ATLANTA - Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker has agreed to become the new head coach at Colorado, UGASports has learned.

The veteran assistant and three-time NFL defensive coordinator takes over for Mike MacIntyre, who was fired after six years at the school, a tenure that saw him post a record of 30-44.

For Tucker, its his first collegiate head coaching job, although he served as an interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for the final game of the 2011 campaign.

Tucker was a finalist last year for the job at Tennessee before the Volunteers hired Jeremy Pruitt.

The 46-year old Tucker also served as the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns in 2008, the Jaguars in 2009-2012 and the Chicago Bears in 2013-2014 before heading to Alabama as the defensive backs coach for Nick Saban in 2015.

Tucker later joined Kirby Smart as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator when he became head coach at Georgia in December of 2015.

Under Tucker, Georgia's defense has been one of the best units in the Southeastern Conference.

The Bulldogs came into Saturday's SEC Championship ranked second in scoring defense at just 13.8 points per game and third in total defense, giving up just 303.5 yards per contest.

Exactly what Smart will do to replace Tucker is not yet known, but it's believed inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann could be in line for a promotion, with the program hiring a new person to coach the team's defensive backs.