Joe Rossi, now former Minnesota Golden Gophers‘ defensive coordinator, is the newest addition to Michigan State Spartans‘ head coach Jonathan Smith’s staff according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.
Sources: Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi is expected to become the next defensive coordinator at Michigan State.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 10, 2023
Rossi will take on the same role with the Spartans in a lateral move to another Big Ten team. Rossi also coached the linebackers at Minnesota, and he has been the defensive coordinator since the latter portion of the 2018 season. Rossi was named the interim defensive coordinator by Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck after their ninth game in the 2018 season.
Reports say that the Spartan defensive coordinator position was between Rossi and Los Angeles Rams assistant head coach Jimmy Lake, who was the Washington Huskies head coach from 2020-2021. Prior to his time with Minnesota, Rossi served as the defensive coordinator for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from 2014-2015.
Joe Rossi has a Proven Track Record with Success in the Big Ten as Well as Ability to Produce NFL Talent
In Rossi’s time at Minnesota, he was responsible for stark defensive improvement almost immediately. After being named the interim defensive coordinator, the Golden Gophers went from allowing 31.8 points per game to 14.8 points per game. In the same time, they went from allowing 429.3 yards per game to 300 yards per game.
Rossi produced a top-10 defense in 2021 and 2022, the former of the two years saw him nominated for the Broyles Award (best assistant). The 2022 defense was top five in the nation as they allowed a fourth-best 13.8 points per game. Rossi’s Broyles award nominee year had a defense that finished sixth in scoring, and third in total defense.
Rossi typically runs a 3-4 defense with a stand-up rusher as the fourth guy on the line of scrimmage. Rossi is able to bring exotic fronts and blitzes with different linebacker packages and movements. Rossi often puts pressure on the A-gap with the double-mug look or some variation, which forces the offensive line to adjust their pass protection while the walked-up linebackers still have the ability to drop back in coverage.
New #MichiganState DC Joe Rossi runs a 3-4 w/ a 4th stand-up rusher at the line in Base (first pic).
2nd Pic: In a nickel sub-packages, Rossi is able to get creative w/ double A-Gap simulated pressures due to the Odd Front.
(In both 2021 & 2022, Minnesota finished top-15 in the… pic.twitter.com/PWxZ8Dlo7I
— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) December 10, 2023
Rossi’s defense saw a drop-off this year as the Gophers were ranked 58th in total defense, and 69th in scoring defense. While it was a down year for Minnesota as a whole due to injuries and roster turnover, Rossi still maintains a proven track record of producing NFL talent. Of the eight players taken since Rossi became the full-time defensive coordinator in 2019, Benjamin St-Juste and Antoine Winfield Jr. are the most notable.
The Addition of Joe Rossi Begins to Round Out Michigan State Spartans’ New Staff
With the addition of Joe Rossi, new Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith has added 12 staff members in the past few days. As the former head coach for the Oregon State Beavers, one concern about Smith is his lack of ties to the midwest. Rossi has significantly more experience recruiting in the area than any other new staff additions aside from tight end coach Brian Wozniak.
Smith has addressed the issue of a lack of midwest connections. In an article from DetroitNews following the hiring of his new staff, Smith specifically mentions Wozniak and his midwest roots.
“Brian is familiar with the Big Ten and has Midwest roots,” Smith said. “He has developed some of the best tight ends in the Pac-12 over the past few years, including two NFL Draft selections (Luke Musgrave and Teagan Quitoriano). Brian has a deep understanding of our offensive scheme and has also done an excellent job for us as our recruiting coordinator.”
Despite Minnesota’s drop off in defensive production in Rossi’s final year, it would still be an improvement for the Spartans. Their allowed 388.8 yards per game put them at 77th in the nation in total defense. Michigan State was not able to reach a bowl game this year, and Rossi will have his recruiting work cut out for them as 21 Michigan State players have entered the transfer portal thus far.
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