🏈 New assistant Mel Tucker explains why Alabama was 'great fit'

[BAMANEWSBOT]

Mel Tucker and his family were in the crowd for Alabama's national championship win over Notre Dame in 2013 as well as the Tide's Capital One Bowl victory over Michigan State in 2011, a product of Tucker's relationship with Alabama coach Nick Saban.

Tucker's connection with Saban — combined with trust and familiarity built through the years — contributed to Tucker deciding to join the Tide as secondary coach in January after seven seasons as a defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears.

Tucker, whom the Bears fired following last season, was recruited by Saban in high school, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Saban at Michigan State in 1997 and later coached the defensive backs under Saban at LSU.

"As an assistant coach, you're looking at two things — who you're working for, and can you win?" Tucker said at the DEX Imaging/Reese's Senior Bowl L'Arche Football Preview in late May, via my colleague, Mike Herndon. "As we left Chicago, that's what we took into account. I know, and my wife, Jo-Ellyn, knows, exactly what you're going to get from coach Saban day in and day out.

"He's a guy we have a tremendous amount of respect for. We trust him. He knows us. He knows me. And obviously at Alabama, you've got a chance to win. So it was just a great fit for me."

The 43-year old Tucker will be depended on to help strengthen an Alabama pass defense that ranked fourth-worst out of the SEC's 14 teams last season while aiding in the development of promising young players such as sophomore cornerbackTony Brown and redshirt freshman cornerback Marlon Humphrey.

"I've known Mel for almost 20 years going back to Michigan State when I hired him as a graduate assistant," Saban said in January. "He is an outstanding coach all the way around and really does an excellent job in terms of teaching the players. When you look at his college and NFL experience, his resume is very impressive, and he'll be a positive addition to our defensive staff."

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[sean]

welcome aboard Coach Tucker.

at least he's worked with Coach Saban before and knows what is expected of him.

 

[TerryP]

at least he and his family have worked with Coach Saban before and knows what is expected of him.

A little editing...

That was one of the first things that crossed my mind.

I thought this was a real defining paragraph building on what you pointed out. He's seen it from all sides; player, GA, and assistant coach. More importantly to me is Tucker should be very familiar with Saban's Cover 3 scheme with the route/pattern matching and it's Rip/Liz technique. In a sense, the hire eliminates much of the learning curve a new coach would have to deal with.

Tucker, whom the Bears fired following last season, was recruited by Saban in high school, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Saban at Michigan State in 1997 and later coached the defensive backs under Saban at LSU.