Michigan State's wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins looks on during the spring game on Saturday, April 16, 2022, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
Jonathan Smith has decided not to retain Harlon Barnett in Michigan State football.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Concluding a five-year playing career, a 15-season stint as an assistant coach, and serving as the Spartans’ interim head coach for the final 10 games of the 2023 season, Harlon Barnett is parting ways with Michigan State football, as per the Lansing State Journal. Barnett expressed his intention to explore new coaching opportunities beyond East Lansing in both college and the NFL.
In a meeting with Michigan State’s new head coach, Jonathan Smith, Barnett was informed that three other candidates were being considered for coaching the Spartans’ defensive backs. While Blue Adams has been hired as a secondary coach this offseason, Smith appears to be seeking an additional assistant coach to support Adams in working with the defensive backs.
Barnett shared his sentiments with the LSJ, stating that the meeting with Smith provided a sense of liberation. He recounted feeling a weight lifted off him and expressed excitement about moving forward. Barnett had interviewed for the permanent head coach position at Michigan State after the 2023 season, during which the Spartans posted a 2-8 record under his interim leadership following Mel Tucker’s departure. However, the athletic director, Alan Haller, opted for a different direction.
Reflecting on his tenure, Barnett acknowledged the challenges of leading someone else’s program with an existing staff. A former three-year starter at safety under George Perles from 1986-89, Barnett played a pivotal role in securing a Big Ten and Rose Bowl championship in 1987, earning All-American honors in his senior year.
Following a seven-year NFL career, Barnett began his coaching journey as a graduate assistant under Nick Saban at LSU. He later served as a defensive backs coach under Mark Dantonio at Cincinnati for three seasons. Upon Dantonio’s appointment as head coach at Michigan State in 2007, Barnett joined him in East Lansing, spending a total of 11 seasons on his coaching staff, including two as co-defensive coordinator. Barnett briefly departed in 2018 to become the defensive coordinator at Florida State for two years before returning to Michigan State as the defensive backs coach under Tucker in 2020.
