Head coaching records[]
| Coach | Years | Seasons | Record | Pct. | Conf. Record | Pct. | Div. Titles | Conf. Titles | Bowl Games | National Titles | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [No Coach] | 1896 | 1 | 1–2–1 | .375 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MIAA |
| Henry Keep | 1897–1898 | 2 | 8–5–1 | .607 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MIAA |
| Charles Bemies | 1899–1900 | 2 | 3–7–1 | .318 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MIAA |
| George Denham | 1901–1902 | 2 | 7–9–1 | .441 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MIAA |
| Chester Brewer | 1903–1910, 1917, 1919 | 10 | 58–23–7 | .699 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Left MIAA in 1907 |
| John Macklin | 1911–1915 | 4 | 29–5–0 | .853 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| Frank Sommers | 1916 | 1 | 4–2–1 | .643 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| George Gauthier | 1918 | 1 | 4–3–0 | .571 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| George Clark | 1920 | 1 | 4–6 | .400 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| Albert Barron | 1921–1922 | 2 | 6–10–2 | .389 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| Ralph H. Young | 1923–1927 | 5 | 18–22–1 | .451 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | Independent |
| Harry Kipke | 1928 | 1 | 3–4–1 | .438 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| Jim Crowley | 1929–1932 | 4 | 22–8–3 | .712 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | Independent |
| Charlie Bachman | 1933–1942, 1944–1946 | 13 | 70–34–10 | .658 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1 | 0 | Independent |
| Clarence Munn | 1947–1953 | 6 | 54–9–2 | .846 | 5–1 | .833 | n/a | 1 | 0 | 2 | Joined Big Ten in 1953 |
| Duffy Daugherty | 1954–1972 | 19 | 109–69–5 | .609 | 72–50–3 | .588 | n/a | 2 | 3 | 4 | Big Ten |
| Denny Stolz | 1973–1975 | 3 | 19–13–1 | .591 | 14–9–1 | .604 | n/a | 0 | 0 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Darryl Rogers | 1976–1979 | 4 | 24–18–2 | .568 | 19–12–1 | .609 | n/a | 1 | 0 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Muddy Waters | 1980–1982 | 3 | 10–23–0 | .303 | 8–18–0 | .308 | n/a | 0 | 0 | 0 | Big Ten |
| George Perles | 1983–1994 | 12 | 68–67–4 | .504 | 53–42–2 | .557 | n/a | 2 | 7 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Nick Saban | 1995–1999 | 5 | 35–24–1 | .592 | 23–16–1 | .589 | n/a | 0 | 3 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Bobby Williams | 2000–2002 | 3 | 15–17 | .469 | 6–15 | .286 | n/a | 0 | 2 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Morris Watts | 2002 | 1 | 1–2 | .333 | 1–2 | .333 | n/a | 0 | 0 | 0 | Big Ten |
| John L. Smith | 2003–2006 | 4 | 22–26 | .458 | 12–20 | .375 | n/a | 0 | 1 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Mark Dantonio | 2007-2019 | 13 | 114-57 | .691 | 69-39 | .639 | 1* | 1 | 12 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Mel Tucker | 2020-2023 | 4 | 25-21 | .523 | 1 | 0 | Big Ten | ||||
| Jonathan Smith | 2023-Present | Big Ten | |||||||||
| Totals | 1896–present | 113 | 645–436–44 | .594 | 243–203–8 | .544 | 1 | 7 | 23 | 6 |
- The Big Ten split into the Leaders and Legends Divisions with the addition of Nebraska for the 2011 season. Michigan State has played in the Legends Division from 2011 to present.