Michigan State will have its head coach back Saturday for its Big Ten opener versus Wisconsin. Mark Dantonio announced at his Tuesday press conference that he has returned to work this week.
It doesn’t appear, however, that Dantonio will resume full head coaching duties for the Spartans. He will be at practice this week to help with preparations for the Badgers, but will work from the coaches box during the game on Saturday. Dantonio told the media that returning to his full workload will be a gradual process.
"I’m going to ease back into this much like anybody would after an injury," Dantonio said. "We don’t discuss injuries, so why discuss mine? It’s a personnel issue as far as when I come back and when I’m full go. I’m gonna listen to our doctors, ease back into this and do something daily with our football team."
As might be expected, Dantonio tried to discuss MSU’s game with Wisconsin more than his condition. But his presence meant questions about his recovery would be addressed. But Dantonio acknowledged that his heart attack forced him to assess how he goes about his work.
“Hopefully when you go through something like this you become a little bit wiser, become a little bit more compassionate toward people or whatever. But I can’t answer that question right now. It’s difficult to answer and I’m probably not the one to answer that question, it’s the people around me that can answer that question better.”