EAST LANSING -- Every spring after basketball season, Michigan State basketball assistant coach Dane Fife has a similar conversation with his boss, Tom Izzo, about the future.
"I usually ask coach, 'Do you still see value in what I bring? Because I still see value in being a part of your staff,'" Fife said recently.
After seven seasons on staff, Fife wants to make sure he's still providing value to the program. At the same time, in many years Fife has been evaluating the flip side of that: is being at Michigan State still his best option or is there a head coaching job that makes sense to pursue?
Thus far, the answers to those questions have always come back the same. Izzo sees value in keeping Fife and his two other assistants, Dwayne Stephens and Mike Garland. And those assistants, thus far, have seen staying in East Lansing as their best move compared to other options.
The result is a Michigan State basketball staff that's enjoyed a remarkable level of continuity in recent years. Izzo, Stephens, Fife and Garland are now in their eighth consecutive season together as the program's four coaches.
That run makes Michigan State's staff an anomaly in college basketball. Of the 353 Division 1 college basketball programs, only two have had the same coaching staff for longer than Michigan State: St. Joseph's, which is entering year 12 with the same staff, and Iowa, entering year nine.
In total, just 10 staffs across the country have been fully intact for six or more seasons.
On top of the longevity of this staff, Michigan State has the two longest-tenured assistants in program history currently on its bench in Garland, with 19 seasons as a Michigan State assistant across two stints, and Stephens with 16 straight seasons.
The coaches say that experience and familiarity with one another is a major asset as they look to keep the program atop the Big Ten.
"Everybody knows who's doing what, it makes it a little easier to get that across to the team when you're trying to prepare for a game," Stephens said. "I'm looking at one thing, Dane's looking at something, Mike is looking at something. We've got ways to cover the whole part of it."
As they enter year eight, the Spartans coaching staff has their specific duties mostly ironed out. Stephens works primarily with frontcourt players, Fife largely with perimeter players. Garland, in addition to his on-court duties, has developed a role as a mentor for players off the court. Spartans point guard Cassius Winston likened him to a wise uncle.
Together, that quartet is able to present a united message when addressing players while still bringing their unique perspectives.
"You're always on the same page, because you've been through it," Garland said. "So the philosophies don't differ. Kids are hearing the same message all the time, and we know what Tom wants."
Michigan State has been able to buck the trend of coaching turnover for a variety of reasons.
Start with Izzo, who is entering his 24th season as Michigan State's head coach. His year-in and year-out success, with 21 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, provides a unique level of stability both for him and his staff.
And those who report to Izzo say that his demanding style can be difficult but ultimately improves them as coaches.
"Coach Izzo's a great guy to work for," Fife said. "Is he hard to work for? Yes, but we wouldn't want it any different. He demands the most out of us."
Michigan State's bigger risk of coaching turnover is for its assistants to leave to become head coaches. That happened seven times between 1996 and 2011, including Garland going to Cleveland State for three years before eventually returning.
But since Mark Montgomery left to become Northern Illinois' coach in 2011, that hasn't happened, in part because of commitments from the school.
According to contracts obtained by MLive, Stephens will make $345,000 in base salary this season, Fife will make $340,000 and Garland will make $320,000. Bonuses for postseason accomplishments can add to those salary totals.
Michigan State has been aggressive in keeping those salaries competitive in the upper echelon in college hoops: in the last four years, Fife's salary has risen 76 percent, Stephens' has risen 66 percent and Garland's has risen 59 percent.
Those salaries make many Division 1 head coaching jobs a lateral move or a step down in pay. According to the USA Today salary database, at least six coaches in the 2018 NCAA Tournament made $362,000 or less.
So while members of Izzo's staff hope to be head coaches, particularly the 39-year-old Fife and 47-year-old Stephens (Garland is 64), the stability and salary in East Lansing allows them to be choosy about which jobs they seek to ensure they can go somewhere with an opportunity to be successful.
"I would love to be a head coach, but I don't want to just take a job to say that I'm a head coach," Stephens said. "Michigan State is home for me. I played here, I've been here for a long time. I think it has to be the right fit."
Another reason, though, that staffs rarely spend eight seasons together is that many head coaches see value in occasional turnover. New coaches now and then bring new energy and fresh ideas, so the thinking goes.
Izzo said that he works to keep things fresh in his program but doesn't have to change his staff to do so.
"I think you've always got to worry about getting stale," Izzo said. "I don't mean because of the assistants. The head coach has to worry about getting stale."
Instead, Izzo has recently brought in former coaches to observe his program and offer feedback. Former assistant Doug Wojcik is spending the year with the program, observing and providing feedback, two years after Brian Gregory did the same.
Garland said having experienced outside voices for the staff has proven valuable.
"It always helps to have someone that's looking at it from a different perspective than the one we're coming at it with," Garland said. "That doesn't mean that we have to totally change. Maybe there's something in that person's perspective that's going to help us from our perspective."
But primarily, day in and day out, it's been the same four coaches doing the scouting, practices, recruiting and everything else for far longer than most groups in their profession do.
"Are there disagreements at times? Yeah there's disagreements," Garland said. "But if there weren't, then it wouldn't be honest. But once it's established how we're going to establish a situation, whether it's on or off the court, we're going to all be on the same page."