GOOD LUCK, NEXT!

In one of the least-surprising developments of the Big Ten season, John L. Smith will step down (resign, be fired, whatever) as head coach of the Michigan State Spartans at the end of this season, according to ESPN.

Obviously, we all saw this coming, but (a) why today?, and (b) why at all, given that Michigan State still has (slim) bowl game hopes? Sparty still has one loss to give with remaining games against Purdue, Minnesota, and Penn State. That’s hardly a Murderer’s Row, after all.

Smith will land on his feet and get another head coaching job, if he wants one. The man was pretty good at Louisville, after all, and had previous success at Utah State and Idaho, two schools not really known for their football prowess. With a few MAC and WAC jobs likely to come open in the next couple weeks, I fully expect Smith’s name to be in play.

UPDATE! Maybe I’m just reading into things, but this updated article from Ivan Maisel sure makes it sound like Louisville would take John L. back. Given that Bobby Petrino’s name is getting linked to every major college and NFL vacancy both real and speculated, that could be more than just an offhand comment . . .