I've been skeptical of MSU's AD for a long time. When Barry didn't get an NCAA invite in 2006 with something like a 24 rpi, but no quality (top-50) wins, Barry got shafted. Then he didn't get a contract extension, which made it impossible for him to recruit. When the lack of recruiting took its' toll, Barry got fired. Nothing quite like making it impossible to succeed and then firing the guy who doesn't succeed.
I'm reminded of the situation at WSU in the late '80's and '90's. Incompetent AD's and an anti-athletics Pres managed to lose a FB program and destroy a once-proud BB program. It took over a decade to recover from that.