Mel Tucker discusses working for Nick Saban, recounts being recruited by him as high-school senior
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Mel Tucker’s name has popped up for several high-profile jobs. But the Michigan State head coach doesn’t appear to be going anywhere any time soon as he is reportedly on the verge of inking a huge contract extension that will keep him at the helm of the Spartans football program.
Tucker is one of many current head coaches that is a part of the Nick Saban head coaching tree, first serving as a graduate assistant under Saban in East Lansing in 1997 before joining him at LSU to coach defensive backs. The 2 were reunited in 2015 at Alabama as Tucker served as associate head coach and defensive backs coach following 2 years as defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears.
But the relationship goes back much further than 1997, as Tucker was recruited by Saban out of Cleveland shortly after the latter was named head coach at Toledo in Dec. 1989.
“I remember getting a phone call after school one day. I pick up the phone and it was Coach Saban saying, ‘Hey, this is Nick Saban from the Houston Oilers.’ I’m like ‘Houston Oilers? I’m in high school. What’s the deal?’” Tucker said on Thursday’s edition of “The Draymond Green Show.” “He said, ‘I just got the head job at Toledo where my dad played football and baseball’, and that’s how I got to know Coach Saban.”
Tucker mentioned that Saban has “laid the foundation” for him as a head coach, dating back to his first stint on the Spartans’ sideline in 1997.
“Whether it was from recruiting, to player development, to defensive scheme, you name it, just running an entire organization…from A to Z he knows it all,” he told Green. “He’s the ‘great explainer’. One of the things I love about Coach Saban, he’s very demanding, which he should be, and he’s very detailed oriented, and he has a sense of urgency, but he always tells you why he wants things done a certain way.”
Mel Tucker talks about his experience from working with Nick Saban on the "Draymond Green Show" @coach_mtucker @money23green @alabamaFTBL @TheVolumeSports pic.twitter.com/KheiKdJjPE
— GoatHouseBama (@GoatHouseBama) November 18, 2021
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
