By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Robert Tucker, who served as the defensive coordinator at the University of California-Davis for the past three seasons, has been named defensive coordinator and director of football operations at Willamette University, Head Coach Isaac Parker announced today. Tucker will begin his duties immediately.
Tucker played football at Willamette from 1993 through 1996, was an assistant defensive line coach for the Bearcats in 1997 and coached Willamette's defensive backs in 1998. He has coached at every level of college athletics -- community college, NAIA, NCAA Division III, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division I (FBS and FCS).
"I am very excited and honored for this opportunity," Tucker said. "My love and passion for the Bearcats are deeply rooted because I had such a wonderful experience during my time on campus as a student, athlete, and coach. Returning to WU is something that I have always thought about and hoped would be a possibility at some point. There is such a phenomenal history and tradition of excellence on and off the field."
While competing for the Bearcats, Tucker saw action as a strong safety, outside linebacker, and free safety. He was named a CFA Academic All-Star in 1995 and was chosen First Team All-Northwest Conference of Independent College (NCIC) and NAIA Honorable Mention All-America as a free safety in 1996. Also in 1996, He was selected as a Burger King National Player of the Week, which led to a $10,000 scholarship. He received the J.H. Booth Award in 1996-97 as the top senior student-athlete at Willamette.
"I love the purity of the game at the D3 level," Tucker commented. "The players, for the most part, aren't playing for extrinsic rewards; instead, they play football because they wholeheartedly love the game. There is something very special about working with players who truly have the desire to develop, compete, and maximize their potential."
"We are extremely lucky to have such an accomplished coach join us and buy into the vision we have for the program," Willamette Head Football Coach Isaac Parker said. "The fact that Coach Tucker is an alumnus is a huge asset as well. He deeply values the Willamette experience and looks back on his Willamette experience endearingly as I do, since it was such a formative experience for him and his life as it was for me. I couldn't be happier to have a strong man of character be with our players to mentor them as people, students, and football players, and our team is going to benefit so much from having him mold them on and off the field."
"As a player at Willamette, I had coaches who loved me and my teammates," Tucker added. "They cared about how we were doing personally and academically. This ultimately led to the development of lifelong relationships and a championship football team. As a coach, I hope to have the same lasting impression and influence on the players. My goal is to support them and instill confidence. I want them to truly enjoy all aspects of their Willamette experience. Defensively, I want them to play fast and free of worry. When a defense plays fast and is not afraid to make mistakes ... it creates disruption which leads to negative plays, sacks, and turnovers. The more of these explosive plays we have on defense, the sooner we can get the ball back to the offense."
During his three seasons at UC Davis (2017, 2018, 2019), Tucker helped the Aggies' defense set eight school records, including season records for turnovers created, interceptions, tackles for loss, passes defended, and sacks. In 2018, UC Davis earned its best record in school history at 10-3, including the Big Sky Conference Championship and a #7 national ranking in NCAA Division I FCS.
He also has coached at Boise State University (NCAA Division I FBS) from 2000-05, the University of Colorado (NCAA Division I FBS) from 2006-09, the University of Sioux Falls (NAIA) from 2010-13, West Hills College (CC) in 2014, and Los Angeles Valley College (CC) 2015-16. Tucker was the head coach and a kinesiology instructor at West Hills and Los Angeles Valley, assistant head coach at Sioux Falls, director of operations and recruiting coordinator at Colorado, and safeties coach and recruiting coordinator at Boise State. He was the teamwork coordinator at the University of Oregon in 1999.
While Tucker was at Boise State, the Broncos achieved a 64-13 overall record. His combined record as the head coach at West Hills and Los Angeles Valley was 30-3. L.A. Valley went undefeated in 2016 with an 11-0-0 record.
In addition, Tucker was the head coach and defensive coordinator for Les Molosses D'Asnieres, a top division French team in Paris, in 1998 and 1999. He also played for the team. The Molosses reached the national finals in 1999, when former WU players Brian Greer and Danny Osborne played for the team.
Tucker's overall win-loss record as a coach is 188-55-1. Including his two seasons in France, he has attained a record of 48-10-1 as a head coach. He lives in Salem with his wife, Oriana, and children, Avery (age 9), Amelia (age 8) and Alexis (age 6).
Parker also announced several other coaching changes on the Willamette staff. Tucker is replacing Buster Davis, who resigned from his position as defensive coordinator to move his family back to the South and be closer to other family and friends. Davis is the head football coach at Mount Zion High School just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Trevor Bulmer, former assistant defensive backs coach at Willamette, was hired by Davis to be Mount Zion's defensive coordinator. Bulmer's parents moved to Atlanta while he was in college, and his new job took him closer to his family.
Earlier this summer, linebackers coach Joseph Kopp took a job at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco, where he will be the defensive coordinator. Kopp said that it was very difficult for him to make this decision.
"I have learned invaluable things about myself as a coach, mentor, and person while coaching at Willamette," Kopp noted. "I am forever grateful to the Willamette community and look forward to strengthening the relationship between Riordan and Willamette."
"I'm thankful to Coaches Kopp, Davis, and Bulmer for believing in our vision for this football program," Parker commented. "They helped us establish a foundation for future success. We accomplished many of our goals to establish a culture on and off the field. I'm especially proud of their contributions to help us move our Team GPA from a 2.3 to a 3.3 in our time together. They've all left the program for good reasons and on good terms, and I know that we can't keep good coaches forever. I'm happy for them, and at the end of the day, everyone wins in these transitions, especially since we were able to bring Coach Tucker onto our staff. I'm just excited to get our team back on campus to keep building this program."
