Remind me why we’re not supposed to like Mel Tucker

Small sample size as a HC and some outright failures as a coordinator. He might end up being a great HC but I think he's a somewhat risky hire.

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MSU’s W-L
2018 5-4
2019 4-5
2020 2-5
2021 5-0

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I think you laid it out right here

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We now know that Tate isn’t forcing Woody’s hand, so it’s not that.

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Where the frick do you get that from? Tate has already “publicly” stated that he believes it is time for a minority hire

So if he publicly stated that, wtf do you think he is saying behind closed doors!!! Wake the frick up!

Now I am not saying Tucker will or won’t be the next coach, all I care about is that we hire the best coach for the job irregardless of their skin color! And I would bet 98% of alumni and fans feel the same way! We don’t care about skin color, we only care about what is best for the football program!

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- During the 2011 NFL lockout, Mel Tucker faced a dilemma.
Tucker, then the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator, was set to oversee a unit with almost an entirely new starting lineup. The Jaguars had been active in free agency, but the lockout prohibited OTAs or any contact between coaches and players. Tucker couldn't even text the new guys. When the lockout lifted in late July, the Jaguars and other teams immediately began preseason preparation.
Jacksonville went on to produce the NFL's No. 6 defense that season.
"We had to bring those guys together fast," Tucker said. "Because no one cares, 'Oh, well, they got all these new guys, it's going to take them a while.' I just got really comfortable and used to new faces, getting them in place and doing it quickly."


Tucker's NFL background provided him the tools he would need a decade later, in a different job, where he orchestrated the most successful one-year roster flip in college football's transfer portal era. After going 2-5 last season, his first as Michigan State's head coach, Tucker dove into the portal and emerged with 20 players, 15 from other FBS programs.
Transfers such as running back Kenneth Walker III, the nation's leader in rushing average (142.4 yards per game), and contributions of many holdovers from MSU's 2020 team have helped the Spartans to a 7-0 start and a No. 8 ranking. Michigan State on Saturday hosts archrival Michigan, also 7-0 and ranked No. 6.
The Spartans' rapid rise shows what the portal can do for programs, if approached the right way. For Tucker, that meant applying his NFL experience.
"Going through 10 drafts and 10 free-agency periods, you get the experience of how to build a team, not just collect players," said Tucker, a coordinator with the Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears. "In the NFL, it's all about the players, man. It's all about the matchups. You can think you can outcoach some people, but you've got to identify players who fit what you want, in your scheme, in your coaching philosophy.
"And you've got to go get those guys."
Every college coach must navigate the transfer portal. Some are aggressive like Tucker, but most haven't been nearly as successful. Here's a look at why Tucker's NFL-style portal strategy worked, how MSU blended transfers with holdover players to optimize performance, the common misperceptions about the portal and what other teams can learn from the Spartans' approach.


Michigan State added 20 players from the transfer portal over the offseason, including Kenneth Walker III, now the nation's leader in rushing average (142.4 yards per game). Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Tucker's first year at MSU started late and ended early. He arrived Feb. 12, 2020, about two months after most coach hirings, and he barely spent time with the team before COVID-19 hit. MSU had no spring practice. Recruits had been signed and roster changes would be minimal.
Not surprisingly, the Spartans struggled, posting two notable wins -- over Michigan and then-No. 8 Northwestern -- and five losses by an average of 26.4 points. MSU also had players transfer out, another typical outcome of a coaching transition. But several key players also stayed and got a sense of what was to come.
"They bought in, 100 percent, like all the way in," Tucker said. "If they didn't think we were on the right track, either go to the NFL or go get a job. Why go back to a s---show, right? Even though our record didn't show it last year, what we were doing inside the program, huge changes."
MSU still needed more talent. Most college programs assign staff to monitor the transfer portal, but Tucker made MSU's personnel approach clear: The portal would be viewed like an NFL front office does with free agency. High school recruiting basically became the draft.
In 2020, MSU averaged 2.7 yards per rush with a long run of 28 yards, by a quarterback, Payton Thorne. Since the Spartans made the CFP in 2015, they had averaged only 3.73 yards per rush, which ranked 120th nationally.
"I was looking for a guy who could hit a home run, a guy that could change the game," running backs coach William Peagler said. "When I watched the tape of Ken, I realized this guy could be different. I kind of was drooling, like, 'This guy's a perfect fit for what we want to do.'"
Walker had exactly 579 rushing yards in consecutive seasons at Wake Forest. He had 13 rushing touchdowns in only seven games last year, tied for third most in team history. He was part of Wake Forest's future, but he had doubts about whether the offensive scheme, built around a slow-developing mesh with run-pass options, best fit his abilities. MSU offered a chance to run the way he wanted.
Beginning with the first play from scrimmage -- a 75-yard touchdown run at Northwestern -- Walker has delivered this season.

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Kenneth Walker III sets MSU record with 94-yard TDKenneth Walker III sets the Michigan State record for longest play from scrimmage with this 94-yard TD run.
"You go to free agency for need, specific need," Tucker said. "You're not just randomly picking up guys. We were targeting areas where we knew we needed immediate help and/or depth. So when we were recruiting those guys in the portal, we were able to tell them specifically why we wanted them to come here."
The Spartans took a similar approach for other areas. They needed an offensive line anchor and added Jarrett Horst, an All-Sun Belt tackle from Arkansas State. They needed help at cornerback and added two from the SEC in Ronald Williams (Alabama) and Chester Kimbrough (Florida). MSU also added to its defense with linebacker Quavaris Crouch (Tennessee) and end Drew Jordan (Duke). Walker, Horst, Williams, Kimbrough and Crouch all have become full-time starters, while Jordan started the last game.
The Spartans pulled transfers from every Power 5 league -- led by five from the SEC and four from the ACC -- but did so with specific roles in mind.

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Remind me why we’re not supposed to like Mel Tucker

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Look at your own posted W/L record. We’re looking for a coach to build a program, not bring kids in through the transfer portal to get results for one season. Get Back with me when he builds a program and does it for multiple years. Not the smoke and mirrors of the transfer portal for one season.

Michigan St's defense is ranked 103rd in the nation at 424.6 YPG. LSU is ranked 88th at 408.5 YPG. That's enough for me not to want him.

Improvement almost entirely based on a transfer RB carrying the team on his back with 200 yards and 3 TDs a game. Good luck replicating that.

He has proven that he can find players in the transfer portal, coach a group to play cohesively, and make the right decisions in close games. He hasn’t proven much else. We need someone that has also proven that they can at least recruit at a high level and be innovative.

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irregardless

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Because he couldn’t hold Urban’s dick.

We’re going for championships not experiments.