Mel Tucker understood the inherent emotional risk involved with interviewing for the Jacksonville Jaguars' open head-coaching position and how it would feel if he ultimately wasn't chosen as the next guy to lead the franchise.
Tucker's disappointment was realized when the Jaguars hired Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey this week, but management's decision wasn't enough to cause him to move elsewhere.
Tucker, who held the title of interim coach for the final five weeks of the season, opted to stay in Jacksonville over taking a similar position for another team, such the Minnesota Vikings, with whom he interviewed for their defensive coordinator spot earlier this week.
"I had to weigh some factors and ultimately the picture became very clear to me that this is where I needed to be," Tucker said, according to The Florida Times-Union. "If I were to say that I was not disappointed, that would be disingenuous. But I have to move on quickly and make decisions on where do we go from here? That's all part of the process, I think. That's not the first time I've been disappointed, won't be the last. It's how do you handle it."
Tucker's decision was rewarded by a new title: A source with knowledge of the situation told NFL.com's Steve Wyche that Tucker now is an "assistant head coach."
"I told Mel that's not just a tag," Mularkey said Friday. "That's a role that I want him to be involved in with some of my decisions on this football team, and I've already started that with him this morning discussing the path with how we wanted to address the staff."