Make no mistake; this is a critical period during the early Butch Jones era. The news of Bajakian, though unexpected, is an opportunity for Tennessee to recast itself offensively. This is a huge hire for many reasons. Phillip Fulmer will tell you that a misstep with this position could derail any program. It's important that Tennessee make the right hire here.
Bajakian is the one and the only one that Butch Jones has had at OC in eight years as a Head Coach.
Today, we wake up with a head coach at UT who literally hasn't been in this position before. This staff has been together for a long time. As we saw with the Fulmer's tenure, this is a position that could literally keep you from winning if you make a misstep.
I do believe that Jones will take his time on the hire. Therefore, Tennessee will not adhere to some kind of artificial deadline in making this hire. I believe they will take their time and make a judicious hire. Signing Day shouldn't be a consideration here. Get the best guy available and take your sweet old time if need be.
Some of the names being released through various media outlets are not doing it for me. A few are very good looking on paper while some are just OK.
I think this hire needs to get us excited. I realize many fans here want Azzani because he's great on Twitter. Me? I'm not sold on him as an OC. Not here and certainly not now.
Names being discussed on state run.
Zach Azzani: Has never called plays in a game. So, who knows?
Mike DeBord: @ Michigan. Was a candidate when Fulmer hired Clausen. Called plays at Michigan back in the 90's. I guess they went 11 on 11 back then.
Ken Dorsey: QB Coach Panthers. They run a spread in the pros. He's a name.
Sonny Cumbie: Co Coordinator @ TCU: He actually calls plays.
Calvin MaGee: Co Coordinator @ Arizona: Was Coordinator @ WVU when Butch Jones served as Wr's Coach under Rich Rod.
Rod Smith: Co Coordinator @ Arizona: A QB coach too at several stops! I love this guy.
PJ Weist: OC Connecticut. Worked for Butch as receivers coach from 2010-2012.
The way I rank the list + Another Wild Card For Consideration:
1. Sonny Cumbie: 1st season as OC @ TCU. Played QB @ Texas Tech under Mike Leach. Was a co-coordinator under Leach. I LOVE that offense at TCU. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Now, how much of what goes on there is traceable to this guy? Even though Jones has zero apparent ties to him, he's got to get better. Butch has an opportunity to upgrade here. And he doesn't need so spend a million dollars to do so. Cumbie is a hot guy. This is a hot program. This would make sense. But would Butch go outside his comfort zone? Tennessee needs to hire this guy! Plus, he could announce at the press I'm Cumbie Dammit.
1a. Rod Smith: OC @ Franklin High School. QB Coach passing game coordinator at South Florida, OC, QB Coach at South Florida in 2006. Went with Rich Rod as QB coach at Michigan. QB Coach and Co-OC under Rich Rod @ AZ since 2010. Tennessee needs a QB's coach that is an OC. This is a MUST! I like Rod Smith.
1b.Calvin MaGee: Co-coordinator RB's....I think you could do worse than this. Spread guru. He shares the coordinator job along with Rod Smith (Co Offensive Coordinator QB's) Personally I would rather have Smith. I would be happy with either of these guys. Both could be an upgrade over Bajakian.
3. George Quarles: Maryville High School QB Coach of excellence. Has a tremendous feel for the game. Great play caller. Runs the spread so he's familiar and would speak CBJ's language. Like Gus Malzahn, all Quarles needs is a chance and a Head Coach to see it. Sometimes the best things in life are right under your fingertips. This is my wildcard. He would be a great hire though hard to sell to his own staff.
Please No:
Mike DeBord: Surely Tennessee can do better than this. We would be bored with DeBord. He started Butch in the college biz with hooking him up with his first big time opportunity. He's 58 years old. It would be a nice story but.....
TJ Weist: Surely, Butch Jones can do better than this. You have to get outside your comfort zone. Some of the best things I've done in my career come when I take a chance and widen the net. Take your time and widen the net. Don't hire somebody because you know them. That's how Randy Sanders ended up in the seat. I do like this guy over Azzani because he's at least called plays.
In my mind the guy @ OC @ Tennessee should have experience calling plays. I would take George Quarrels over Zach Azzani for this reason. Simply because GQ has called plays. He's had the headset on. He's been there and done it.
Back Story on The Departure:
Butch Jones found out about Bajakian/Bucs on Wednesday. It was confirmed Thursday AM to him. Contrary to what you're hearing, this was not something in the works for a while. I do think Bajakian was sideways with Butch Jones at the end. I believe some of this could've come to a head during the Vandy game. Still, I don't believe Bajakian pushed out. .
I don't think Bajakian and Jones saw eye to eye philosophically at the end. One source told me that Bajakian wanted more a pro-style type of QB while Jones is partial to a dual threat signal caller.
Vol Colonel told me he's hearing that one possible scenario is that Tennessee elevated Azzani to OC and makes GA Nick Sheridan the QB Coach. Surely something like this would be a long way from happening. Surely, Jones would work his way methodically through a list of guys and give himself a chance to recast things on the offensive side of the ball here.
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Orange Throat
Tony B:
We opined in this space recently that one of the many bright spots for Butch Jones was the prospect of staff continuity for a third consecutive year.
Scratch that.
OC Mike Bajakian left Thursday for a better fit: the NFL and Tampa Bay.
I think Bajakian gets an incomplete grade from his two years at Tennessee. Throw out 2013. We'll probably never know how much he had to do with the suppression of Josh Dobbs at the beginning of the 2014 season, and the almost fatal commitment to Justin Worley. It has been whispered around the UT complex that Bajakian wanted to do more traditional drop back passing, while Butch favors the dynamic offense afforded by a dual threat QB. Perhaps the Bajakian bias led to the avoidable home loss to a horribly-flawed Florida team, as Worley was smothered and made to fumble on a deep drop back pass play late in the third quarter. At the time, Tennessee had the game under control and Florida was about to bring in a freshman QB. The rest is ugly history to those of us in the Big Orange Nation.
To be fair, the Bajakian offense looked much better with Josh Dobbs at the controls, except when Missouri's defensive front and overall speed overwhelmed the UT offense.
In any event, Bajakian will take his talents to the National Football League and roll the dice with the shaky Buccaneer club. Where does Butch go from here? We wouldn't be so bold as to suggest who our head coach should hire, but we're more than brazen enough to suggest a qualifications list:
QB COACH. Bajakian was the QB coach, as is the case with most OCs, so it stands to reason the next OC should specialize in signal callers.
PLAY CALLING. Needs several years of RECENT play-calling experience in college football, including last season.
SPREAD. Must be fluent in coordinating and calling the spread. Like it or not. With Dobbs, S. Jones and Jauan Jennings, we are committed to the spread. We'll see if we can win championships in this league with it, but that's another story for another day.
CHEMISTRY. This is where things get subjective. Butch, his staff, and his entire program have a special chemistry right now. The person who joins this must fit.
Check the four boxes described above and we're good. Deviate at your own risk.
Orange Throat
FOOTBALL NEVER ENDS WHAT A DONNIE-BROOK
SINCE WE LAST SPOKE: 1-22-15
BIDDING BAJAKIAN BYE: Through the first two years of Butch Jones’ tenure as the Vols Head Man I have resisted the urge to quickly judge his coaching staff or approach. I have steadfastly supported the thought process that you can’t accurately –or fairly- evaluate coaches or how they use the players at their disposal when many of their conference opponents have much more to work with. That being said I must admit I have been far from sold on Mike Bajakian and have even entertained early thoughts that the Vols may have an SEC-caliber defensive staff and a Big East offensive staff. While not the President of the Mike Bajakian fan club there is something very comforting about staff stability –in very short supply around here for years- and Jones will now be forced to hire only the second OC of his 8 year head coaching career....
VERY EARLY EXPECTATIONS: In the age of a team’s best players bolting to the NFL after their junior seasons Year 3 has become a time of judgment for most college football coaches; a time when -fair or not- fans and administrators expectations are raised and lasting judgments are formed. Butch Jones and his Team 119 face that daunting realization this fall
...[more]
Fresh off his on air pipe bomb, Keith Hatfield returns today with his patented Hatfield IX.
Hatfield's Nine
'College basketball steps in to fill the void in this NFL free weekend. There is no shortage of quality matchups on the slate.
1. Tennessee fans need to reward Donnie Tyndall and his team with their presence at tomorrow's game. They have done everything possible to earn it.
2. Texas A&M will not be a pushover. The Aggies aren't terribly consistent, but they do not lack for talent.
3. Mike Bajakian's departure is only a problem if Butch Jones is unable to hire a worthy replacement. This is his first big test regarding staff turnover.
4. The calls for Bill Belichick to be suspended or the Patriots to be stripped of draft picks are asinine. The rule clearly sets out the punishment for violation of the rule regarding tampering with a game ball.
5. The loss of LaMarcus Aldridge really hinders the Blazers in their pursuit of a high seed in the West. They need someone to help Damion Lillard take up that slack.
6. Arkansas managed to gut out a win in an absolute classic against Alabama. That keeps the Razorback season from the precipice of freefall for now.
7. The officiating in the Arizona - Stanford game was an affront to the dignity of the game. Those referees should not be given another decent assignment this season.
8. We'll see if South Carolina can make lightning strike again versus Kentucky. Frank Martin's team desperately needs something to turn around their conference campiagn.
9. Texas gets a shot at dragging Kansas into a logjam atop the ultracompetitive Big 12. A Jayhawk win keeps them a step ahead of the posse.
Join me on The Basilio Broadcast Platforms and WLAF today for Show Cause. We'll go from 1-3 Eastern and the show is jam packed.
Keith'
'When the NCAA notice of allegations comes out, I wonder if the league office will impose a suspension on DT like they did for Bruce Pearl?
Mike Slive's going away present.
I mean after all, something has to be done to stop these damned unwashed Tennessee Volunteers from winning games, getting the easy tournament seed, and having a chance at making some noise. We've got to figure out a way to put our regal teams out front.
Eric S'
Now, that's the thought of the day. I'll tell you this, I'd trade an 8 game suspension right now against future punishment. Of course that's not the scenario you're painting here. It's a gratuitous punishment that you're discussing.
Tennessee gets Texas A&M tomorrow at home. I hope you will get out if you get the chance. As a reminder, we will be live with you on the Smartway/Dalton Bearing and Hydraulic Tennessee Basketball Overtime as soon as tomorrow's game goes final! Be there and spread the word!
As I post this, I'm listening to Cal/Arizona State. I'm checking out Cal's pxp by the magic of Tune In Radio. Cal is down 33. The announcers are using words like lethargic and listless. It's a 65-30 score. This is a league game we are talking about. Poor Rich Cuonzo. He's going to make a nice assistant coach for somebody one day. Now it's 71-33 and the color commentator just said 'this is like shooting fish in a barrel.' They lost 79-44 OUCH! Cal gets Arizona on Saturday...DOUBLE OUCH...
Finally: I sure am glad that both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady came clean yesterday and admitted that they had nothing to do with Deflategate. There for a second I was starting the think that the Patriots are an organization full of cheaters. What a relief to realize that these guys are on the level. Now we can have an interesting Super Bowl and they can head into 2015 with a clear conscience. That's great news all the way around!
Go Vols and Whoever is playing the Patriots
TB
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