Michigan State Football: Who could Mel Tucker replace Mike Tressel with?
With Mike Tressel expected to take the Cincinnati defensive coordinator job, who will Michigan State football and Mel Tucker replace him with?
A few years ago, Mike Tressel was one of the hottest defensive coordinator names on the market. Harlon Barnett had just left his position as co-defensive coordinator to join Willie Taggart down in Tallahassee as Florida State’s defensive coordinator, leaving the position solely to Tressel and he didn’t disappoint.
Tressel’s defense was one of the best in the country and if it weren’t for one of the worst offenses in the country, Michigan State may have very well contended for a Big Ten title.
That defense was solid again in 2019 but when Mark Dantonio announced his sudden retirement, Mel Tucker brought Barnett back and asked Tressel to stay on staff, but he took a demotion, coaching just the safeties as Scottie Hazelton assumed the defensive coordinator position.
Now, it looks like Tressel is wanting a promotion and he knows he’ll have to look elsewhere to find one with Hazelton locked in as the defensive coordinator. And it looks like Cincinnati will be his new home.
Sources: Cincinnati is expected to hire Mike Tressel as the school's next defensive coordinator. He's a longtime Michigan State assistant and the school's former DC under Mark Dantonio. Luke Fickell and Tressel were on staff at Ohio State together in the early 2000s.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 18, 2021
This move makes sense for Cincinnati because Tressel coached at the school from 2004-06 under Dantonio and he and Luke Fickell are familiar with each other, dating back to their Ohio State days.
But this leaves an opening on Michigan State’s staff and SpartanMag’s Corey Robinson brought up the plan for Tucker to look at a natural safeties coach who is also an ace recruiter and one name comes to mind with that statement: Steve Clinkscale.
This is something that has made a ton of sense since the position opened in Cincinnati. Tressel deserves to be a DC somewhere. It will also allow the Spartans to get a natural safeties coach and ace recruiter to replace Tressel https://t.co/tBfqzrjsOR
— Corey Robinson (@C_Robinson247) January 18, 2021
Clinkscale was a name on the radar for Michigan State a year ago when Tucker was piecing together his staff, but it never came to fruition. Now, with the Spartans needing a safeties coach, Clinkscale makes sense and he’s a plus recruiter who has been one of the best on Kentucky’s staff since 2016 and a big reason why the Wildcats have turned things around.
If I had to pick one perfect fit who could help upgrade the recruiting effort in East Lansing to replace Tressel, it’d be Clinkscale and that seems to be a name floating around right now.
This would be a big win for Tucker and Co.
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