Mel Tucker

Mel Tucker (born January 4, 1972) is an American football coach who is currently the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL).

Early life
Tucker was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he played defensive back for the Wisconsin Badgers football team. He graduated in 1995 with a degree in agricultural business management. He attended Cleveland Heights High School where he was a football standout.

Coaching career
Tucker began his coaching career in 1997 as a graduate assistant for the Michigan State University Spartans under head coach Nick Saban. In 1999 he served as a defensive backs coach for the Miami University Redhawks, and then in 2000 followed Saban to Louisiana State University to fill the same position with the LSU Tigers. In 2001 he became defensive backs coach for the Ohio State University Buckeyes under coach Jim Tressel, and in 2004 he was made co-defensive coordinator.

In 2005 Tucker entered the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns. He coached defensive backs from 2005–2007 and was promoted to defensive coordinator in the 2008 season following the firing of Todd Grantham. Under Tucker, Cleveland consistently ranked fifth in the league, with the defense making 73 interceptions. After the firing of Browns head coach Romeo Crennel, Tucker was replaced by Rob Ryan.

In 2009 Tucker was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars as the defensive coordinator. In the 2011 season head coach Jack Del Rio put Tucker in charge of defensive play-calling, and the team quickly became the fourth highest rated in the NFL. On November 29, 2011, Tucker was named Jacksonville's interim head coach following the firing of Del Rio. He ran the team for their final five games and was in consideration for the job full time until Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey was named head coach on January 10, 2012. Tucker got his first victory as a head coach in week 14, a 41-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He went 2-3 as interim head coach. On January 12, 2012 he informed the media he would return to his position as defensive coordinator for the Jaguars. On January 13, 2012 it was announced that Tucker would also be the assistant head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. On January 18, 2013 Tucker was named defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears.