MSU AD Bill Beekman: Moving on from football coach Mark Dantonio 'not even a discussion'

EAST LANSING — Michigan State University Athletic Director Bill Beekman admits it's been a tough football season, but said the idea of firing the head coach isn't being considered.

The Spartans enter Saturday's game against the University of Illinois sitting at 4-4 and No. 5 in the Big Ten East, behind in-state rival University of Michigan at No. 4. But Beekman hasn't lost faith in head football coach Mark Dantonio.

"It obviously hasn’t been the season we hoped it would be at this point," Beekman said during a telephone call on Friday. "But we have a lot of football left to play. So we’ll see how the season goes."

Dantonio is not far removed from the historic 2015 season, when the team finished at 12-2, won the Big Ten championship and lost to No. 2 University of Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

During his tenure at MSU, Dantonio-led teams have won three Big Ten titles and a Rose Bowl, all while boasting an 8-4 record against the Wolverines. He's also racked up the most wins by any coach in Spartan football history, passing Duffy Daugherty's record by reaching 110 wins with the Spartans' victory over Northwestern on Sept. 21. 

But this has been a hard season for fans after seeing a 38-0 loss to then-No. 16 University of Wisconsin, and a tough 34-10 loss to Ohio State University. The Spartans travel to Ann Arbor on Nov. 16.

Beekman praised Dantonio for the successes, calling him "incredible" and a good person. 

Firing Dantonio over a disappointing 2019 season?

"That is not even a discussion," Beekman said. "Mark’s our head coach, there’s no question about that."

Contact Mark Johnson at 517-377-1026 or at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.