Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Mark Dantonio is stepping down as the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans football program.

He announced his decision on Tuesday with a lengthy letter thanking the fans, alumni and administration and explained he will "stay on within the university and athletic department in a role involving special projects, especially transitioning our players, both current and incoming, to their next challenges."

According to David Jesse of the Detroit Free Press, Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell is considered the "frontrunner" to take over the Spartans program. Cincinnati won 11 games in each of the last two seasons under his direction.

Colton Pouncy of The Athletic noted defensive coordinator Mike Tressel will be the acting head coach while the school looks for a replacement.

Dantonio was the defensive coordinator for Ohio State (2001-03) and head coach for Cincinnati (2004-06) prior to accepting the head coaching position for the Spartans going into the 2007 campaign.

The team was coming off three straight losing seasons under John Smith at the time and won double-digit games just once since the 1965 season. It was a Big Ten afterthought that was nowhere ready to compete with the likes of Ohio State and Michigan.

Video Play Button Videos you might like

Dantonio quickly changed that.

Michigan State went to bowl games in 12 of his 13 seasons as head coach and capped off a 2013 campaign that featured a Big Ten Championship Game win over Ohio State with a Rose Bowl win over Stanford. The Spartans also reached the 2015 College Football Playoff as conference champions in a season that featured a Big Ten Championship Game win over Iowa.

The program won double-digit games six times during his tenure and became a bigger player on the national stage than it had been for some time prior to his arrival.

However, it went just 7-6 in each of the last two years following a 10-3 mark in 2017 and is a mere 42nd in the country in the 2020 recruiting rankings, per 247Sports' composite. Stewart Mandel of The Athletic and Tom VanHaaren of ESPN pointed to the timing of this departure as well:

Dantonio's tenure was not without controversy.

In January 2018, Paula Lavigne and Nicole Noren of ESPN's Outside the Lines reported there was "a pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression" of sexual assault allegations against Spartan football and basketball players, as well as against former athletics physician Larry Nassar, "by officials ranging from campus police to the Spartan athletic department."

"Since Dantonio's tenure began in 2007, at least 16 MSU football players have been accused of sexual assault or violence against women, according to interviews and public records obtained by Outside the Lines," Lavigne and Noren wrote. "Even more, Dantonio was said to be involved in handling the discipline in at least one of the cases several years ago."

Lavigne and Noren reported in one case Dantonio's punishment for a player accused of sexual assault was to "talk to his mother about what he had done." Dantonio denied all accusations that he or his staff had mishandled allegations against his players.

Tony Paul of the Detroit News reported lawyers for Curtis Blackwell, who was on the Michigan State football staff from 2013 until May 2017, alleged Dantonio committed multiple NCAA violations during his time as head coach.

Dantonio's defense called the allegations a "sham" in court documents, but one of Blackwell's lawyers detailed them in a filed response on Monday night—hours before Tuesday's announcement that the coach was stepping down.

Blackwell's lawyers alleged Dantonio had Blackwell attend a home visit for a highly regarded recruit, which was against the rules because he was not authorized for in-home visits as the director of college advancement and performance.

Dantonio also allegedly set up employment for two players' parents with donor Bob Skandalaris.

Dantonio enjoyed plenty of success on the field at Michigan State with a 114-57 record, but the off-field headlines were a featured part of his tenure as well.