The Michigan State football program is losing a veteran staff member and respected leader.

Ken Mannie, the Spartans’ head strength and conditioning coach for the last 25 years, announced his retirement early Thursday morning via Twitter.

Spent the past several months informing family and close friends. Wanted to wait till things settled a bit on the current situation to make this public. So much gratitude to express over the ensuing months...but here’s a start. And players...let’s finish this week off strong! pic.twitter.com/tgppZfRuCT — Ken Mannie (@SpartanEarned1) February 13, 2020

“After 45 years in coaching, the last 25 spent here at Michigan State, I have decided to retire,” Mannie wrote. “It is a decision that my wife, Marianne, and I came to a little over a year ago. For the past several years, it has been ‘let’s go one more,’ as coaching, teaching, and mentoring have been my life’s passions. All of the mentors I truly respect and admire are coaches and teachers, and they inspired me to pursue this path – one that has blessed us with so many cherished moments and memories.”

Mannie, who was hired by coach Nick Saban in December 1994, lasted through four head coaches’ tenures. His departure comes after the end of an era and at the start of a new one. Coach Mark Dantonio announced his retirement on Feb. 4 and Colorado’s Mel Tucker was named his successor on Wednesday.

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Tucker said he plans on being “thorough” in assembling his coaching staff and it’s unclear if he is considering retaining any of Dantonio’s assistants. Two assistants are already reportedly leaving for other jobs in assistant defensive backs coach Terrence Samuel and defensive tackles coach Ron Burton.

Mannie was an offensive lineman at Akron who spent a decade as a teacher and coach in high school with nine of those years coaching football, wrestling and track at his alma mater, Steubenville Catholic Central in Ohio. That was followed by spending the 1984 season as a graduate assistant at Ohio State alongside Dantonio while earning a master’s degree in exercise science.

Congrats to @Coach_mtucker and his family on being named HFC at MSU! As a young GA with us during Nick’s tenure, Mel worked with me in the WR in the mornings, and with football in the afternoons because he loved being around the kids as much as possible. Great hire for kids/MSU! — Ken Mannie (@SpartanEarned1) February 13, 2020

Mannie spent nine years as a strength and conditioning coach at Toledo and worked with Saban. When Saban left the Rockets to take over the Spartans before the 1995 season, Mannie came with him and he stayed on staff until now.

In 25 years at Michigan State, Mannie became the longest-tenured head strength and conditioning coach in the Big Ten and was on staff for a trio of Big Ten titles. He was inducted into the USA Strength/Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame’s Collegiate Division in 2014 and named the FootballScoop Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2015 when Michigan State won a Big Ten title and reached the College Football Playoff.

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Michigan State’s trip to San Diego to close out the 2017 season with a Holiday Bowl win against Washington State included a tour of the USS Essex. While aboard, Mannie was presented with the Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp Trophy as the individual who embodies dedication and teamwork but doesn’t receive much recognition.

“When we sat down and decided who would get this award, we left it up for a team vote and basically the team sort of split it,” Dantonio said at the time. “Nobody had more than eight votes on our team and there were 30 people getting votes, which tells me there’s a lot of people on this football team that lead and we have great chemistry. But when I sat down and asked myself who best embodies what this award meant, I thought of Ken Mannie. He’s had such a big impact on so many of our players over the course of time, over his 23 years. He’s been very involved in everybody’s life and very involved in the success of this program.”

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Michigan State officially announces Colorado’s Mel Tucker as new football coach

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