Mel Tucker not surprised by coaches being fired early this season

Paul Chryst, Wisconsin

Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst watches during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Washington StateSaturday, Sept. 10, 2022, in Madison, Wis. Washington State won 17-14. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)AP

EAST LANSING – The calendar just flipped to October over the weekend but there have already been five FBS coaches fired this season.

The pressure to win is obvious and that led to a handful of schools making changes before even getting halfway through the season.

“It’s a production business,” Michigan State coach Mel Tucker said on Monday after being asked about the moves. “That’s what it is.”

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The latest firings came Sunday from a pair of programs Tucker has notable ties to as Colorado’s Karl Dorrell and Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst were both shown the door. Tucker is a Wisconsin graduate who played defensive back for the Badgers and he made his head coaching debut leading the Buffaloes in 2019 before taking over the Spartans.

Dorrell, who replaced Tucker, posted a 4-8 record last year and was off to an 0-5 start this season so his ouster didn’t come as a huge surprise. On the flip side, Chryst had a 67-26 record (.720 winning percentage) in seven-plus seasons at Wisconsin. He won at least 10 games in four of his first five seasons and led the team to a trio of Big Ten West Division titles.

Although the Badgers are off to a 2-3 start, athletic director Chris McIntosh moving on from Chryst and naming defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard interim head coach was a shocker to some. Just not Tucker.

“Nothing shocks me or surprises me at all in anything that we’re doing from a football standpoint,” Tucker said.

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Chryst was the second Big Ten coach fired this season, following Nebraska’s Scott Frost. The latest move is notable for the Spartans because they host the Badgers on Oct. 15.

“That’s not something that we talk about but who are we kidding?” Tucker said of mentioning coaches being fired with players. “So it’s important to be realistic about everything that we do and be aware and then control what you can control. That’s the reality of the situation obviously and that’s what we sign up for. This is voluntary.”


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