Georgia's New DC Mel Tucker Will Help Keep Bulldogs Defense at Elite Level

Late Monday night in Glendale, Arizona, when Alabama defensive backs coach Mel Tucker left the victorious locker room after helping Alabama win the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship, he walked out on top.

His team gave up yards in chunks to Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, but safety Eddie Jackson—who he converted from corner in his first and only offseason with the Crimson Tide—forced the game's only turnover, which Alabama converted into a touchdown in the 45-40 win over the top-ranked Tigers.

Now, he's on to the next stage in his life with some familiar faces.

Georgia announced Tuesday morning Tucker will be the new defensive coordinator of the Bulldogs, joining new head coach Kirby Smart and assistant/analyst Glenn Schumann as former members of the Tide staff making the jump to Athens.

The trio made a quick break out of the desert in order to get started quickly at Georgia, according to Schumann's Twitter page.

Tucker is the perfect hire for Smart and will keep Georgia's defense—the nation's seventh-best in yards per game (305.9) and 13th in yards per play (4.76)—at an elite level in 2016.

No, Tucker didn't coordinate Alabama's defense last year. But he fixed its one major problem.

The Tide gave up a league-worst 133 passing plays of 10 or more yards a year ago. The move of Jackson to safety, the play of Minkah Fitzpatrick, Marlon Humphrey and Ronnie Harrison and the increased focus Tucker brought helped drop that number to 112 in 2015 despite playing one more game than the previous year.

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While he has never been a coordinator at the college level other than 2004, when he was the co-coordinator at Ohio State, he did serve as the coordinator at three different NFL stops with Cleveland (2008), Jacksonville (2009-2012) and Chicago (2013-2014). His 2011 Jaguars defense gave up just 313 yards per game, the sixth-best mark in the league.

Plus, that NFL experience will undoubtedly be helpful on the recruiting trail, as former Bulldog and current co-host of WCNN 680 The Fan's Buck and Kincade radio show Buck Belue noted on Twitter.

Besides, it's not like Tucker is going to have to do it all.

He has a tremendous insurance policy in Smart as a head coach, who led Alabama to top-12 defenses nationally in all eight seasons he was in a similar role under Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban from 2008-2015.

If anybody knows the defensive-minded head coach/defensive coordinator dynamic, what it takes to successfully work together and achieve sustained success, it's Smart.

With a stud like linebacker Lorenzo Carter coming back and a solid core that includes lineman Trenton Thompson and SEC interception leader Dominick Sanders, Tucker should be able to slide right in and pick up right where former coordinator Jeremy Pruitt left off.

He's the right hire at the right time for Georgia and for Smart.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.