Former Vols assistant coach named as an option to replace recently-fired Michigan State HC Mel Tucker
A former Tennessee Vols assistant coach who had a brief stay on Rocky Top was named this week as an option to replace Mel Tucker as the head coach at Michigan State. Tucker was officially fired for cause on Wednesday in the wake of a sexual misconduct complaint that is currently being investigated by Michigan […]
A former Tennessee Vols assistant coach who had a brief stay on Rocky Top was named this week as an option to replace Mel Tucker as the head coach at Michigan State.
Tucker was officially fired for cause on Wednesday in the wake of a sexual misconduct complaint that is currently being investigated by Michigan State.
Spartans defensive backs coach Harlan Barnett is serving as Michigan State's interim coach.
On Wednesday, 247Sports put out a list of potential replacements for Tucker and they included Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson as an option.
Clawson served as Tennessee's offensive coordinator in 2008, which was also Phillip Fulmer's final season as the Vols' head coach.
From 247Sports: Perhaps a name that has not been as popular on the list of potential candidates is Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson. In nearly two dozen years as a college football coach, Clawson owns a 152-134 (.531) overall record with 15 winning seasons. He has served as the Wake Forest head coach since 2014. Clawson, 56, also coached at Bowling Green (2009-13), Richmond (2004-07) and Fordham (1999-03). Clawson was named the ACC Coach of the Year in 2021 after leading the Demon Deacons to a Coastal division title. He was also a finalist for the AP and Dodd Trophy and Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, given annually to the top head coach in college football. Clawson is the only head coach in NCAA history to win 10 games in a single season at four different Division I institutions.
Clawson only spent one season Tennessee — and that was 15 years ago — so I'm sure there are some Vols fans who don't recall his time in Knoxville (plus the 2008 season isn't a fond memory for most Tennessee fans).
The former Tennessee assistant doesn't appear to have any direct connections to Michigan State, but he was the head coach at Bowling Green in Ohio — which is just a couple of hours away from East Lansing — for five seasons (2009 to 2013) after his one season at UT.
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