Throaty called the shot on Dave Hart on the heels of the shot he called on Jimmy Cheek. Are we blessed to have him or what?
Orange Throat
'Bachillville:
Random musings as we reflect on another eventful week in Knoxville:
HART OUT: Embattled athletics director Dave Hart made it official yesterday by announcing his retirement, confirming what we have been hearing and reporting for months.
Make no mistake. Hart was forced into this decision. UT prez Joe DiPietro refused to grant Hart an extension of his contract beyond the September 2018 end date for many months and the UT Board of Trustees was in lockstep with Joe Di. The consensus grew over the last several months that UTK needed a new chancellor and athletics director and that's exactly what is in motion.
THE IRONY OF THE HART ERA: Any objective analysis of Dave Hart's time at Tennessee would give him high marks for restoring football, getting the financial house in order and dramatically improving student-athlete performance in the classroom. His bungling of the Lady Vol nickname/logo fiasco caused him inestimable damage with the president and board as the Lady Vol continuency pushed back with gusto. There were other unforced errors and arrogance but the Lady Vol thing did him in.
TIMELINE FOR A REPLACEMENT: This is an interesting situation. Ideally, you would like the new UTK chancellor to make the athletics director hire. Problem is, you need the AD hire made no later than the end of the regular football season and the chancellor process may not move that quickly.
This is far from certain but we have reason to believe the AD hire will be made before the chancellor is selected, which means Joe Di will have his fingerprints all over it.
PRIORITIES FOR NEW A.D. We've been reporting for some time we think U. of Chattanooga AD David Blackburn is the heavy favorite to succeed Hart. Blackburn is a VFL to his core, is a "football guy" and knows the ins and outs of the UT athletics department and campus. Plus, he has a critical mass of support from key people, starting with Butch Jones. If Blackburn flies home, he'll inherit an athletics department that is underachieving in many sports, starting with basketball. Hart made a mess out of men's basketball with the Cuonzo exit/Tyndall hire and the subsequent
Rick Barnes hire looked good on paper but is underwhelming so far. You'll need to give Barnes his third year in 2017-18 but his recruiting so far gives you no indication that his program will revisit the heights of the Bruce Pearl era. Holly Warlick's Lady Vol basketball program is in a nose dive and she'll probably need to be replaced after this season. UT wisely hung on to beleaguered baseball coach Dave Serrano for another year so the new a.d. can make a new hire if Serrano can't produce a successful season in 2017.
FIRST CUP CHECK OF THE PRESEASON: News came out yesterday that OT Chance Hall had minor knee surgery and will be out an indefinite time, probably 6 weeks or so. At least it wasn't an ACL, but that would keep the sophomore out of the lineup until the Georgia game. Hall's situation solves the question of who's going to start at tackle. It will be Drew Richmond on the left side and Brett Kendrick on the right. That's good unless one of them goes down. Then, we may be talking about a freshman.
SHUT UP AND COACH: Speaking of beleaguered, WR coach Zach Azzanni touched off a mini-firestorm on social media with his criticism of fans for questioning UT's wide receiver rotation. We believe Jones flirted with the idea of sacking Azzanni after last season, but decided the DC position was a higher priority, so Azzanni is on the hot seat and he knows it. We'd love nothing more than to see our receiver corps become a great story this year and solidify his standing, but we will be watching closely. Coach 'em up, Zach, and stay out of fights with fans.
CRITICAL COMMITMENT: The running back position has been a trouble spot in Jones' recruiting since he landed Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara. Sophomore John Kelly is promising but not spectacular. Freshman Carlin Fils-Aime is also a promising prospect who has been injured so far, so the jury is out on him. Which makes the commitment of MBA RB Ty Chandler a very important development this week. Chandler is probably a better prospect than the aforementioned players and hails from the vital recruiting ground of metropolitan Nashville. It would still be nice to land Mississippi back Cam Akers, but getting Chandler was vital.
FREE ALEXIS JOHNSON: Juco defensive tackle Alexis Johnson has been cleared by the UT student conduct process and is free to rejoin the UT football program. We expect that will happen today or very soon. Johnson can red-shirt and have two years of eligibility remaining. He's probably not a great player but is the kind of kid that Steve Stripling can transform into a very productive player and Strip needs him for depth.
Orange Throat
IGYV'
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Hatfield's Nine
Tony,
As students return to class and we wait for the next revelation in the Ryan Lochte saga, football is now less than two weeks away. The time for talk and speculation will soon be over.
1. Tennessee has done well to make the final six for Abu Kigab. Oregon looks to be the team UT will have to leapfrog to ultimately sign him.
2. I'll be interested to see how Mike DeBord uses his tight ends this season. Tennessee has multiple players at that position capable of serious production.
3. The third linebacker position is the final piece to the defensive puzzle for the Vols. Having two steady veterans already in place will make life easier for whoever ultimately secures the position.
4. Kevin Sumlin seems to be content to cast his professional lot with Trevor Knight. I don't think that is a great idea.
5. The US women's basketball team is staggeringly dominant. The gap between them and the rest of the world is immense.
6. Tonight will be the final contest between this great generation of Spanish players and the US. We'll see if Spain has one more great effort against the Americans in them.
7. Australia and Serbia should be a great semifinal. Both teams are on the ascent and tremendously skilled.
8. Ryan Lochte must really have some serious issues. The fact he thought he could pull a hoax off at arguably the most scrutinized event in the world indicates he struggles with logic.
9. Leicester City and Arsenal square off this weekend in a game each team really needs. Nobody wants to be six points down two weeks into the season.
There are still a couple of spots available in our Fantasy Football Challenge. Shoot me an email at rkhatman@gmail.com for information. The Blankenship Field renovation project is progressing well. Go to blankenshiplegacy.org to donate to this worthy cause.
Blankenship
Revitalization
Foundation
(Click to donate)
Keith
Throat...Amazing report today...I've got NOTHING to add after that except to unpack some of the names we're hearing as potential candidates.
David Blackburn: The odds on favorite. He EASILY has the most support among the boosters and key staff at UT. He's tested at Chattanooga. He's hired wonderful coaches. He's got the ear and vote of Butch Jones (Throaty alluded to this).
Jon Gilbert: This is Rick Barnes' guy. In fact he's already reached out to the limited booster scope he has to attempt to rally support for Gilbert. Problem with Gilbert is that he's Hart's 2nd in command, a Bammer and he hired Donnie Tyndall.
John Currie: Has as much chance as Keith Hatfield becoming Bruce Pearl's Consigliore. He has ZERO minus ZERO chance. And I mean ZERO minus Zero. John Currie attended the Dale Carnegie class that was taught by Dave Hart. How to lose friends and not influence people is his deal. There would be an OPEN revolt. If you want to hear a great story, ask Chris Low about the time he was going to dot his I and cross his T under Memorial Gym at Vandy. C Low hulked up on him, cut a promo and dared Currie to cross that line!!!
Charles Davis: Interesting candidate. Probably makes north of $1 million will his broadcasting duties. I believe he would love to be asked though he probably wouldn't go on record with this. Wanting to be asked and taking the job are two different things. I really like Charles. Tremendous passion. Brilliant human being.
Phillip Fulmer: Hall of fame coach. National Championship coach. Iconic. But would he be Barry Alvarez II in that spot. If you're Butch Jones, would you want a former coach breathing down your neck? On the positive side for Fulmer, make no mistake that he loves this place, and he would have a chance to unify this place as well to some degree.
NON-SEC BIG GAME ROADMAP HART AND TOP-5 VOL QBs
FREE THOUGHT FRIDAY:
NOT CELEBRATORY BUT IT DOESN’T BREAK MY HART:
TOP-5 VOL QBs OF THE BASILIO ERA:
TOP-5 QBs OF THE BEANO ERA: Uh…significantly further back than 1993....
HONORABLE MENTION:
NON SEC BIG GAME ROADMAP: Take a break from the Vern Lundquist farewell tour and Gary Danielson’s incessant babbling -as well as your regional prejudice- and check out some these non-SEC games as the season progresses....
BASEBALL BITS:
-Was checking the records of MLB teams in one-run games this season and as you would guess there are expected and unexpected circumstances
...[more]
Bud Ford: Give the man back his dignity. Restore him now. Guy gave 50+ yrs and was abused by a Bammer.
General Neyland: Maybe now he gets to be in Dave Hart and Donna Thomas' Tennessee Hall of Fame.
Ma Jennings: She basically orchestrated the coup of Hart. She had the last laugh. And oh my was she crowing last night on social media.
Tennessee Family: Now will feel welcome around executive offices of UT again.
Lady Vols: Look for them to get their name restored now that Hart is a goner.
Losers:
Tanning City: Dave Hart had to drop $400 per month to maintain that sheen 24/7 & 365.
Rick Barnes: He wakes up today and is officially now going to have to work for his supper. It's a different world he’s awakening to today. In fact, Barnes actually believed Hart was going to get an extension. He made a comment Thursday about how he wouldn't have come here expect for Dave Hart. My read on that is 'this guy wasn't going to put any pressure on me, why wouldn't I take that job.' Well, I'm here to tell you that David Blackburn is going to demand more from Rick Barnes. I'm promising you this.
Child's Department at Dillard’s: Oh that white jump suit. I had a pair of pajamas when I was 8 that had feet in them that reminded me of Hart's jump suit. Classic.
Sally Beauty Supply: How much do think Dave Hart dropped in that place monthly? I'm guessing north of $800. That's a huge customer for them. I give Dave Hart Kodoooze (Phil Fulmer's pronunciation of Kudos) his youthful appearance.
John Gilbert: He hired Donnie Tyndall and he ain't long for this place. He's actively trying to get back to Bama as I type this. Bammers gonna Bamm.
Holly Warlick: She's big time on the clock despite the Elite 8 appearance last year. The Lady Vols are probably going to have their worst season in modern history. Dave Hart probably wanted to punish the Lady Vol fans over the way they took off on him so her failure to live up to the brand was OK with him. Just the way my twisted mind works. But either way, she's a loser with Hart's departure.
Dave Serrano: Poor guy. Great fella. Hope he's renting.
Final Thought: Dave Hart will be gone from UT within 90 days. You can book that. It's time to return Tennessee to Tennessee. Think about it.
Tony B
IGYV
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