{"id":6709,"date":"2023-09-10T15:54:59","date_gmt":"2023-09-10T19:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/?p=6709"},"modified":"2023-09-10T16:17:42","modified_gmt":"2023-09-10T20:17:42","slug":"mel-tucker-reportedly-fired-head-coach-harlon-barnett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/?p=6709","title":{"rendered":"Mel Tucker reportedly suspended by MSU, Harlon Barnett named interim HC"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Things work quickly when scandals become public knowledge and Michigan State football will reportedly move on from Mel Tucker.<\/h2>\n<p>Boy, have things ever worked quickly in this Michigan State football saga regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/michigan-state-football-has-mel-tucker-coached-his-last-game\/\">Mel Tucker<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to a report from Brett McMurphy on Sunday afternoon, just about an hour before a press conference was scheduled by the university, Tucker has been fired.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Mel Tucker fired as Michigan State\u2019s coach, sources told <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ActionNetworkHQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ActionNetworkHQ<\/a>. Secondary coach Harlon Bennett will be MSU\u2019s interim coach w\/former coach Mark Dantonio expected to assist in an undefined role. MSU investigating allegations Tucker sexually harassed activist\/rape\u2026<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Brett_McMurphy\/status\/1700957849046712354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s wild to think that Tucker was on the sidelines on Saturday, celebrating a blowout win over Richmond and looking ahead to a big matchup with Washington, but news broke after midnight about his involvement in a sexual harassment case. That has led to Michigan State speeding up the timeline regarding his future.<\/p>\n<p>Now the Spartans will be looking for a new coach after it sounds like Harlon Barnett will be named the interim. This is just a tough situation for everyone involved and it puts some pressure on the entire remaining coaching staff and the players.<\/p>\n<p>Barnett has been with the staff since 2020 when Tucker was hired and he was brought back after spending time with Florida State. He was originally with Mark Dantonio&#8217;s staff and helped create the &#8216;No Fly Zone&#8217; in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Tucker&#8217;s career ends at Michigan State with a 20-14 record.<\/p>\n<p>If the rumors are true and Dantonio will be joining Barnett&#8217;s staff, it will feel like the old Spartans all over again. And that&#8217;s not necessarily a bad thing for the rest of the season as the veteran coaches will hold everything together. Barnett and Dantonio working together again is a great move for the program.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the Tucker era has fizzled out over an issue he had been preaching to his team to avoid when he got to campus in 2020. Just a sad situation.<\/p>\n<p>Keep it posted here as we update you following the press conference at 5 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n<p>UPDATE: Tucker has been suspended until the investigation concludes. Belief is that he will be fired following that.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Michigan State will wait until Title IX investigation is completed, to make Tucker&#39;s move official, sources said. MSU will claim dismissal w\/cause to get out of paying Tucker&#39;s $70-plus million buyout. School expected to disclose more information in 5 p.m. news conference. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LwcMXKSjaD\">https:\/\/t.co\/LwcMXKSjaD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Brett_McMurphy\/status\/1700964659002483055?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What a flurry of a news day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[499,229,191,189],"class_list":["post-6709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-harlon-barnett","tag-mel-tucker","tag-michigan-state-football","tag-michigan-state-spartans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}