Shocker: Dantonio Announces Retirement, ‘Forever A Spartan’

Mark Dantonio is calling it a career. The shocking news coming out Tuesday afternoon.

On his personal twitter account, Dantonio simply said "To all Spartans: Thank you for everything. You have truly helped my dreams come true."

The longtime Michigan State University football coach is retiring after 13 seasons as the Spartan football coach, though will remain employed in the athletic department.

The Athletic quotes Dantonio's statement saying "I feel it is now time for a change as we enter into new decade of Michigan State football." He mentioned the grind of the job, having no "down time".

Dantonio, 63, became the MSU coach in 2007. In his thirteen years, he coached the team to Big Ten championships, a Rose Bowl victory, and a trip the College Football Championship Playoff. He was named Big Ten coach of the year twice.

While the Spartans were quite successful in the start of the 2010's, the past few seasons have been a struggle. While Sparty won 36 games from 2013-2015, the team is 27-24 since.

As ESPN reports, the past few years have also had the share of scandal and controversy.