Less than two months after leading Michigan State to a spot in the College Football Playoff, Mark Dantonio was rewarded.

The Michigan State coach signed a new contract on Feb. 12, 2016 that increased his annual salary from $3.6 million to $4.3 million. The 12-page document features a series of performance bonuses, including winning a Big Ten championship, landing a spot in the CFP and being named the conference’s coach of the year.

The contract also includes a bigger number not tied to success, with Dantonio scheduled to receive a $4.3 million bonus “in recognition of his long-service to the University” if he is still the head coach through Jan. 15, 2020. There was some uncertainly about whether he would be around to collect that bonus, but Dantonio on Nov. 19 said he planned on returning for a 14th season leading the program. And now the bonus day is here with the program’s all-time winningest coach set to pocket the equivalent of a year’s salary.

Clock ticking on Mark Dantonio and potential staff changes

When Dantonio signed the new contract, Michigan State was coming off one of the greatest runs in program history. He took over a team in 2007 that had posted three straight losing seasons and then accomplished what few considered possible by turning the Spartans into a Big Ten power competing on the national stage. From 2013-15, he led the Spartans to a pair of conference titles, wins in the Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl and a spot in the CFP semifinals while posting a combined record of 36-5 in those three seasons.

“With three-straight Top 10 finishes and two Big Ten Championships during that same period, Mark Dantonio and his coaching staff have built an elite football program,” then-athletic director Mark Hollis said in a university release announcing the new contract, which coincided with almost $250,000 in raises for the assistant coaching staff. “Michigan State's football brand has never been stronger. We’re so excited about the future of our football program under Mark’s leadership and direction.”

Since the contract was signed, the Spartans have gone in the wrong direction. They’re just 27-24 overall and 17-19 in Big Ten play in the last four seasons combined. After losing 38-0 to Alabama in a 2015 CFP semifinal, Michigan State fell to a 3-9 record in 2016. That was followed by a rebound to 10-3 the next season but the Spartans posted a 7-6 record each of the last two seasons. It’s the first time they finished outside the final AP top 25 rankings in back-to-back years during Dantonio’s tenure.

The last four years have included significant off-field issues for Dantonio as four players were kicked off the team following the 2016 season after being charged in two separate sexual assaults. Dantonio was also deposed on Friday in a federal lawsuit brought by Curtis Blackwell. The former program staffer is suing Dantonio, Hollis, former Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon and a pair of university police detectives for wrongful termination and unlawful arrest.

Michigan State entered this season with a veteran team that expected to make a run for its first Big Ten title since 2015 but didn’t come close to achieving that goal. After a 4-1 start, the Spartans dropped five straight games, capped by a 44-10 loss at Michigan. The following week, Dantonio provided clarity about his future, saying he planned on being back in 2020. He mentioned grabbing a piece of clothing before going to bed the previous night and spotting the Rose Bowl logo on it.

“It sort of sent the message home to me that there's been a lot of success here, a tremendous amount of success here,” Dantonio said at the time. “That can happen again, and that can happen under my watch. That's what I felt.”

Two seasons in, NCAA transfer portal has been mostly a one-way street for Michigan State

Michigan State’s offense in 2018 posted the worst totals during Dantonio’s tenure but he retained his entire staff while switching duties for the offensive assistants as Brad Salem took over as coordinator. The Spartans struggled on offense again this season, took a step back on defense and had to win their final two regular-season games just to reach a bowl. Dantonio, who has a rolling six-year contract that is automatically extended by a year every Jan. 15, said the staff wouldn’t be evaluated until after the season and no changes have been announced.

Although Dantonio has faced criticism from fans, he has received public support from the university. Prior to the Spartans’ 27-21 win against Wake Forest in the Dec. 27 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York, Michigan State president Samuel Stanley Jr. was asked if he was confident in the direction of the program.

“Yes,” Stanley said. “I am excited about the future and I think this is a great opportunity. … I think Coach Dantonio has really an incredible track record – as you know, the winningest coach in MSU history – so I am pleased with the direction of the program overall.”

Stanley didn’t take over as university president until August and athletic director Bill Beekman had no previous athletic administrative experience before being appointed the interim AD in February 2018 and then hired for the permanent position in July 2018. Even if the university wanted to move on from Dantonio – and there’s no indication that is the case – it would be costly, especially before paying the large bonus. Michigan State would owe him $7 million if he was fired between Jan. 16, 2017 and Jan. 15, 2020. That number drops to $3.5 million for terminating his contract after Jan. 15, 2020.

Dantonio has more Big Ten titles (three) and victories (114) than any coach in program history and will turn 64 in March. But he made it clear in November he doesn’t think he’s done coaching while mentioning advice to “complete the circle” he learned from his father.

“It means when you start something, you want to finish it,” Dantonio said. “That’s what it means to me and my family. So, that’s sort of the direction that we’ve always tried to go. That means it’s not quitting in the middle of something when you don’t think something is finished. I don’t think I’m finished.”

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