Michigan State fired coach Jonathan Smith on Sunday, the school announced.
The Spartans lost eight of their last nine games to finish 4-8, including a 1-8 mark in the Big Ten.
"The 2025 football season has not lived up to our shared standards for Michigan State Football. While that does not fall solely on Jonathan Smith, it's become necessary to make a coaching change in order to chart a new direction for the program," vice president and athletic director J Batt said in a statement.
"We are appreciative of Coach Smith and the manner in which he represented Michigan State with class. Throughout a difficult season, the team continued to compete. While their efforts ultimately didn't result in enough on-field success, they do speak highly for their character," Batt said.
Smith's overall record in two seasons as the Spartans' coach was 9-15 and just 4-14 in the Big Ten.
He's set to be owed $33 million.
"Michigan State football has a proud history, a history that includes National Championships, Rose Bowl victories, Big Ten Championships, and a College Football Playoff appearance," Batt said in his statement. "The standards for our program have not changed. It is our expectation that we compete for championships."
Smith was 34-35 over six seasons at Oregon State, winning at least eight games in consecutive seasons for the first time in more than a decade at his alma mater. He went 5-7 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten during his debut season last year. His seat got warm when athletic director Alan Haller, who hired him, left the school last May.
Expectations were low for this season, and the results were worse.
The Spartans followed up wins against Western Michigan, Boston College and Youngstown State with an 0-8 start in Big Ten play. They lost to USC, Nebraska, UCLA, Indiana and Michigan by double digits before blowing a late lead and losing at Minnesota by three points in overtime. The only league win came Saturday against Maryland.
Smith benched quarterback Aidan Chiles, who followed him from Oregon State, against the Golden Gophers and gave redshirt freshman Alessio Milivojevic a shot to start perhaps with an eye toward the future the coach no longer has at Michigan State.
ESPN's Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.