EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan State Spartans have officially terminated head football coach Mel Tucker for cause, following allegations of sexual harassment submitted to USA TODAY.
Tucker is out after less than four seasons in East Lansing, and Spartans athletic director Alan Haller now has another coaching search on his hands as this program looks to right the ship and put this ugly saga behind them.
Locked on Spartans host Matt Sheehan listed a handful of coaching candidates on a recent episode, breaking them up into multiple categories - including three who he is already fully sold on.
Those three are listed below:
1. Mike Elko - Duke
"Mike Elko is my 1A guy right now," Sheehan said. "46 years old, has turned around a program like Duke in a pretty short amount of time."
The Spartans may be able to entice Elko away from Duke and the ACC, where revenue is more stagnant and a job in the Big 10 might be extra appealing. Elko went 12-4 in his second season with the Blue Devils and would bring a solid background as a defense focused coach to East Lansing.
2. Tom Herman - Florida Atlantic
"Another guy that's in his late 40's, knows the region with recruiting and can coach a high powered offense," Sheehan said.
Herman was the offensive coordinator for an Ohio State team that won a national championship, and had a successful two year stint at Houston before taking over at Florida Atlantic this season. Folks will be concerned about his tenure at Texas, but he led the longhorns to a 32-18 record and his recruiting prowess and high powered offense would be a great fit for the Spartans.
3. Lance Leipold - Kansas
"He has the Jayhawks looking confident on a football field, and if you can do that you should just be enshrined in any and all football Hall of Fame's possible," Sheehan joked.
Leipold is 60 years old which is why Sheehan has him a little lower on this list, but his success at Kansas as well as Buffalo and Wisconsin-Whitewater make him an undeniably appealing option if he'd be willing to leave the Big 12 and take a job up north at Michigan State.