Michigan State football has hired Mel Tucker away from Colorado and social media caught fire over the news late on Tuesday night.
Social media was buzzing on Tuesday night and it wasn’t because Xavier Tillman silenced the entire state of Illinois with a single dunk. No, it was because of some football-related news.
Michigan State landed Mel Tucker as its next head coach as the athletic department redeemed itself in a big way. Bill Beekman and Co. were unable to swing Luke Fickell from Cincinnati so they circled back and gauged the interest of the Colorado head coach who apparently was willing to listen and agreed to a major offer that should double his current salary of $2.7 million.
On top of that, it seems like his assistant coaching pool will be more lucrative with more money to play with to create his staff.
This was a home run hire for the Spartans and one major way to create some positive buzz around the program and get donors, fans and alumni back on board. The school was losing support and this may have just re-energized the entire football program.
The news was shocking, especially since Tucker withdrew his name from the race early on, but also because it came after a disaster search with Fickell and subsequent “waffling flake” quote by Board of Trustee Brian Mossollam on the radio regarding the Cincinnati coach.
Twitter was as wild as you’d expect it over the news of Tucker. Here are some of the best reactions.
Mel Tucker:
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) February 12, 2020
-GA at MSU with Saban in the late 90s
-DBs coach with Dantonio at Ohio State
-NFL DC experience
-Reunited with Saban at Alabama in 2015
-Kirby Smart's DC at Georgia
-Secured a top-35 recruiting class in 2020 at Colorado
I have a lot of thoughts, but above all else, Mel Tucker handled this situation very poorly, and that’s a shame for all involved.
— RK (@RyanKoenigsberg) February 12, 2020
Here’s my take: Mel Tucker agreed to CONFIDENTIALLY interview with MSU. When it got leaked he had to publicly withdraw. When Luke Fickel turned down the job, Mel got the offer. This is a huge blow to @CUBuffsFootball pic.twitter.com/gZmxyaU7Ge
— Jeremy Bloom (@JeremyBloom11) February 12, 2020
Mel Tucker the first half of this gif: "Guys, I'm committed to Colorado."
— Mark Springer: Radio Machine (@MarkAMark) February 12, 2020
Mel Tucker the second half of this gif: "Wait, Michigan State will DOUBLE my salary?" pic.twitter.com/E9V8KJq17d
Michigan State has hit a homerun with Mel Tucker @Coach_mtucker . He knows what it takes to play for championships and will put major focus on recruiting. Ties to Michigan State and the midwest. Michigan State is also increasing the pool for assistant coaches drastically
— Corey Robinson (@C_Robinson247) February 12, 2020
Dear Mel Tucker:
— Alec Garnett (@AlecGarnett) February 12, 2020
WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF.
Sincereley,
Colorado
PS: WTF
I think it’s only right that @MSU_Football hires a coach in the wee hours of the night to avoid any sort of immediate storm from MSU Twitter.
— Jake Atnip (@JakeAtnip) February 12, 2020
On that note....excited to see what Mel Tucker can bring to the table. He sure has a few stops on his resume that intrigue me. #GoGreen
I can’t wait to read the reactions to people waking up hearing the news that Mel Tucker left Colorado. pic.twitter.com/OqtKYzUyte
— George Wrighster III (@georgewrighster) February 12, 2020
Tucker has the valuable experience necessary to succeed in East Lansing, and he’s from Ohio so he knows the Midwest. This was an absolute home run.