Tucker insists he's focused on Saints
Mel Tucker insists he's fixated on this week's opponent, the New Orleans Saints; not on his future.
That's becoming very difficult.
The Bears' defensive coordinator was asked what he thought of the recent NFL.com report that said he'd be fired at the end of a second straight disappointing season.
"Not much," he said. "I'm focused on New Orleans and the rest of the season."
The Bears have allowed more points than anyone in the NFL (29.0 per game), while the Saints are fourth in scoring (25.6 points per game) in the NFC. So there's plenty for Tucker and the injury-depleted defense to worry about.
The job security, or lack of it, is something Tucker considers an occupational hazard.
"It's really nothing new," he said. "I've been doing this 18 years, eight in college and 10 in the NFL. It's about staying focused on the task at hand. That's being a professional and focusing on what you can do and what you can control."
Long-time employment in the same place is something most football coaches cannot control. After four years as a Cleveland Browns assistant, Tucker was looking for work after head coach Romeo Crennel was fired following the 2008 season.
Tucker quickly landed in Jacksonville as the Jaguars' defensive coordinator under Jack Del Rio and, when Del Rio was fired near the end of the 2011 season, Tucker stepped in as the interim head coach, going 2-3. Tucker interviewed for the more permanent head-coaching job after the season. It went to Mike Mularkey, who kept Tucker as his defensive coordinator. But, after a 2-14 season, it was pink slips all around, leading Tucker to Chicago.
While coaches accept the vagabond existence as part of the deal, those with families have to consider the feeling of others. Tucker says his wife Jo-Ellyn and their two boys have done just fine.
"My wife has been with me since before I got into coaching," he said. "My kids are good kids, and they're tough kids. They get straight A's and all that. They're doing fine."
As if there haven't been enough distractions, Tucker's name has also come up this week - again - in conjunction with the head-coaching vacancy at Wisconsin, where Gary Andersen bolted the Badgers in favor of Oregon State. Tucker was considered a candidate for the Badgers' top job two years ago, when Andersen was hired.
Tucker told Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, who was the head football coach when Tucker was a defensive back at Wisconsin from 1992-95, that he wasn't interested in the job "at this time."
How about this time?
"That's a hypothetical," Tucker said. "I try to stay out of those. Ultimately, the sole focus is New Orleans and preparing for those guys. That's the only thing I'm thinking about right now."
But there are too many dots that connect for questions not to be asked about the Wisconsin job.
"That's a legitimate, valid question," Tucker said. "But at this point in time, it's really about preparing from a coaching staff standpoint, from a player standpoint, for the New Orleans game. We're not thinking about anything else at all."
Good luck with that.
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