'I never thought I'd live long enough to see Tennessee a 34 point underdog to any team in this country, but that's where we find ourselves as we head to Tuscaloosa this Saturday. What's even worse, Bama could be covering that number by halftime.
Butch Jones has taken the life out of our football program and he's taken the life out of me. Honestly, as much as I like writing and talking about Tennessee Football, I'm to the point to where this is even painful. Writing here at TB's site has always been fun for me, but now it seems like work. Hopefully, we find the right coach to make this fun again or I'm going to exit stage left!
I can't talk about Butch and this team this week, so let's talk about his replacement. I think this is one time the powers that be are going to have to deliver a proven commodity head coach to this University and to this fan base. There is just no way you can bring in some up and comer and hope he has you seriously competing in four years! The time is now and if they're unwilling to do everything possible to secure a big time coach, then it's time find something else to do on Saturdays in the fall. I'm not going to support low rent garbage any longer!
Below is my list of candidates that I think are viable for this job. Some are probably pipe dreams, but this is one time you have to shake every last orange out of the tree! I've broken this down in 3 tiers and I'll give you my true opinion on whether I think we could land them!
TIER ONE: - (I doubt any of these are reality, but you have to call them)
Chip Kelly - Part of me says he probably wants the UCLA job. You would have to come over the top with an offer and give him almost complete control. I believe if we really wanted to knock him out with an offer we could get him, but unfortunately I think they would find every possible excuse not to.
Bob Stoops - It would be a long shot and maybe he is happy in retirement. I think if Bob gets back in coaching his most likely landing spot would be at Florida. Still, it's a call you have to make!
Jon Gruden - I don't think Jon wants a college job and I'm not sure he wants to get back into the grind of coaching, period! With endorsements and his TV deal he's probably bagging 10 mil a year. It's a call you have to make, but it's a long, long shot!
James Franklin - I don't see him leaving Penn St. I think he's in a great spot there, but I would feel him out. The guy would have the ego to think he could come here and knock Nick Saban from his throne and that's what I like about Franklin. He knows football and he isn't scared of anything! Long, long shot!
TIER TWO - (I think we could land one of these guys if we tried hard and any of these guys could actually be better than the Tier One choices)
Gary Patterson - Hammy could have hired him way back when and passed. I think with the right offer he could possibly be had. He has such little fan support at TCU. They're undefeated and have more empty seats in their stadium than fannies! Make the damn call! He's a Tier One coach and the only reason I have him in Tier Two is because I think we could get him)
Dan Mullen - One hell of a coach and a guy who can groom QB's as well as anyone. He's in no man’s land in Starkville as far as getting players. I think he could kill it here with the talent he could get. Nobody in the country does more with less!
Bobby Petrino - I have no doubt you could land him. If you can sell that he's a changed man and has repented his past sins, he's there for the taking. Like Mullen he knows how to groom QB's. He also checks 3 boxes - availability, he wins, and he's in the price range!
Justin Fuente - Would he leave Virginia Tech after two seasons? Your guess is as good as mine, but I'd darn sure find out! He was Gary Patterson's OC & QB Coach at TCU when he left to take over the Memphis program. In his 3rd year he turned around Memphis and won 10 games. In his final year at Memphis he posted 9 wins and parlayed his success there into landing the Virginia Tech job. He won 10 games last year and was named ACC Coach of the Year and he has the Hokies off to a 5-1 record this season. This would be a home run hire in my estimation! You have to see if he'd jump ship! Make the damn call!
Kyle Whittingham - All this guy does is win football games. He's another guy we've passed on in the past. He's only making 3.3 out at Utah and my guess is for 4.5 -5 mil per season he would come here!
TIER THREE - (I want a coach from Tier Two because this list is hit and miss in my opinion. Maybe one of these guys is all that, but maybe not)
Jeff Brohm - He played for Schnellenberger and comes from the Petrino coaching tree. This is his only his 4th year as a head coach. He spent 3 years at Western Kentucky and this is his 1st year at Purdue. He won 2 conf. titles at WKU. He's 3-3 overall this year and 1-2 in conf. play. We can all project him to be the next big coach in college football and maybe he will be, but I still would prefer a proven commodity. Don't get me wrong, I'd take him, but make no mistake, it's a gamble!
Tee Martin - The favorite choice of the former players. It's hard for me to get around the fact that he's never been a Head Coach. Heck, he hasn't been an OC all that long either. Obviously, this would be a gamble, but it's a gamble you could sell me on. I think he'd get a great staff together and they would recruit it up. Believe me, we could do a lot worse than Tee Martin, and have with the likes of Derek Dooley and Butch Jones. No doubt, the Tennessee people would rally around Tee! I do believe there's a Peyton Manning factor that could prevent this from happening, but I would still list Tee as a 'live' long shot!
Brent Venables - Played for Snyder out at Kansas State and has two national championship rings as a DC at Oklahoma and Clemson. His specialty is grooming LB's. A lot of folks think he's going to be a very good HC when he gets an opportunity. It would be a gamble. I've seen so many really good DC's not cut it as the head man over the years. Joe Lee Dunn, Brother Oliver, Carl Torbush and Ellis Johnson are just some that come to mind.
Greg Schiano - He's the current DC at Ohio State, but he does have head coaching experience, having spent 11 years as the head man at Rutgers. He had one special season there winning 11 games and a few 8 and 9 win seasons, but he also had a few bad years too. In his 10th year at Rutgers he threw up a 4-8 season. His overall record as a HC is 68-67 and his conference record there was 20 games under .500 going 28-48. This would be a huge gamble in my opinion and I'll be surprised if he comes onto the radar here. I think he'll be a HC again, I just doubt it's in Knoxville!
Scott Frost - This is only his 2nd year as a head coach. He went 6-7 last year, but looks like he has UCF on the right track in year 2 as they sit at 5-0. I don't see him landing here. I think he's Nebraska bound once they fire Mike Riley, whether that's this year or next!
Dino Babers - Babers has paid his dues. He spent 28 years as a GA and assistant coach before getting his first job as a HC at Easten Illinois in 2012. He turned Eastern around in his 2nd year and moved on to Bowling Green where he turned them around in year two. Now at Syracuse it looks like he's turned the corner in year two once again. After winning just 4 games last year, he's already equaled that win total in year two with a 4-3 record and just had a monumental upset of Clemson. I think he would be a long shot, but I've included him on this Tier because he's most likely to be involved in some openings after this season. I don't see it, but you never know!
I've given you 15 possibilities over 3 Tiers. Personally, I think our ideal coach would come from Tier Two. There are some names I've left off these list such as Mike Leach, David Cutcliffe and PJ Fleck because I feel they would have a 0% chance at landing the job. For instance with Leach, the guy has been a HC for 17 years and has one tie for a conference title on his resume. He also locked a kid with a concussion in a storage shed while at Texas Tech. He's not getting this job! Actually, instead of Frost getting the Nebraska gig, Leach could be in play in Lincoln just because his AD at Washington State just left to become Nebraska's new AD. With Fleck, after 5 years of Butch there's no way you could sell Fleck here. He's Butch Part II. With Cutcliffe, he's 63 years old, has had some health issues and he's going to retire at Duke in my opinion. I don't think Currie would even make that call.
VC's Top 5 
1, Alabama
2. Penn State
3. Georgia
4. TCU
5. Miami
3 HOTS Syracuse upset of Clemson
LSU back on track
CAL
3 NOTS Butch Jones
Jim McElwain
Auburn
I hope you've enjoyed this most comprehensive list that I've compiled!
Have a Great Day and Go Big Orange!
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