Georgia football loses Mel Tucker on eve of SEC Championship game

Mel Tucker of Georgia football. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Mel Tucker of Georgia football. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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The familiar ying to Kirby Smart’s sideline yang on the Georgia football sideline is leaving. Mel Tucker, current Georgia defensive coordinator, will be named the Colorado head coach sometime after today’s SEC Championship game.

Georgia football defensive coordinator Mell Tucker is leaving the Georgia Bulldogs. He will take the Colorado head coach position sometime after today’s SEC Championship game.

As of now, Colorado has not announced or confirmed the hiring, and Tucker will not be introduced until next week.

For the Georgia football team, the news further tests the resolve of a Dawg defense which has played through a storm of injuries this season.

Testing the Georgia football resolve

Tucker will coach the Georgia football defense today as the Dawgs take on Alabama for the SEC Championship. Predicting how the Dawgs will react would be pure speculation, but this Georgia bunch has been nothing if not fighters all season long. The image of the Bulldog seniors huddling, making a blood oath to take Tucker out with them as winners of the SEC championship is easy to imagine.

Big challenge for Tucker

Tucker takes over a team that has struggled mightily over the last several decades. This year, Colorado joined the Kansas 2009 team as the only squad to open the season 5 – 0 and finish 5 – 7. It was the fifth last Pac – 12 place finish for Mike MacIntyre, the man Tucker replaces.

Mike Singer of the CU SportsNation reported,  “Tucker’s name picked up steam as this week continued, and CUSportsNation.com reported on Friday morning that Tucker had already interviewed for the CU opening. Tucker is coaching the Bulldogs against No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship game on Saturday, and we expect Colorado to make the news official in the next 24-48 hours.”

No good tale lacks a bit of irony, and Tucker’s departure has that. Tucker will face former Bulldog offensive coordinator Mike Bobo annually when Colorado takes on arch rival Colorado State. Bobo serves as the CSU head coach.

What the doctor ordered for Colorado

No doubt Colorado football fans hope Tucker is the antidote to their losing ways, and he appears  to be. Tucker has never coached a losing team. Five times his teams won 11 or more games and his teams have a 78.3 winning percentage) 101-28.

Mel Tucker vital stats

Tucker is now the Georgia football defensive coordinator. His  only work as a head coach was as interim head coach for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2011 season. He is 46 years old and his hometown is Cleveland. Tucker attended Wisconsin as a part of the class of1995. He has a wife, Jo-Ellyn, and two sons, Joseph and Christian.

Coaching history

1997-98: Michigan State (graduate assistant)

1999: Miami-Ohio (Defensive Backs)

2000: LSU (Defensive Backs)

2001-03: Ohio State (Defensive Backs)

2004: Ohio State (co-defensive coordinator/Defensive Backs)

2005-07: Cleveland Browns (Defensive Backs)

2008: Cleveland Browns (defensive coordinator)

2009-12: Jacksonville Jaguars (defensive coordinator)

2013-14: Chicago Bears (defensive coordinator)

2015: Alabama (Defensive Backs)

2016 – present: Georgia (defensive coordinator)