Michigan State Needs to Reconsider the Hire of Jim Bollman

It may not be a very likely action, but Michigan State should reconsider the hiring of former Ohio State offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Jim Bollman.

The former Buckeye coach and longtime friend of Mark Dantonio that extends back to their days at Youngstown State has been the center of a storm of criticism.

He accepted the job of offensive line coach at Purdue for new head coach Darrell Hazell just over a month ago. A month and a half later and Bollman is the offensive coordinator in East Lansing having never coached a down in West Lafayette. He may not be a well-liked guy at Purdue now after leaving before even putting in any work, but how popular was he in Columbus?

Well, the former coordinator under famed, now infamous, head coach Jim Tressel was hardly what his title implied. He was, in fact, more of an offensive line coach than an offensive coordinator– Tressel took most of those responsibilities.

How does that bode for a mediocre Michigan State offense?

Well, an offense that ranked toward the bottom of the Big Ten in nearly every offensive category may be in trouble. They had trouble passing the ball, partially because of the lack of confidence from quarterback Andrew Maxwell, had trouble breaking big plays and could not figure out a way to win close games.

The defense kept this team in games, ranking in the top 10 in the nation in most major defensive categories, but the offense held them back. Five out of the Spartans’ six losses were by four points or less.

Averaging just 20 points a game will not guarantee the success of any team.

If the Spartans had a successful offense in 2012 like they did in 2011 with Kirk Cousins at quarterback, this team could have easily finished 11-1 in the regular season, maybe even pushed an undefeated year.

Adding a coach that has little to no respect from his former fans in Columbus and no history of adequate success as a coordinator dooms the Spartans for failure.

Whether they decide not to hire the coach– very unlikely– or decide to make him an offensive line coach instead of offensive coordinator, the Spartans made the wrong choice for the void spot left by Dan Roushar.