Terry Foster: Jim Harbaugh Won't Dominate Mark Dantonio
By Terry Foster
The Family Deal
The University of Michigan might beat Michigan State in football this season.
However, it does not mean the end of MSU football. It does not mean that the Wolverines will dominate the rivalry as they did under Bo Schembechler, Lloyd Carr and Gary Moeller. The Wolverines placed one important cog in their quest of taking over the Big Ten and winning their share of games against Ohio State and Michigan State.
Coach Jim Harbaugh is wacky enough to change the culture and smart enough to make this program great again. In the next 10 years he could win more games against MSU.
However, he won't dominate. Michigan only got it half right.
Blue hired Harbaugh but did not find a way to fire Spartans coach Mark Dantonio. He is also a great coach that does things low key. He is not John L. Smith. He is not Muddy Waters or Bobby Williams. He is not George Perles on his last legs.
Dantonio is the smartest and brightest coach in Spartans history. He brings a swagger and often a dagger when he steps onto the football field. And here is the other dirty little secret. The man is bringing in more talent with the same "us against the world" attitude.
He won't be coaching up two and three stars. He is coaching up three and four stars. He makes players better and finds guys that fit his system.
ESPN recently called Michigan State the most stable coaching situation in the Big Ten. Dantonio is entering his 10th season in East Lansing and owns an 87-33 record. Only Kirk Ferentz at Iowa (18 seasons) and Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern (11 seasons) have more Big Ten tenure.
Dantonio loves when Michigan fans call his program "Little Brother." He uses it as motivation and players buy into it. I guarantee you he is selling to his players that Harbaugh is being looked at as a Godsend to Michigan and a giant killer to Michigan State.
He won't win all the battles as he's done the past few years. But he will continue to get his share.
(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@CBSRadio.com Twitter: TerryFoster971.)