Tag: Michigan State Football

Mel Tucker to Michigan State is better than Wisconsin hoped

Michigan State reportedly has a coach

The disclaimer which has to be mentioned at the start of every reaction to the hire of a new head coach is that outcomes aren’t guaranteed.

Pete Carroll was not viewed as a great hire by USC 20 years ago. That turned out pretty well for the Trojans.

Tom Herman was viewed as a great hire for Texas. The Longhorns have zero Big 12 championships and zero 11-win seasons since he arrived in Austin. Texas has lost at least four games in all three of Herman’s seasons on the job.

Ed Orgeron just led LSU to one of the greatest seasons in college football history. I buried LSU and athletic director Joe Alleva for making that hire a few years ago. LSU got the last laugh.

These things often work out very differently from what pundits and commentators (myself very much included) expect. We always need to say that and acknowledge it when new head coaches are hired.

That having been said: Any Big Ten school other than Michigan State should feel relatively good about Mel Tucker leaving the Colorado Buffaloes to go to East Lansing as Mark Dantonio’s successor.

Yes, Tucker could turn out to be great. He could hire a great offensive coordinator, which — for any defensive specialist, as Tucker is — acquires considerable importance for anyone in his position. Yet, if you’re a Wisconsin fan, or an Ohio State fan, or a Michigan fan, or a Penn State fan, or an Iowa fan, are you quaking in your boots that Mel Tucker is reportedly coming to Michigan State (with the deal not having been formally announced, it should be noted)?

I would highly doubt it.

Tucker was Kirby Smart’s lieutenant at Georgia and did great work in leading the Bulldogs’ defense to a national championship game appearance. He obviously has solid credentials. Yet, as a head coach, he is entirely unproven. He had only one year at Colorado, so his grade is not a “bad” one so much as it is incomplete. Yet, in that one year, he was hardly overwhelming. Colorado went 5-7.

Maybe the Buffaloes were ready to rise in 2020. We will never know. Yet, in the absence of being able to see Year 2 for Tucker in Boulder, we can’t definitively say, “Wow, Tucker has really made a mark as a head coach.” He isn’t a flawed candidate, but he is an unproven one.

Luke Fickell was a proven candidate based on his work in Cincinnati. Pat Narduzzi was less proven, but at least somewhat proven.

Michigan State probably could have done a lot worse than Mel Tucker… but it also could have done a lot better. Wisconsin fans, on balance, should be happy today.

Michigan State’s Mel Tucker reportedly reaches out to Kentucky lead recruiter

Mel Tucker is making a push for Kentucky assistant and ace recruiter Vince Marrow

Michigan State’s new head coach is wasting no time assembling a staff and not just because it’s the middle of February.

According to Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio, Tucker has already reached out to Kentucky’s Associate Head Coach and Tight Ends coach Vince Marrow to join him at MSU.

Marrow is regarded as one of the best recruiters in the country and even had Jim Harbaugh and UofM trying to lure him away from Kentucky. They key here is that Tucker and Marrow are very close friends that both have strong ties to Ohio. Plus, Michigan State has reportedly given Tucker an assistant salary pool of more than $6 million, which would give Tucker the flexibility to offer Marrow a salary that Kentucky either couldn’t or wouldn’t match. Jones said on his morning radio show that MSU’s offer would include a substantial pay raise. It’s an interesting situation and–while seemly under the radar–could end up being very impactful.

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Michigan State Reportedly Hires Mel Tucker

Mel Tucker has been a head coach at any level for all of 17 games. Five of those came as interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011 before spending last year at Colorado where he went 5-7.

The surprising news last week of Mark D’Antonio stepping down as Michigan State’s head coach led the Spartans on a wild goose chase to find their replacement.

A week later seemingly everyone Michigan State had approached responded with a “thanks, but no thanks”.

Former Spartans defensive coordinator under D’Antonio turned Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi wasn’t interested.

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh declined.

Luke Fickell was the show pony but cited “family reasons” for staying at Cincinnati instead of return to the Big Ten East.

I get why it’s so tough to fill – just look at your immediate competition in the area: Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State are all right there competing for the same talent while those three have a clear step ahead. Then factor in the timing of the opening being about as bad as possible and the hesitation to take the job is even more understandable.

Finally overnight Tuesday into Wednesday it appears they’ve found their replacement, one that has had some success as a coordinator but has had an extremely limited sample as head coach.

Mel Tucker has been a head coach at any level for all of 17 games. Five of those came as interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011 before spending last year at Colorado where he went 5-7.

Maybe they’re famous last words but some people are head coaches while others are excellent coordinators. Not that anything is wrong with that, but I’m hard pressed to get too excited for Tucker leading the charge if I’m a Michigan State supporter.

Tucker’s greatest accomplishments as a coordinator come from 2002 when he helped guide Ohio State to an unlikely national title and 2015 when he helped Alabama win it all in the middle of their dynasty as an assistant head coach/defensive backs coach.

I’m not knocking what he did at Alabama but am I to supposed to think it was the defensive backs coach that was so responsible for that year of success?

Tucker had a stop at Georgia where he ran the defense and coached the defensive backs from 2016-18.

Perhaps it’s because I saw his defenses up close in covering the disasters that were the 2013 and 2014 Chicago Bears, but I’m not sold on Tucker in charge.

Perhaps he steps in and ups recruiting at Michigan State, something they’ve regressed on a bit of late. But will he be able to improve and modernize an offense that largely looked out of 1991 the last five seasons?

I suppose Michigan State doesn’t have to panic and promote an assistant to save face and Tucker’s hiring does at least help that. But it’s hard to see this being a knock out hire for a mostly career coordinator who hasn’t coached in the Big Ten since 2004.

For a guy with such little head coaching experience, entering a division already home to Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan feels like he’s entering a Blackjack table that has a stacked deck against him.

Michigan State and Notre Dame are scheduled to briefly renew their rivalry with a home-and-home in 2026/2027. Time will tell if Tucker can essentially upset the house and be around for those.

Report: Mel Tucker has ‘agreed in principle’ to become new MSU Football head coach

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Colorado head coach Mel Tucker has agreed to become the new head coach at Michigan State.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have some breaking news from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. According to Feldman, Colorado head coach Mel Tucker has ‘agreed in principle’ to become the new MSU Football head coach, replacing Mark Dantonio at Michigan State.

According to reports last weekend, Tucker had removed his name from consideration for the role, but according to Bruce Feldman, the MSU decision-makers made Tucker repeated offers until it became ‘impossible to ignore.’

Here is the initial report from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic:

Tucker, who played in college for Wisconsin, started his coaching career with Michigan State back in 1997 as a graduate assistant. He has since gone on to coach for numerous teams, including Ohio State, LSU, the Cleveland Browns, the Chicago Bears, Alabama, Georgia, and most recently he was the head coach of Colorado, where he went 5-7 in his first year as a head coach.

He had his first stint as a head coach as the interim coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars where he went 2-3 in 2011.

Details are still emerging about the deal, and it obviously hasn’t been officially been confirmed by the University as of 1:23am ET. More to come tomorrow no doubt.

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Michigan State reportedly loses assistant Terrence Samuel to UNLV

The former wide receivers coach is headed back to the offensive side of the ball at UNLV

In a time when Michigan State is attempting to add a coach, they just lost another one.

Former wide receivers coach Terrence Samuel, who was swapped to assistant defensive backs coach in the infamous coaching shuffle of 2019, has been hired away by UNLV to be their wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg first reported to the news.

Samuel has been with Michigan State for nine years, the first eight of which were spent coaching the receivers. During those eight seasons Samuel’s players earned All-Big Ten recognition eight times, including two Big Ten Receivers of the Year in Tony Lippett (2014) and Aaron Burbridge (2015). Five Spartan receivers have been drafted into the NFL since Samuel’s arrival in 2011 and that number could increase this year with Cody White and Darrell Stewart Jr. as potential selections.

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Locked On Spartans Podcast: Luke Fickle Fallout

Luke Fickle tuns down Michigan State. Now what?

Wil and Matt react to Luke Fickle turning down Michigan State and try to suggest some possible new candidates. Then they light up MSU’s athletic department and administrative leadership.

You can find the episode on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

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New York Giants assistant coach Bret Bielema interested in MSU Football coaching job

Former Wisconsin Badgers head coach Bret Bielema is interested in the Michigan State Football head coaching position.

Many MSU Football fans were despondent today, and perhaps rightfully so, after finding out the news that the candidate who seemed most likely to join the Spartans as their next head coach, Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, had turned down the job. Despite the apparent setback, the coaching search continues, and former multi-time Big Ten champion Bret Bielema has expressed ‘definite interest’ in the position, according to Rainer Sabin of the Detroit Free Press.

Bielema was the 2006 Big Ten Coach of the Year and won three Big Ten championships in a row from 2010-2012 with the Wisconsin Badgers. He would go on to Arkansas where he was… less successful. He is now the outside linebackers coach and senior assistant for the New York Giants. He just joined the team after previously acting as the Defensive Line Coach for the New England Patriots in 2019.

Bielema’s success in the Big Ten, and experience, certainly can’t be overlooked.

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Former Michigan State football players call for Harlon Barnett to be next head coach

There’s no doubt who these former players want leading Michigan State next season.

It’s quite obvious who former Michigan State football players want to be the next head coach.

Not long after Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell declined the offer to be the next coach at MSU, tweets started pouring in from former players in support of former Michigan State co-defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett. Barnett left Michigan State after the 2017 season to be the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Florida State. Barnett was not retained after former FSU coach Willie Taggart was fired and is currently without a coaching job.

Here’s just a sampling of some of the tweets in support of Barnett.

A lot of the players in the above tweets were specifically coached by Barnett, who was also defensive backs coach during his time at MSU. But it is certainly notable that there are some offensive players in there as well and some former players who never played under Barnett. Also included is Montez Sweat, who was kicked off the Michigan State team in 2016, but still has positive things to say about Barnett.

Who knows if former players rising around him in support will get Barnett a look at the job, but if it does and he ends up getting it, at the very least he’ll have the support of some very import alumni.

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REACTION: Luke Fickell turns down Michigan State

From the heart. How this blogger feels about MSU’s coaching search.

Hello, darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a streetlamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

“Fools,” said I, “You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you.”
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, “The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence.”

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