Here's What I'm Thinking...Michigan State Hires Mel Tucker

Michigan State's coaching search was certainly a peculiar one. It only took eight days, which isn't very long, but several high profile candidates turned the job down publicly, including the guy who eventually ended up taking the job.

Former Colorado head coach Mel Tucker has been tabbed as MSU's new head coach after he initially, and quite publicly and adamantly, announced that he had turned down the Spartans and would be remaining at Colorado. Michigan State is reportedly throwing a bunch of money at Tucker, which he simply couldn't turn down. It's great that MSU ended up with a guy they wanted, but how does it feel knowing that Tucker didn't really want the job but essentially had to say yes because of the money offer? That wouldn't instill a ton of confidence in me if I was a Spartan fan or member of the athletic department. Nevertheless, he's on his way to East Lansing so that has to be viewed as a small win.

When comparing his reported salary of around $6 million per year, it does make you scratch your head a bit considering Mark Dantonio was in the low $4 million dollar range as his career concluded. Tucker went just 5-7 in his one year at Colorado, which is his only year as a college head coach (he does have a 2-3 record as an interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars). As an assistant coach, Tucker is quite qualified. He's been a defensive backs coach or a defensive coordinator at every stop he's been at, which includes some of the who's who in college football. Coaching at Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Ohio State is going to bolster a resumé in a big way, and Tucker can boast that. Still, he's getting a massive raise for a guy who just isn't that proven.

Given the reported numbers surrounding Tucker's contract, it makes you wonder what Cincinnati head coach and top target Luke Fickell turned down. Is it possible that he was offered the same deal, which would nearly triple his salary and he still said no? If so, that's telling, especially considering that Fickell cited some "culture issues" as one of the reasons he turned down the Spartans. It's in the past now, but still makes you wonder exactly what Fickell knows about the job and maybe impending sanctions surrounding the Curtis Blackwell case.

Finally, Tucker is billed as a very good recruiter, which we all know is incredibly important and would be a significant upgrade over what Michigan State has done in recent years. One wonders if Tucker's success on the recruiting trail is him or the schools he was working for — LSU, Ohio State and Alabama — but he managed to put together the No. 35 recruiting class in the country this past cycle at Colorado, which is worth noting but not much better than MSU's 43rd ranked class.

All in all, I think this is a decent hire. Tucker is not very proven as a head coach but is outstanding as a position coach and a recruiter, at least on paper. He's youngish at 48 years old and will certainly shake up what was going on under Dantonio. He's a defensive guy, so I would assume the Spartan D will remain strong, but his offensive hires are going to be incredibly important. He was on Michigan State's initial short list and now he's going to be in East Lansing, which should be viewed as a win even though it was a little unorthodox and might've cost more than MSU was initially willing to spend. I'm not sure Spartan fans are doing backflips in excitement, and I'm not sure anyone else in the Big Ten is scared of this hire, but it's a pretty damn good hire given the circumstances.

What do you think of the hire? How would you grade it? Comment below!!!