Michigan State has fired Mel Tucker as its head football coach
Michigan State has officially fired Mel Tucker from his job as head coach of the Spartan football program. Harlon Barnett has been named interim head coach, pending approval by the University Board of Trustees during an upcoming October meeting.
The official termination of Tucker as head coach comes after MSU served Tucker notice of intent to terminate his employment agreement for cause last Monday, Sept. 18. That notice was first reported by Spartans Illustrated.
Following the notice, MSU provided Tucker a seven-day period to respond to the reasons cited as required under his amended 2021 employment agreement. Tucker's attorney submitted a 25-page reply on Monday, Sept. 25 to Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Alan Haller disputing the reasons given for cause.
Those reasons were deemed inadequate by Haller and Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff. Firing Tucker for cause will result in him losing out on guaranteed income of almost $80 million per his amended 2021 employment contract. Tucker is expected to pursue legal action for his termination for cause.
The termination letter is in full below:
“Simply put, Mr. Tucker’s response does not provide any information that refutes or undermines the multiple grounds for termination for cause set forth in the notice,” Haller said. “Instead, his 25-page response, which includes a 12-page letter from his attorney and a 13-page ‘expert report,’ provides a litany of excuses for his inappropriate behavior while expressly admitting to the problematic conduct outlined in the notice.”
The termination of his employment contract does not conclude the ongoing MSU Office for Civil Rights case. That case continues with an upcoming hearing scheduled for the first week of October and is the result of University vendor Brenda Tracy filing a sexual harassment allegation against Tucker in December 2022.
After Tracy's name was allegedly leaked to media, she came forward to the public with her allegation against Tucker earlier this month in a USA Today interview that resulted in MSU suspending Tucker without pay on Sept. 10.
Barnett was named acting head coach following Tucker's suspension, with former head coach Mark Dantonio rejoining the coaching staff as associate head coach. As mentioned above, Barnett will now be promoted to interim head coach once approved by the Board of Trustees next month.
Following his suspension, but prior to his notice of intent letter being received, Tucker claims he filed for medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Tucker cited an undisclosed medical condition requiring him to step away from his job duties temporarily for medical reasons. Tucker also filed for FMLA in 2014 when on the coaching staff for the Chicago Bears, delaying his firing by the NFL franchise at the time.
Tucker ends his career as the head coach in East Lansing with a 20-14 overall record and a 12-13 record in Big Ten play. Tucker went 2-1 against Michigan, but 0-3 against Ohio State, losing by an average margin of almost 40 points to the Buckeyes, and 1-2 against Penn State.
Thanks to COVID-19 pandemic rules in 2020, Tucker's teams technically qualified for bowl games twice as win requirements were waived for the pandemic-impacted season, but the team opted not to participate in a bowl game that season. His 2020 team finished 2-5 and his 2022 team finished 5-7, missing bowl eligibility that season. Tucker's 2021 team went 11-2 overall and finished the year with a New Year's Six bowl victory over Pittsburgh in the Peach Bowl.
That 2021 performance resulted in Tucker being given a $95 million contract over 10 years, signed in November 2021, and with the goal of preventing Tucker from departing to another school during a season with several high-profile job openings.
After stating out 2-0 in 2023, Tucker was suspended, and the Spartans have gone 0-2 since then. MSU gave up over 700 yards of offense to Washington in a 41-7 loss and then opened Big Ten play with a five-turnover performance against Maryland, losing 31-9.
Now acting head coach (and soon to be interim head coach) Harlon Barnett will lead the Spartans against Iowa in a primetime matchup at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday night.