Why Mel Tucker’s name is being mentioned with Ed Orgeron out at LSU - MLive.com

An undefeated record more than midway through the season and a top-10 ranking.

Second-year coach Mel Tucker has Michigan State on a roll that makes him one of the hottest names in the sport. It also is leading to Tucker being mentioned as a candidate for a different job.

Ed Orgeron and LSU reached an agreement for him to step aside after this season and that has the Tigers looking for a new coach.

“I am told that there are some very influential people inside LSU who are really, really high on Mel Tucker,” FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman said on Saturday morning.

That was before Tucker’s No. 9 Spartans won 20-15 at Indiana to improve to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Big Ten play, heading into a bye week with a visit from No. 6 Michigan looming Oct. 30. It also was before LSU and Orgeron announced on Sunday the decision to part ways, with the university paying the $16.9 million remaining on his contract.

No. 9 Michigan State heads into bye week while shifting focus to No. 6 Michigan

Feldman, who also works for The Athletic, previously broke news involving Tucker, including him leaving Colorado to replace Mark Dantonio at Michigan State in February 2020. And Feldman isn’t the only one floating Tucker as a potential candidate for the Tigers.

“Several industry sources mentioned Tucker as an LSU candidate after the Orgeron news broke Sunday,” ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg wrote.

Tucker has 25 years of coaching experience split between college and the NFL in a career that began as a graduate assistant at Michigan State in 1997 under Nick Saban. He was also Saban’s defensive backs coach at LSU in 2000 and has additional SEC experience as an assistant at Alabama and Georgia. He won national titles as an assistant at Ohio State and with the Crimson Tide.

Tucker hasn’t been publicly asked yet about the LSU rumors. His weekly press conference – previously held on Tuesdays before being moved to Mondays starting last week – won’t take place because Michigan State has a bye.

Other potential candidates for the Tigers mentioned by Feldman and Rittenberg include Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M), James Franklin (Penn State), Mark Stoops (Kentucky), Mario Cristobal (Oregon), Dabo Swinney (Clemson) and Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss).

Takeaways, observations from No. 10 Michigan State’s win at Indiana

Although LSU reportedly is interested in Tucker, it’s unclear if he would consider leaving Michigan State after only two seasons. It would be his fourth school in five years. Tucker was the defensive coordinator at Georgia for three seasons before getting his first head coaching job at Colorado in 2019.

After interviewing for the Michigan State job, Tucker on Feb. 8, 2020 tweeted he was “flattered” to be considered but was committed to Colorado. Four days later he was in East Lansing being introduced.

Michigan State signed Tucker to a six-year contract with a $5.5 million annual salary. The buyout for taking another job in college or the NFL was $6 million if he left by Jan. 15, 2021, but dropped to $2.5 million for leaving between Jan. 16, 2021 and Jan. 15, 2022. It declines by $500,000 in subsequent years.

Leaving Colorado for Michigan State resulted in Tucker more than doubling his salary. Orgeron was the second-highest paid coach in the nation – behind only Saban at Alabama – at a little more than $9 million annually, according to USA Today. The Tigers could offer Tucker more money, but Michigan State also could increase its compensation.

Tucker’s dramatic turnaround from 2-5 last year amid pandemic complications to its best start since 2015 has energized the MSU fan base. Meanwhile, Orgeron is out less than 24 months after guiding LSU to a national championship. The Tigers’ last three coaches all claimed the national title, starting with Saban, who left Michigan State after the 1999 season to take at LSU.

Related Michigan State football stories:

Unbeaten Michigan State moves up national rankings

Michigan State’s Payton Thorne and Tyler Hunt use old skills in new way

Defense keys No. 10 Michigan State’s win at Indiana to remain unbeaten

Overheard outside Michigan State’s locker room: Getting spicy and going back to recess

No. 10 Michigan State survives for a 20-15 win at Indiana

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