Mel Tucker shifts focus while looking to quickly fill latest staff opening

EAST LANSING — Michigan state opens spring training Tuesday and will do so with an opening for coach Mel Tucker’s staff.

After spending a season as a pass rush specialist for the Spartans, Brandon Jordan was hired for the same position with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month.

“It happens,” Tucker said Monday. “This is a time when the NFL is hiring.”

Jordan had low-level coaching experience in college and high school before becoming a celebrity personal trainer for some of the NFL’s top players. That led to Tucker hiring him in January 2022 and Jordan providing a recruiting boost when the Spartans signed a trio of four-star defensive ends for their 2023 class and were in the mix for others.

After Michigan State ended last season with a disappointing 5-7 record, Tucker said he didn’t expect to make personnel changes, but Jordan is the second departure to have spent just one season with the program. Defensive coach Marco Coleman returned to his alma mater, Georgia Tech, and was replaced by Diron Reynolds in January. Tucker is now trying to go in a different direction with the opening of his staff.

“I’m looking for someone for the high school,” Tucker said, “and I’m trying to get that done pretty quickly.”

Michigan State Football position by position heading toward spring training

Tucker is entering his fourth season leading the Spartans, and Harlon Barnett was his assistant coach throughout his tenure. The 10 assistants on the field included another coach for defensemen in two of the last three seasons, with Mike Tressel coaching safety in 2020 and Travares Tillman coaching cornerbacks the following year. Tucker, a former Wisconsin defenseman and assistant coach by trade, took over at cornerbacks last season after adding Jordan to the staff. Michigan State’s pass defense continued to struggle last season, so the addition of another secondary coach would be the latest attempt to fix it.

After being hired by Tucker, Jordan said his goal was to return to coaching on a staff and he will now do that in the NFL. Tucker said he was contacted by Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and defense coordinator Clint Hurtt, who he worked with during his time with the Bears. That led to a new opportunity for Jordan.

“They want a pass rush specialist,” Tucker said of the Seahawks. “I’m all about helping guys do what they want to do. I think it’s an opportunity that (Jordan) wanted to explore and I told him I will support him 100 percent.”

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