Mark Dantonio puts any potential Michigan State staff changes on back burner

East Lansing — On Saturday night, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio watched Ohio State and Wisconsin play in the Big Ten Championship game and it brought back plenty of memories.

The Spartans have played in the conference title game three times, winning the championship in 2013 with a victory over Ohio State and earning a second title in 2015 by beating Iowa. That last trip to Indianapolis wasn’t that long ago, but considering how the last four seasons have gone for the Spartans, it might as well be an eternity.

Dantonio is committed to getting Michigan State back to that level. He said late in the regular season that he intends to be back next season. The only real question remaining is who will be with him when the Spartans open the season against Northwestern.

It seems likely there will be staff changes, but at this point, there seems to be no urgency as Michigan State prepares to play Wake Forest in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27.

“That's an after-the-season thing as we move forward,” Dantonio said. “Right now, my focus is on signing our class, getting ready for a bowl game, the student-athlete experience, winning a football game and winning the bowl game.

“I will say, when I sat back and watched that (Big Ten Championship) game last night and put myself back at that point in time, I had a lot of people who were back in that point in time with me.”

What Dantonio was saying was that there are plenty of coaches on the current staff that were part of the last team to win the Big Ten Championship. Dantonio changed some responsibilities on offense before the season, but the bulk of the current staff was there in Indianapolis in 2015. The only current coaches that were not on that staff are wide receivers coach Don Treadwell, defensive ends coach Chuck Bullough and defensive backs coach Paul Haynes.

Based on Dantonio’s comments, it’s tough to gauge how significant any offseason changes might be, even as the offense was once again mired among the worst in the nation for the second straight season. That sort of performance would seem to indicate substantial changes, but there’s no guarantee of that.

Each of the offensive assistants — Treadwell, coordinator Brad Salem, quarterbacks coach Dave Warner, offensive line coach Jim Bollman and tight ends coach Mark Staten — as well assistant defensive backs coach Terrence Samuel are on one-year contracts, making it easier to make changes in those positions. The rest of the assistants — Bullough, Haynes, defensive coordinator/linebacker coach Mike Tressel and defensive tackles coach Ron Burton — are on two-year deals.

Dantonio’s track record doesn’t exactly show a penchant for forcing assistant coaches out. During his tenure at Michigan State, only defensive line coach Ted Gill did not have his contract renewed after the 2012 season. Every other coaching move has been made when the assistant left for another job, almost always moves that would be described as promotions.

What it all means is there’s no telling what the staff could look like next season.

“I'll make those decisions and we'll make those decisions,” Dantonio said. “We’ll sit down and think about those types of things after the (season).”

QBs to get work

Whatever the staff looks like next season, the Spartans will certainly have a new quarterback as fifth-year senior Brian Lewerke prepares to play his final game.

While it will be the last chance for Lewerke to play, Dantonio said there will be a focus to get the rest of the team’s quarterbacks — sophomore Rocky Lombardi, redshirt freshman Theo Day and freshman Payton Thorne — more work during bowl practices.

How that translates into playing time remains to be seen.

“We're going to make sure that we give our young quarterbacks an opportunity in practice,” Dantonio said. “We can't play four guys in the bowl game. We're going to make sure that we give them opportunities in practice to get full reps. Sometimes in bowl practice or normal practices you tend to go one and twos, and threes and fours don't get as many reps. So, we need to make sure that they have an opportunity to show what they have, meaning full reps.”

New York state of mind

Michigan State will begin bowl practice later this week and plan to leave for New York on Dec. 23.

“I know that there's a lot of Spartans on the East Coast and this will give them an opportunity to go to New York City,” Dantonio said. “That's a very festive time in New York City and then, to also get an opportunity to watch the Spartans play. It should be a good experience.”

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau