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Mark Dantonio College coach

Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is an American football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he has held since the 2007 season, presiding over one of the most successful eras in the program's history. He led the Michigan State Spartans to four seasons of 11 or more wins, two Big Ten Conference championships, and six victories over rival Michigan in seven years. In 2013, he coached Michigan State to its first 13-win season and the program's fifth trip to the Rose Bowl, where they defeated Stanford and finished the season ranked #3 in the nation. This was only the second time a Big Ten team had reached the 13-win mark, the other being Ohio State's national championship season in 2002, where Dantonio was the defensive coordinator. The 2013 season also marked the first time a Big Ten team won nine conference games by double digits in each contest.In 2006, Dantonio was hired as the Spartans head coach, returning to the school where he had previously served six years as an assistant coach under Nick Saban and Bobby Williams. Known as a defensive-minded coach, Dantonio has compiled a 75-31 record at Michigan State, giving him a .708 winning percentage, the highest of any Michigan State football coach since that of Clarence Munn, who coached the Spartans from 1947 to 1953. During his tenure the Spartans have won the school's first bowl game since 2001 in the 2012 Outback Bowl and the school's first Rose Bowl since 1988 in 2014. Dantonio's Spartans hold active school records with 8 consecutive bowl appearances and 4 consecutive bowl wins. On October 8, 2011, Dantonio signed a contract extension that made him a "Spartan for life." In 2014, he earned the second highest salary among college football coaches, due largely to a retention bonus.