Former Georgia football assistant coach connected to LSU coaching vacancy

Georgia Football and the Kirby Smart coaching tree are starting to influence various college football programs. Is another former Smart assistant on his way back to the SEC soon?

On Sunday, LSU football announced that head coach Ed Orgeron would not be returning as head coach of the Tigers in 2022. This announcement comes a day after the Tigers took down No. 20 Florida 49-42 in Death Valley.

Despite having a perfect 15-0 season in 2019 where the Tigers won the SEC and National Championships, they have gone 9-8.

These results aren’t because they haven’t been able to find replacements for Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and first-round NFL draft picks Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

The LSU head coaching job has to be one of the most prestigious positions in college football thanks to great recruiting in Louisiana and neighboring states like Texas and the opportunity to compete in the SEC.

Some of the big names that could be potential replacements include Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda, Penn State coach James Franklin, and Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

Aranda was the Tigers’ defensive coordinator for the 2019 season, and Brady was the passing coordinator on that same team.

Georgia football’s former defensive coordinator and current Michigan State Head Coach Mel Tucker has also had his name thrown into the mix.

According to college football insider Bruce Feldman, Tucker is well-liked among LSU officials, and they are really impressed with his work as a head coach.

The connection of Tucker to LSU also comes thanks to the fact that he served as LSU Defensive Backs coach in 2000 under Nick Saban.

Tucker is in his second season as the MSU head coach after spending a year at Colorado. His Spartans are 7-0 and ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25, a big turnaround from a 2-5 season last year.

Tucker was Kirby Smart’s first Defensive Coordinator when Smart became the head coach at Georgia and coached some elite defenses from 2016-2018. During the 2017 run to the College Football Playoff national championship game, the Dawgs ranked No.6 in the country in total defense, allowing an average of 16.4 points per game and 295 yards of total offense.

He would also coach future NFL players on defense such as Roquan Smith, Lorenzo Carter, and Deandre Baker.

Before his time at Georgia, Tucker served as the defensive backs coach at Alabama with coach Saban and Smart and had other coaching positions at various schools. He has also been a defensive coordinator for three different NFL teams — the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

He served as an interim coach for Jacksonville the last few games of the regular season when he was there.

Though Coach Tucker is only in year two at MSU, he is no stranger to leaving quickly for other jobs. He only stayed at Colorado for one season before bolting to the Spartans, so there is a strong possibility that he would consider LSU.

Tucker would be a big get for the Tigers. He is an excellent recruiter, great defensive mind, is familiar with coaching the SEC, and has proven he can turn programs around and find success quickly, a very valuable trait in today’s college football.