Michigan State Football: Mel Tucker garnered NFL interest before signing extension
“I always made it clear that MSU is a destination, not a stepping stone.”
Those words from Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker on Draymond Green’s podcast eased the minds of countless Spartan fans who were sweating out a potential contract extension. There were rumors of a 10-year extension, but nothing concrete had come out about it.
All of that changed this week as Tucker and Michigan State announced their official 10-year, $95 million deal which will keep him in East Lansing for quite some time.
Tucker’s declaration of Michigan State as a “destination” began to hold a little more weight with the contract extension and it showed that he was willing to put in the work to turn the program into a perennial title contender.
And while fans were worried about Tucker being targeted by LSU or USC this offseason, little did anyone know that he was garnering some serious NFL interest.
Before Mel Tucker and his agent Neil Cornrich negotiated a 10-year, fully-guaranteed $95 milllon extension with MSU that included more guaranteed money than any other college HC, NFL teams inquired to see if Tucker would have any interest in moving to the next level, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 28, 2021
This just further proves that Tucker loves where he sits in East Lansing with Michigan State and he must feel that he’s building something truly special. He has Michigan State 10-2 in just his second year, likely headed to a New Year’s Six bowl and he’s recruiting at a high level.
Also, this must mean that Tucker isn’t dying to get back to the NFL if he shot down the interest and signed a 10-year deal to remain at the college level. It seems as if he enjoys being a college head coach more with the stability and obviously a huge pay raise.
Michigan State football is trending up under Tucker
With Tucker coaching his tail off en route to a 10-win regular season in year two, recruiting is already picking up and it’s officially “flip season”. The Spartans look to be on the verge of flipping a three-star defensive end from West Virginia, a four-star wideout from Texas, and potentially a five-star offensive tackle from Kentucky.
Plus, Tucker has been the king of the transfer portal, so expect him to dip into that pool yet again while also bringing in a top-20 recruiting class.
Why did Tucker deny the NFL and return to Michigan State on a 10-year deal? Because he has something special being built in East Lansing.
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