On Saturday night, a USA Today report broke outlining the sexual harassment allegations made against then Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker. Now, Tucker has been placed on a non-paid suspension, and as Lansing State Journal’s Graham Couch speculates, has potentially coached his last game in East Lansing.
Given the circumstances of the situation, many Spartan fans and local media members have started speculating who the next leader of the MSU football program could be. Spartans Wire made a list of 20 potential candidates, outlining a plethora of names that could be available.
Buy Spartans TicketsOne name for Spartan fans to consider that was not on the list above and has not been talked about very much, but who is someone who could be a strong candidate for Michigan State, is LSU defensive coordinator Matt House.
Below, we take a look at House, his ties to MSU, and what makes him an appealing candidate:
Who is Matt House?
Name: Matt House
Age: 44
Hometown: Harrison, Michigan
Alma mater: Michigan State (2000)
Scheme: Multiple: 3-4 and 4-3
Resume
House has had a lot of experience at the power conference level, as well as the NFL level.
- 2001-02: Michigan State – Graduate Assistant
- 2003-04: North Carolina – Defensive Assistant
- 2005: Gardner-Webb – Defensive Line
- 2006-07: Buffalo – Defensive Backs, Recruiting Coordinator
- 2008: Carolina Panthers – Special Teams Assistant
- 2009-11: St. Louis Rams – Quality Control Coach, Defensive Assistant Linebackers Coach
- 2012-14: Pittsburgh – Secondary Coach (2012); Defensive Coordinator (2013-14)
- 2015: Florida International – Defensive Coordinator
- 2016-18: Kentucky – Inside linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator (2016); Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers (2017-18)
- 2019-21: Kansas City Chiefs – Linebackers
- 2022-present: LSU – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Stats as DC
House has had a successful run as a defensive coordinator everywhere he has gone. Here is a breakdown of how his defenses ranked in the NCAA (total defense – yards per game allowed):
- 2013: Pitt – 33rd
- 2014: Pitt – 34th
- 2015: FIU – 74th
- 2017: Kentucky – 91st
- 2018: Kentucky – 23rd (6th in scoring defense)
- 2022: LSU – 41st
Analysis
Ultimately, hiring House would give the “best of both worlds” to Michigan State fans. While he is an alumni of Michigan State, he has been away from the program since 2002, meaning it still feels like a fresh new hire. Many Spartan fans on Twitter/X have voiced the desire to go outside the family for this hire, but I believe that House can provide both sides of that coin while allowing a Spartan to take over the program.
House has had solid defenses everywhere he has gone, leading Pitt to back to back top 35 defenses, improving Kentucky from 91st total defense in 2017 to 23rd in 2018 while being 6th in scoring defense. Now, LSU is a top 40 defense in the country. Furthermore, he played an integral role with the Kansas City Chiefs defense from 2019-2021, leading to a Super Bowl win. There is no questioning his ability to coach up a good defense.
This would be a solid hire for MSU, bringing home a Spartan that is ready to get the chance to take his over his own program.
