Mel Tucker fills Michigan State coaching vacancy
Tucker is from Ohio, played at Wisconsin, began his coaching career in East Lansing, has made stops with some of the sport’s heavyweights (Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia) and spent 10 seasons as an NFL assistant, most of them as a defensive coordinator. He checked all the boxes.
Michigan State’s dire straits were evident in the money it will be paying Tucker. According to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, the Big Ten school will “more than double” the $2.675 million annual salary Tucker made in his lone season at Colorado, double Tucker’s $3.2 million salary pool for assistant coaches and increase the Michigan State strength and conditioning staff’s budget, also paying Colorado a $3 million buyout.
Michigan State’s dire straits were evident in the money it will be paying Tucker. According to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, the Big Ten school will “more than double” the $2.675 million annual salary Tucker made in his lone season at Colorado, double Tucker’s $3.2 million salary pool for assistant coaches and increase the Michigan State strength and conditioning staff’s budget, also paying Colorado a $3 million buyout.