MEL TUCKER NAMED HEAD FOOTBALL COACH AT COLORADO
Adding his Staff fast
Boulder, CU – Mel Tucker, who has spent the last three years as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at the University of Georgia, has been named the 26th full-time head football coach at the University of Colorado, athletic director Rick George announced on Wednesday 5th.
Tucker will begin work immediately and will not coach Georgia in the Sugar Bowl against Texas on New Year’s Day.
“Colorado has always been a place that I thought should be relevant in the national championship conversation year-in and year-out, because of its tradition and a seemingly endless list of what the school has to offer,” Tucker said. “What we have to offer are some of the best facilities in the country, strong academics, and an amazing environment as a whole. Colorado should be a ‘no excuse’ program. There’s absolutely no reason we can’t achieve success at an extremely high level.
“I can remember when Colorado was dominant with players like Kordell Stewart, Rashaan Salaam, Chris Hudson, Darian Hagan, Alfred Williams and others,” Tucker continued. “Colorado always had difference makers and was very dynamic on both sides of the ball. That’s the imprint instilled in my mind when it came to CU. My plan is to continue to restore that tradition and make sure that Colorado once again becomes an elite national program. There’s not a better place in America to live, to coach and go to school.”
Tucker enjoyed a tremendous run at Georgia, where he was instrumental in the Bulldogs compiling a 32-9 record along with winning the school’s first Southeastern Conference championship in 12 years when UGA defeated Auburn in the league’s 2017 title game. One of the staff’s top recruiters, 247Sports.com ranked him as the No. 14 recruiter in the nation based off the class he helped UGA sign ahead of the 2018 season.
Tucker’s contract is a five-year agreement. It provides for an annual base salary of $500,000 and supplemental salary of $1.9 million. The contract provides Coach Tucker an opportunity to earn incentives for the student-athletes’ academic and on-field performance.
Tucker is bringing two of his colleagues from the University of Georgia in naming Jay Johnson offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and Tyson Summers as defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Johnson spent the last two seasons handling Georgia’s quality control for offense, while Summers did the same this past fall for the defense. But between the two, they have a combined 34 years of coaching experience (14 as coordinators).
Tucker also announced that three coaches off Mike MacIntyre’s previous staff will be retained, Darrin Chiaverini, Ross Els and Darian Hagan. All three will continue to coach the same positions they did under previous head coach Mike MacIntyre: Chiaverini the receivers, Els the inside linebackers and Hagan the running backs.
Chris Kapilovic will coach the offensive line and also serve as the run game coordinator, while Jimmy Brumbaugh will tutor the defensive linemen.
Tucker has now filled seven of the 10 assistant coaching positions, as he has hired four coaches new to Colorado while retaining three from Mike MacIntyre’s staff. He plans to fill the other three vacancies over the holidays and have a full staff intact by early January.
