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Given that Michigan State is one of Michigan’s big rivals, the departure of Mark Dantonio and sudden hire of Mel Tucker away from Colorado is big news that has potential impact on the Wolverines.
When Dantonio arrived in 2007, he put Michigan square in his crosshairs, and if Wolverines fans weren’t aware of his threat, once he took a multiple score lead in his first game against the maize and blue in East Lansing, and letting a cocky smirk overtake his face, U-M fans knew it was on. And of course, once Michigan won the game in comeback fashion, the war of words and between programs started in earnest. We don’t have to replay all of that, because anyone versed in the rivalry is already well aware.
Dantonio, consumed by his hatred of Michigan, went 8-5 against the Wolverines, but it seemed to be falling apart. He was just 6-2 before Jim Harbaugh arrived, and started 2-1 in his first three games, but lost three of the last four.
Enter Mel Tucker, who went 5-7 in his sole season as a head coach in college football. Tucker, who was the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator from 2009-2012 was the interim head coach there for five games in 2011, compiling a 2-3 record.
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He almost certainly has the requisite hatred of Michigan, having gotten his start under Nick Saban at MSU as a graduate assistant in 1997-98, before getting his earnest start as a DB coach, first for Miami (OH), then at LSU. After those two years, he transitioned over to the same role at Ohio State under Jim Tressel, spending two years as the DB coach before rising to co-defensive coordinator in 2004, serving under formal DC Mark Snyder. That single season was good enough to propel him to the NFL, where he started first as the Cleveland Browns defensive backs coach before becoming the defensive coordinator in 2008.
Tucker was in the NFL ranks from 2005-2014, but then came back to college, where he served, once again, under Nick Saban at Alabama. this time as associate head coach and DB coach. He was only there for one year, and departed with Kirby Smart to Georgia, where he spent three seasons as defensive coordinator. In Athens, he oversaw the 16th, 6th and 13th-rated defenses in the country. It was good enough to earn him the Colorado head coaching job, after Mike McIntyre was fired. There, as mentioned, he went 5-7, overseeing the 104th defense and 82nd offense.
Where Tucker shines seems to be recruiting. In 2018, he was 14th in 247Sports’ recruiter rankings, and 20th the year before that. As the head coach at Colorado, his first full class — which he won’t get to actually coach — was ranked 35th, according to the 247Sports Composite.
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Given that MSU swung and missed on Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell, it’s a decent consolation prize, especially given the PR firestorm that accompanied that, and the public rebuffings from Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi and even Tucker himself.
Where the Spartans perhaps falter here, however, is that they’re paying a reported $5 million-plus per year to a head coach who has not even, in the least, proven that he can build and oversee a winning team. It’s a giant gamble. Yes, he can recruit, but we haven’t even seen whether or not, as a head coach, he can do so against teams like Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and even Maryland at this juncture. All of these teams are in the same division. There are reports that he’s attempting to lure Vince Marrow away from Kentucky, which would be a huge get form MSU — Michigan attempted to do the same when Jim Harbaugh arrived.
But, haven’t we seen before where avid recruiters don’t necessarily equal results on the field when it comes to X’s and O’s? Brady Hoke brought in some great classes to Ann Arbor on paper, but failed to utilize the talent at hand. MSU might have been better off going out and getting a coach from the Group of 5 with a solid track record on the field, rather than someone who can potentially lure players to East Lansing. Yes, recruiting is the life’s blood of any program, but results on the field matters more than anything. Mark Dantonio’s tenure there proves that coaching prowess and development are paramount for a program like Michigan State.
Still, it’s probably the best possible outcome for MSU given Dantonio’s untimely resignation in February. We’ll see if Tucker brings the same type of fervor to the rivalry as his predecessor — though, that will be hard to top. But he faces an uphill battle, a certain rebuild on the horizon. And as someone who doesn’t have the bona fides record-wise in that department, it’s a certain gamble for Michigan’s rival to the northwest.
In the end, it’s a high risk, high reward scenario. But given that Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and others in the Big Ten East aren’t likely to take much, if any, steps back in the near future, Tucker will have a significantly more difficult path towards success than Dantonio had.