Barnett won’t return as part of Smith’s staff

Harlon Barnett won’t be back at Michigan State next season.

Barnett, who took over as interim head coach after Mel Tucker was removed from the program in September, said Thursday that he won’t be returning as part of new head coach Jonathan Smith’s staff.

“After 20 football seasons at Michigan State, five as a player, 15 as a coach, my time is up,” Barnett said. “It’s time for me to move on. I’m looking for opportunities at other programs, be it college or the NFL. I’m excited about it. It’s time.”

Barnett said Smith told him earlier this week that they were looking at three other candidates for the open position to coach the secondary. That was enough for Barnett to know he wasn’t their guy.

“When I met with (Smith) Monday, it was freeing,” Barnett said. “I know now and that’s good. I wasn’t sure if God still wanted me to stay here at Michigan State or not. … I feel great. Like, I was lighter. I didn’t realize I had a weight on me. But when he did that, I just felt different, like ‘Yep, it’s time to move.’ ”

Barnett had hoped to be seriously considered to continue on as MSU’s head coach after the season, but knew deep down that MSU didn’t win enough during his 10 games in charge for that happen. The Spartans went 2-8 during that span.

“I just wanted to get a real opportunity, because I felt like I could do it,” Barnett said. “I’m not one to make excuses, but I was running somebody else’s program with somebody’s else’s staff.”

Barnett spent 11 seasons on former coach Mark Dantonio’s staff as the secondary coach at MSU, including the final three as a co-defensive coordinator. He left in 2018 to be the defensive coordinator at Florida State for two seasons before returning in 2020 to be a part of Tucker’s staff.