Michigan State coach will not be back

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- John L. Smith will not return next year as Michigan State's football coach but will complete the rest of this season. \nSmith, whose Spartans are struggling again in the Big Ten, is in the fourth year of a six-year contract that pays him about $1.5 million annually.\n"The performance on the field has not lived up to what we hoped it would be," athletic director Ron Mason said during a news conference Wednesday. "It comes time to make a change, and that's where we're at."\nJust two weeks ago, the Spartans pulled off the greatest comeback in Division I-A history by rallying from 35 points down to beat Northwestern 41-38. But typical of Michigan State's inconsistency under Smith, the Spartans (4-5) lost 46-21 at IU last Saturday to fall to 1-4 in the Big Ten. They play Purdue on Saturday.\nSmith has been under pressure at Michigan State. School officials gave him a vote of confidence after last season's losing campaign but were looking for better results in 2006.\nMason and MSU President Lou Anna Simon said they reached the decision Tuesday to make a change. Mason met with Smith on Wednesday, and the coach agreed to stay for the rest of the season.\nSmith was expected to meet with the players before Wednesday afternoon's practice.\nPart of the reason behind the timing of the announcement was so Michigan State can search for a new coach with transparency, Mason said.\nSmith did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press.\nSmith has a 22-23 record in four seasons at Michigan State. He led the Spartans to the Alamo Bowl in his first season, but the team did not qualify for a bowl in 2004 or 2005.\nMichigan State was 5-3 in the Big Ten his first season, 4-4 in 2004 and 2-6 in 2005.\nThe decision comes nearly four years to the day after Michigan State fired Bobby Williams with three games left in a season that was disappointing on and off the field.\nSmith has a 132-83 record in 18 seasons as a college head coach.\nHe was hired at Michigan State after having solid success at Louisville, where he went 41-21 and made five consecutive bowl trips from 1998-2002.\nSmith, who also coached at Utah State and Idaho, took the reigns at a Michigan State program that has rarely contended for a Big Ten championship since the late 1960s. The Spartans last went to the Rose Bowl after the 1987 season and haven't won a share of the Big Ten title since finishing in a four-way tie in 1990.\nThis season, the Spartans started with three straight wins and led Notre Dame by 16 points in the fourth quarter. But Michigan State squandered the lead, losing 40-37, and hasn't been the same since. The next week, the Spartans lost to lowly Illinois.\nInjuries and lack of depth have also taken a toll on Michigan State this season.