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Report: Luke Fickell, Mel Tucker will interview for Michigan State job
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Two candidates will interview for the vacancy at Michigan State, according to a report from Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press.
Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell and Colorado’s Mel Tucker are both expected to interview for the head coaching job in East Lansing, according to the report. Fickell has been considered one of the top candidates to replace Mark Dantonio since the announcement came on Tuesday. Tucker, who has been at Colorado for one season, is a bit of a surprise.
With Dantonio’s announcement to resign coming earlier this week, Michigan State is forced to work quickly on its coaching search. With winter workouts in effect and spring practice just around the corner, it’s imperative that the program get a plan in place soon.
Fickell has spent most of his coaching career in the B1G, working at Ohio State from 2002-16. In 2017, he became the head coach at Cincinnati and has had great success leading the Bearcats. After a 4-8 campaign in his first year, Fickell’s teams have won 11 games in back-to-back seasons.
Knowing the area and with plenty of B1G experience, Fickell has been the betting favorite to land the job.
Tucker spent his playing days in the B1G, suiting up at Wisconsin as a defensive back from 1990-94. He got his coaching career started at Michigan State, where he was a graduate assistant in 1997-98. From 2001-04, he was a member of the Ohio State coaching staff.
Tucker landed his first head coaching gig at Colorado in 2019. In one year, the Buffaloes were 5-7.
Currently, defensive coordinator Mike Tressel is serving as the acting head coach while Michigan State conducts its search.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB