Beekman by Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour.
“Sorry to hear about Coach Dantonio’s decision to retire,” she wrote. “As I think we’ve discussed in the past, we have been partnered with Chad Chatlos and Ventura Partners for the last three plus years, utilizing them as our search consultant on all head coaching searches as well as a number of upper level administrator hires.
“Although we have not had to do a football search at Penn State during my time, frankly Chad and I have prepared for a football search on several occasions and he most recently served as our negotiator for Coach Franklin’s latest extension. He is/was fantastic.
“If you’re going to do a search and if you’re going to use a consultant firm, I’d highly recommend Chad and Ventura Partners.
“Please let me know if I can help in anyway.”
“Sorry to hear about Coach Dantonio’s decision to retire,” she wrote. “As I think we’ve discussed in the past, we have been partnered with Chad Chatlos and Ventura Partners for the last three plus years, utilizing them as our search consultant on all head coaching searches as well as a number of upper level administrator hires.
“Although we have not had to do a football search at Penn State during my time, frankly Chad and I have prepared for a football search on several occasions and he most recently served as our negotiator for Coach Franklin’s latest extension. He is/was fantastic.
“If you’re going to do a search and if you’re going to use a consultant firm, I’d highly recommend Chad and Ventura Partners.
“Please let me know if I can help in anyway.”
There’s a few things to unpack there.
In arguably the most competitive division in college football, you have one AD reaching out to another to offer some form of assistance at the very start of a coaching search.
You could almost call Barbour's unsolicited help to Beekman a potential search firm, of sorts, to find the actual search firm that would then be used to find a coach.
There’s no shame in one administrator reaching out to a peer — and it’s not like Barbour was providing input on potential candidates — but it was an unexpected result amid the public records responses.
Then there’s the matter of Barbour saying she and Ventura Partners have prepared for a coaching search “on several occasions.”
Who knows to what degree Penn State “prepared” for football coach James Franklin to potentially leave State College or in what years, but it tells us that multiple times since Barbour joined Penn State prior to the 2014 season, she has prepared for the possibility.
That’s two or three times in six seasons.
Once again, that’s not a surprise given the rumors — however real or not — that tried to link Franklin to schools like USC and Florida State.
Just look at the PennLive headline on the left. That story was originally written in 2018 and it was updated months later during the following spring.
In arguably the most competitive division in college football, you have one AD reaching out to another to offer some form of assistance at the very start of a coaching search.
You could almost call Barbour's unsolicited help to Beekman a potential search firm, of sorts, to find the actual search firm that would then be used to find a coach.
There’s no shame in one administrator reaching out to a peer — and it’s not like Barbour was providing input on potential candidates — but it was an unexpected result amid the public records responses.
Then there’s the matter of Barbour saying she and Ventura Partners have prepared for a coaching search “on several occasions.”
Who knows to what degree Penn State “prepared” for football coach James Franklin to potentially leave State College or in what years, but it tells us that multiple times since Barbour joined Penn State prior to the 2014 season, she has prepared for the possibility.
That’s two or three times in six seasons.
Once again, that’s not a surprise given the rumors — however real or not — that tried to link Franklin to schools like USC and Florida State.
Just look at the PennLive headline on the left. That story was originally written in 2018 and it was updated months later during the following spring.
Franklin recruits at an elite level with four straight top-15 classes, including the No. 6 class in 2018, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He led the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten Championship and the brink of the College Football Playoff (a No. 5 finish in the final CFP rankings in 2016) and he has the personality to be a front-facing CEO of a major program, who could win press conferences and rejuvenate a fan base.
Look, every AD — or at least the good ones — has a short list of coaches he or she would potentially hire if faced with a coaching search, just like every head coach has a short list of coordinators he would want to hire if one of his own leaves.
But unexpectedly, in my search for some of the inner workings of the first day of Michigan State’s coaching search, one of the lingering questions is how close — and when — Big Ten East foe Penn State was to its own coaching search.
Look, every AD — or at least the good ones — has a short list of coaches he or she would potentially hire if faced with a coaching search, just like every head coach has a short list of coordinators he would want to hire if one of his own leaves.
But unexpectedly, in my search for some of the inner workings of the first day of Michigan State’s coaching search, one of the lingering questions is how close — and when — Big Ten East foe Penn State was to its own coaching search.