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Michigan State Football: 3 reasons Mel Tucker will get Spartans back on track

By Connor Muldowney

BOULDER, CO - SEPTEMBER 7: Head coach Mel Tucker of the Colorado Buffaloes hugs a fan who had rushed the field after the Colorado Buffaloes 34-31 overtime win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Folsom Field on September 7, 2019 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
BOULDER, CO - SEPTEMBER 7: Head coach Mel Tucker of the Colorado Buffaloes hugs a fan who had rushed the field after the Colorado Buffaloes 34-31 overtime win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Folsom Field on September 7, 2019 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State football went out and made a statement, paying big bucks for Mel Tucker. He’s going to get the program back, and here’s why.

After what looked to be the worst-case scenario for Michigan State following the Luke Fickell debacle, the athletic department redeemed itself by swaying Mel Tucker away from Colorado.

Despite saying ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to Michigan State a week ago, Tucker was re-approached by Bill Beekman and changed his mind, agreeing to the major raise and staff upgrades that the Spartans offered. The resources in East Lansing trump those in Boulder right now and even though the Buffaloes seemed to be turning a corner under Tucker, he felt this was his best option.

This is a good move for both sides as Tucker will bring a tough-minded defensive approach to East Lansing and the Spartans will give him the resources needed to contend.

Will Tucker turn the program back into a winning one?

3. Tucker will bring in top-tier assistants

One thing that Michigan State fans felt refreshed to see was the pool allotted to Mel Tucker to hire assistants. He was given basically double what Mark Dantonio had and that’s going to work wonders for the Spartans.

Some may be skeptical about the hire because he coached just one season at Colorado and went 5-7, but Tucker will have plenty of money to bring in some of the bigger names in the coordinator field.

Who will be his offensive and defensive coordinators? That much isn’t known just yet, but he seems to be pushing heavily for Kentucky’s top recruiter, and good friend of Tucker, Vince Marrow.

Getting this type of money pool for assistant coaches seemed to hold Michigan State back under Mark Dantonio at the end of his tenure, but so did his blind loyalty. I could see the him retaining some coaches (Ron Burton, Chuck Bullough, Mike Tressel come to mind) but I also believe Tucker will be aiming to get the best money can buy to fill out the staff.

The only way to win these days is by spending money and keeping pace with college football’s big boys and MSU did that by increasing assistant salaries.

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