Nov 1, 2006, 19:20 GMT
East Lansing, MI - Michigan State head football coach John L. Smith will not return to the school next year.
Smith, who had two years remaining on his contract, will finish his fourth season with the Spartans, who have had a roller coaster ride this fall.
After opening the season with three straight wins, Michigan State was headed for a fourth victory with a 37-21 fourth-quarter lead over Notre Dame, but the Irish made a stirring comeback with 19 points to pull out a 40-37 triumph.
The loss sent Michigan State into a four-game tailspin, which ended only with another improbable rally. The Spartans trailed Northwestern 38-3 in the third quarter, but roared back for a 41-38 victory in the largest Division I-A comeback in history.
But the good feelings didn't last long as Michigan State suffered a 46-21 loss at Indiana just this past weekend.
Michigan State athletic director Ron Mason said the school will begin a search for a new coach immediately.
'We're going to go out there and look for what we think is the best coach to move the program forward,' Mason said Wednesday. 'What we asked John L. Smith to do when he got here, he's done a lot of it. It hasn't showed up on the field like we wanted.'
Smith has a record of 22-23 with the Spartans, who have become known for late- season collapses under the coach's leadership.
In 2003, Michigan State opened 7-1 only to finish 8-5. The Spartans lost four of their last five in 2004 to complete a 5-7 campaign, and last year dropped six of their last seven after a 4-0 start.
Not coincidentally, each of the struggles in those three years started with back-to-back losses to perennial Big Ten powers Michigan and Ohio State.
Smith took over at Michigan State in December of 2002 after five successful seasons at Louisville. He started his head coaching career at Idaho in 1989, moved to Utah State for the 1995 season, then took over at Louisville in 1998.
In 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Smith has a record of 132-83.
© 2006 The Sports Network
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