Report: Alabama DBs coach Mel Tucker will be next DC at Georgia

Alabama defensive backs coach Mel Tucker will be the next defensive coordinator at Georgia, reports Fox Sports’s Bruce Feldman.

Tucker, 44, will follow outgoing Crimson Tide defensive coordinator and next Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart to Athens. Tucker spent one season at Alabama after a decade coaching in the NFL, where he worked as defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns. He also served as interim head coach of the Jaguars in 2011, going 2–3.

Prior to getting his NFL start in 2005 as defensive backs coach with the Browns, Tucker served as co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State. He spent 2001-2003 as defensive backs coach for the Buckeyes, and worked in the same role with LSU and Miami (Ohio) in 2000 and 1999, respectively.

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The Bulldogs went 10–3 this season, finishing out with a victory over Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl. Georgia parted ways with longtime head coach Mark Richt (now at Miami) on Nov. 29, and announced Smart as his replacement Dec. 6.

Smart and Tucker are currently finishing out the season with Alabama as the team prepares to face Clemson for the national title on Monday.

- Jeremy Woo

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