Georgia assistant coach rumored to be candidate for open FBS job

With the regular season coming to an end, the coaching carousel is beginning to spin.

On Saturday evening, USA Today’s Dan Wolken announced that Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker is a candidate for the open job at Georgia State.

Georgia DC Mel Tucker (former Alabama DB coach) is a candidate for the Georgia State job, person with knowledge tells @USATODAYsports

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) November 27, 2016

Tucker has spent each of the last two seasons in the SEC. In 2015, he was the defensive backs coach at Alabama. This offseason, he made the move with Kirby Smart to Athens to run the defense for the Bulldogs.

Tucker was a commodity in the NFL for the 10 years before heading to Tuscaloosa, making stops in Cleveland, Jacksonville and Chicago, all in defensive roles.

Georgia’s defense ranked seventh in the SEC in points allowed per game, giving up 23.7 for the season. The Bulldogs ranked third in the conference in yardage allowed, surrendering 322.4 yards per contest.

The Bulldogs were beaten by Georgia Tech 28-27 in the final game of the season to finish 7-5.