Mel Tucker not interested in Badgers job 'at this time'
By John TaylorDec 11, 2012, 7:39 AM EST
While we don't know yet just who will replace Bret Bielema at Wisconsin, we do know who it won't be. Maybe. Possibly.
Mel Tucker has been a highly-regarded NFL assistant over the past eight years, including the last four as the Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive coordinator. He's also a former Badger football player who was a member of the first recruiting class of Barry Alvarez, the UW athletic director getting back to his coaching roots on a one-game basis.
The connections are obvious between the two, so much so that Alvarez has already reached out to Tucker. At least for now, though, Tucker's not ready to bite on a return to his alma mater, although the door wasn't exactly slammed shut.
"Well, there's not an interest on my part at this time," Tucker said during a press conference related to his current job. "So that's kind of where it is right now. But, yeah, I have talked to coach, coach Alvarez. …
"[T]here's nothing there really to report, and it's nothing more than that."
Tucker added that he has not been offered the job by his former coach.
Despite NFL ties for the past several years, Tucker has been part of prime college programs in the past, including stops at Michigan State, LSU and Ohio State.