Michigan State Should Not Have Hired Jim Bollman

In one of the most questionable hires of the offseason, Michigan State and head coach Mark Dantonio announced the hiring of former Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman.

After Dan Roushar left the offensive coordinating position vacant by leaving for the running backs coach job at the New Orleans Saints, Spartan fans were rejoicing. After a year of offensive turmoil under Roushar, Michigan State fans were looking at a fresh start with a more experienced and effective offensive coordinator.

Enter Jim Bollman.

However, though Bollman may seem like a quality fit for the job as he was offensive coordinator under Jim Tressel at Ohio State, the hire was a failure on the Spartans’ part.

Michigan State settled on a guy who  rarely called plays for the Buckeyes (most of the offense was Tressel’s) and was more of an offensive line coach. Oh, well, Roushar was also an offensive line coach before becoming the offensive coordinator. Is that coincidence or just complete carelessness in the hire?

You may be asking yourself, why would Dantonio hire a guy who accepted the Purdue offensive line coach position just over a month ago and was disliked by a majority of Ohio State faithful?

Well, Bollman and Dantonio go way back, back to the Youngstown State days in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They also coached at Ohio State together for two years.

Is this just another case of a coach hiring a good friend instead of a good candidate? It looks that way.

No matter what position Bollman was hired for, he may not have the play-calling capabilities that the job title entails. While Dantonio has his own offensive style and plays, it may be a while before the new offensive coordinator even gets a shot at calling plays.

Either way you look at it, Dantonio missed the ball on this one.