Mel Tucker Named to Coach of Year Watch List
Didn’t see this posted. Jim Harbaugh is on the Dodd watch list, but I’m afraid he has little chance going up against Mel Tucker. I’m glad the nation recognizes Mel’s true talent through all the noise about being 5-7, having your players assault other teams, and his starting QB running from a dumpster fire. I look forward to the exciting battle between these coaches for the next 9 years and $85.5mm.
The Bobby Dodd Trophy is awarded annually to the coach whose team "enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity."
The award honors scholarship and integrity, and Tuck's on the list?
Now you're just pulling our leg.
How is any non-Vanderbilt SEC coach on the list then?
What about Fitzg....yeah, nevermind.
Vandy did soar well above the 2.5 game over for their wins in 2022. They actually had the same record as MSU at 5-7.
Thanks Mrs. Tucker
Heard he’s issuing an NFT to recognize this enormous accomplishment.
It will have 7L Mel on the front and a Pitbull with SD4L on the back...
You know the Sitch wants in on this...
Caught wind that I made the list this year too.
*Broke
LLLLLLLOL
Yeah, he was 5-7, but he was only a few plays away from being 3-9.
Coach of the Year, in the sense that he is scoring about $2MM per win this season. That's some talent right there.
This is like when a little kid is playing basketball with a professional player at a charity event and they lift the kid up to the rim to dunk. Mini Mel is just getting a boost! Keep being you, big guy!
It’s more like playing b ball with lil bro, letting them get the lead and taking it back.
Definitely in the running for top ten post
Let us know when Mel finishes better than 3rd place in the division.
Actually, he might deserve consideration if he finishes third in the Big Ten East in 2023 with that dumpster fire of a roster he's got.
I would suggest a tire fire roster instead. Did he rearrange the deck chairs this year?
Over/under on which week of the season he’s no longer on the list?
I’m setting the baseline at 5.
If you saying week 5, I’ll take the under… before week 5.
This smells like a “trying to trick another school into hiring him away from MSU”
tbf, we did something very similar with Gattis
Yeah but at least we had a really good team that year so pretending Gattis was a really good assistant was at least plausible. When Sparty misses another bowl game it's going to be very difficult to cover up.
I mean, the locked-door-no-microphones narrative of “with THAT roster, 7-5 is a goddamn miracle” is a persuasive one.
All Tuck has to do is *slightly* overachieve this year and someone might take a flier on him.
This is all starting to remind me of the Charlie Weis Saga from 15 years ago. If Tuck can extract $100M from MSU and another $100M from…say…Texas, I might not have a choice but to start admiring the guy…
Mel will be going on a 15 city PR tour to discuss and promote this nomination.
I suspect MSU will be better than people think. I could see them going 8-4. MSU has some talent and the Big Ten is decidedly mediocre behind the Big Three.
Mel Tucker has a Wayne Fontes vibe about him. You know he isn’t a good coach, but for whatever reason he can squeeze out good seasons mixed in with bad ones. MSU isn’t going to be a serious contender so long as he is coach. Especially now that SC is in the league.
EDIT: Sheesh, I am getting beat up for this. Look, fellas, all I am saying is that we have seen similarly low expectations Spartan teams outperform their preseason rankings. We saw that in 2021.
I would agree with you if MSU still had Peyton Thorne and Keon Coleman.
I think this is giving credit to the Sparty of old when they did a ton with what they had available to them. Mel came in on 2nd base inheriting Dantonio’s roster and getting Walker for a rental. Guys comparable to Walker wouldn’t touch this team in it’s current state.
What Mel has now is mostly his own work, and it’s nothing like it was. Watching this team go to shit is going to be magically delicious.
Not unless Barry Sanders is walking through that door in E Lansing. And honestly, he'd be their best back at age 55, by a wide margin.
Happy Birthday Barry! Turns 55 tomorrow.
Mel Tucker has a Wayne Fontes vibe about him. You know he isn’t a good coach, but for whatever reason he can squeeze out good seasons mixed in with bad ones.
He's had one winning season in his career.
2019 - 5-7
2020 - 2-5
2021 - 11-2
2022 - 5-7
In fairness 5 wins last year felt like a miracle at the time.
Not really. About the only game you can say they won, but shouldn't have, is maybe Illinois. Everyone else they beat was trash.
Can you imagine giving this dude that contract?
seriously you can’t be serious. they will compete with Colorado for worst record between them.
“MSU has some talent.” What does that mean? MSU has “minimal B1G talent” or “solid MAC talent” would be more accurate, but not sure this roster has meaningful B1G talent.
O skill group is bottom of the B1G. QB, RB and WRs likely couldn’t start for anyone but NW or Rutgers. OL has been a disaster but they have 1-2 ok players. Thorne, Reed and Coleman were the whole offense and they’re gone.
DL has Barrow who would start or go 2-deep for any B1G team. LBs are just ok - maybe middle of the B1G. Secondary was a dumpster fire and the only quality player (Henderson) is gone.
Special teams will be mediocre to poor with the weak specialists and lack of team speed/athleticism.
Yes, they will sell out vs UM and the game will be weird. Yes, they will barely compete vs OSU and it will be a blow out. They have maybe 2% chance to win the East and 98% scenario of multiple bludgeonings. I think 3-9 is more likely than 5-7 and significantly more likely than 6-6. Hard to see a path to 7-5 and all good luck is necessary for 8-4.
To be fair : if Sparty goes 6-6 he will get a ton of Coach of the year votes ,because he built them into a 3-9 type team .
Definitely not recruiter of the year! If he goes 6-6 with that team he has an argument.
How'd he nab that Nick Marsh guy? Is he a legacy or something?
No. He doesn't have an argument even if they go 6-6. If MSU goes at least 8-4 and has at least 1 win against Michigan, Ohio State, or Penn State, it might be favorable. Otherwise the AP voters will kiss the ass of one of the usual kissed-ass teams, or there will be a number of teams that improve beyond what MSU does and one of those coaches will get the award.
I mean isnt every coach on the list at the start of the season?
COTY candidate lined up 3 DBs over 4 WRs with bowl eligibility on the line.
to be fair, if they turn around the shit stain that was last year into a B1G Championship this year, then he will have deserved the COY award.
Now all he has to do is go undefeated. Can't wait to see your success, Mel
pffffffftt LOL
Altogether there are 21 coaches on the list. (Does that mean a guy not on the list could go 12-0 and have no chance at winning?)
One criterion is APR score. Coaches' programs had to have a score over 980. Harbaugh was one of only three on this list whose program had a perfect 1000 score.
Can MSU not release the results of their games? That may be wise. Most people won’t be watching anyway.