If all goes as planned, Mel Tucker will become the highest-paid coach in the Big Ten. And Michigan State will make a major show of strength that it plans to be a significant spender in college football in the next decade.
How much money? 95 million over 10 years.
The Spartans are 9-1 this year, which includes a W over Michigan. But that win was in East Lansing and only by 4 points. And there were a few questionable calls, at least one of which was just wrong - Harbaugh said the BT office acknowledged that to him the next week. And Sparty still must play Ohio St and Penn St.
In 2020, Tucker guided Mich St to a 2-5 record. You read that right. The soon to be 9.5 mil per year coach was a loser just last year. It was his first at Mich St. So how did Tucker do in 2019? He was 5-7 as Colorado HC.
That is the sum of his HC career. He has never won a conference championship, a division title, or a bowl game. He's never had back to back winning seasons, much less back to back 10 win teams. But Mich St is going to gamble 95 million on him.
It's possible that Tucker is the real deal who could challenge Ohio St, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn St for BT supremacy for the next quarter of a century. But it's also possible that he's a flash in the pan this year who will level out averaging 7.5, perhaps fewer, Ws per season. Remember, in this year of magic, the Spartans beat hapless Nebraska by only 3 - in OT. Mich ST beat an equally hapless Indiana by just 5. The once impressive 21 point W over Miami now is revealed as not worth much.
This is the kind of wild gamble a Little Brother takes, desperate to get one over on his big brother. I definitely would oppose UNC doing such a thing. But there is a lesson in this for UNC football: costs are still going up. You can't expect to win league championships and make playoffs without paying what it takes to get a top staff.
How much money? 95 million over 10 years.
The Spartans are 9-1 this year, which includes a W over Michigan. But that win was in East Lansing and only by 4 points. And there were a few questionable calls, at least one of which was just wrong - Harbaugh said the BT office acknowledged that to him the next week. And Sparty still must play Ohio St and Penn St.
In 2020, Tucker guided Mich St to a 2-5 record. You read that right. The soon to be 9.5 mil per year coach was a loser just last year. It was his first at Mich St. So how did Tucker do in 2019? He was 5-7 as Colorado HC.
That is the sum of his HC career. He has never won a conference championship, a division title, or a bowl game. He's never had back to back winning seasons, much less back to back 10 win teams. But Mich St is going to gamble 95 million on him.
It's possible that Tucker is the real deal who could challenge Ohio St, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn St for BT supremacy for the next quarter of a century. But it's also possible that he's a flash in the pan this year who will level out averaging 7.5, perhaps fewer, Ws per season. Remember, in this year of magic, the Spartans beat hapless Nebraska by only 3 - in OT. Mich ST beat an equally hapless Indiana by just 5. The once impressive 21 point W over Miami now is revealed as not worth much.
This is the kind of wild gamble a Little Brother takes, desperate to get one over on his big brother. I definitely would oppose UNC doing such a thing. But there is a lesson in this for UNC football: costs are still going up. You can't expect to win league championships and make playoffs without paying what it takes to get a top staff.
