Who is Mel Tucker?

Who Is Mel Tucker?

Jack Del Rio is gone.  So who's replacing him? Mel Tucker gets first shot at becoming the new head coach in Jacksonville.  So, let's see if we can find out a little bit about him.

Before becoming Interim Head Coach, Tucker was serving as defensive coordinator for the Jags.  This is the first year he is calling plays and his defensive unit is currently ranked fourth in totals yards per game and fifth in points per game.  Not too bad.

Let's go to the beginning.  He played defensive back at the University of Wisconsin.  In 1997, he became a graduate assistant at Michigan State under Nick Saban.  He coached defensive backs for two years at Miami of Ohio before joining Saban on the LSU staff in 2000.  His first defensive coordinator job came in 2004, at Ohio State under Jim Tressel.  He served as DB coach from '01 - '03 before becoming co-defensive coordinator.  

Tucker moved to the NFL in 2005 coaching defensive backs with the Cleveland Browns through the 2007 season.  He became Cleveland's defensive coordinator under Romeo Crennel in 08.  They were fifth in the league in total yards.  Which brings us to Jacksonville.  He's been with the Jaguars since 2009.

He has a background in both 4-3 and 3-4 defenses.  He's learned from quality coaches.  Can he get the job done?  Maybe.  Is he capable of handling the load?  Time will tell.  Good luck, Mel.