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He lived a Spartan lifestyle for a quarter of a century, and loved every minute of it.
Ken Mannie was Michigan State's head strength and conditioning coach for the past 25 years. The 1970 Catholic Central grad announced his retirement earlier this month, dropping the curtain on a 45-year coaching career.
Mannie is the brother-in-law of Steubenville Big Red football coaching legend Reno Saccoccia.
"My wife and I have been thinking about this (retirement) for the past few years. Last January we decided that the 2019 season would be my final one coaching," Mannie said in a recent phone interview. "I will be 68 this July. It is time to spend time with the family."
"Coaching is a demanding profession. The time constraints are great," he added. "We have two grandchildren here in East Lansing. It is time to give more back to my wife and family."
Mannie's expertise as a strength and conditioning coach is reflected in that he worked for four different head coaches at Michigan State. Most times, a new head coach brings in his own staff.
"I first came to Michigan State with Nick Saban. We worked together at the University of Toledo. Coach Saban left Toledo to become Bill Belichick's defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns," Mannie said. "After he spent four years with the Browns, I got a call at 3 in the morning from him. He asked, 'are you sleeping?' I responded jokingly that I just finished my final set of pushups for the night."
"He said that he was going to be named head coach at Michigan State the next day and that he wanted me to go with him. Coach Saban said that he was picking me up the next morning on his way to East Lansing. I have been here ever since," the former Crusader added. "I have had a lot of great opportunities to leave. I could have gome to LSU, Ohio State and Alabama. All three went on to win national championships. I may put on my tombstone that I passed on more national championships than any coach in history."
After graduating Catholic Central, Mannie continued his academic and football careers at the University of Akron. He was a two-year starter for the Zips.
Mannie subsequently cut his coaching teeth at his alma mater.
"After 10 years of coaching high school, I wanted to see if I could do it on the college level. I landed a graduate assistant's position at Ohio State. I was the oldest GA there. They called me grandpa," Mannie said. "It was there that I met Mark Dantonio (recently retired Michigan State head coach and Zanesville High grad). Ohio State proved a springboard for my college career."
And what a career it was.
Mannie was enshrined into the USA Strength/Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame, Collegiate Division, in 2014. He was also named the FootballScoop Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2015 when Michigan State won a Big Ten title and reached the College Football Playoff.
Moreover, the Spartans' closed out the 2017 season with a Holiday Bowl win over Washington State in San Diego. The junket featured a tour of the USS Essex. While aboard, Mannie was presented with the Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp Trophy as the individual who embodies dedication and teamwork but doesn't receive much recognition.
"The reason we stayed her for 25 years is that we love it here. East Lansing is a lot like Steubenville except for a big university in it. It is a close-knit community," Mannie said. "We watched our daughter grow up here, go to school at Michigan State and now work for the university. It's been a great life here," he added. "Now I want to give back to the coaching profession. The most influential people in my life have been my former teachers and coaches. They had a positive impact on me and help to shape me. I would like to do the same for young coaches."
Michigan State earlier this month hired Mel Tucker to replace Dantonio as its new head coach. Tucker asked Mannie to stay on to lead the Spartans' strength and conditioning program. Mannie, after a couple of days to ponder the offer, remained steadfast to his decision to retire.
Mannie is married to the former Marianne Saccoccia. They have one daughter, Alaina, a 2010 Michigan State grad. They also have two grandchildren.