'No need to beat on newly appointed EX-Tennessee head football coach Butch Jones. Let's look forward, not behind. My list includes several potential replacements who I could strongly support while also falling under the kind of realistic category. I'm going to blog about one candidate a day thru Friday.


I'm going to address the 2-ton elephant over there in the corner first. Jon Gruden isn't really at the top of my list, to be honest and forthcoming. Based on some new info, this needs to be written about. Due to uncertain circumstances with ESPN (Gruden may have to take a substantial pay cut) Jon Gruden may be in play beyond all these silly "Grumors" that will never go away. Those in the know say he has been contacted and is more willing than ever to listen to any sales pitch presented. It is also believed that Gruden has called several former players in the coaching profession to see if they would be interested in being on his staff.


Gruden at Tennessee excites many and I can appreciate those view points. However, I'm more than a little skeptical here, because Gruden has never been a head coach in college and has never done all the day-to-day off the field duties being a college head coach requires. I would take Gruden over any "up-and-coming", unproven mid-major hire though. I'm also skeptical because Gruden has never recruited 15-17 year old kids in his life. Would he be willing to kiss high school prospect's rear ends? If it is Jon Gruden, I expect it to become official sooner than later. It could be announced as soon as before the Vanderbilt game on Nov 25th.


Dan Mullen-Mississippi St This hire would be met with a lot more questions than answers for some. "Why are we hiring the coach at Mississippi St?" "Why are we hiring a coach that has NEVER won an SEC championship?" "Why are we hiring a coach who has never won the West?" "Why are we hiring a coach who has never beaten Alabama and has such a poor record vs. Top 10 opponents? We just got rid of a coach who could never beat Alabama and had a very poor record against ranked opponents" "Can Dan Mullen recruit better players to Knoxville than he did to Starkville and if so will he?" Fair to ask, but consider what Mississippi State is. Miss St is in one of the poorest states in the country economic wise. Miss St isn't even the crown jewel program in one of the poorest states in the country. They are second to Ole Miss in national appeal and prestige. Ole Miss is less than an hour from Memphis and not far from popular gambling resorts in Tunica, MS. Starkville is in the middle of nowhere by comparison. Not real close to Memphis, not real close to New Orleans.


The Bulldogs have 20 bowl appearances in their much less than regal football history. Dan Mullen is responsible for SEVEN of them. From 2010-16. All in a row. Between 1937 and 2007, State has 13 bowl appearances all time, only 6 more in a 70 year span. In 2014, Miss St was #1 in the country for several weeks. At no point in their history has Miss St ever been close to a number 1 ranking of any kind. (State has only 1 SEC championship all time, in 1941). Having to deal with modern day Alabama makes that pretty tough to add to. Current Dallas Cowboys starting QB Dak Prescott was Mullen's QB in 2014. Mullen was Tim Tebow's OC and QB Coach at Florida. If Mullen can recruit better to Starkville MS than anyone prior to him ever did, just imagine... At a school that once had Peyton Manning, you could do a lot worse than Dan Mullen.


From the other side of the glass.

Brian Hartman'

Even though things have been going south for a while now with Butch Jones, I’ve made myself wait until the job officially opened before I released my coaching “wish list”. Well, the job is now open, so here it is. If I was in charge of making the decision, this is how I would have it.


Everyone has what I’d refer to as a dreamer pick. For many Vol fans it’s Jon Gruden. The “Dream Big” section of my list is where I’d start my coaching search. Is there a high likelihood that these guys take the job? Probably not. However, I think it would be well worth it to reach out and at the least, see if there is any mutual interest. The following would be my list, in order:



“Dream Big” List 1. James Franklin, Penn State- Franklin had Penn State in the top 5, and in playoff contention earlier this season. With everything that has happened with that program, he’s done a really good job of getting that program back to national prominence on the field. He exceeded expectations while at Vanderbilt, and beat Tennessee while doing so. Quite simply, if you can win a Vanderbilt, you can win BIG at UT.


2. Jon Gruden- here’s the name that will, whether it’s realistic or not, likely be at or near the top of most Vol fans’ wish lists. There is an obvious coaching connection from his days at UT, but that’s not the only thing that makes him an attractive candidate for the Vols. He’s one of the most recognizable people in all of sports broadcasting, particularly when it comes to the NFL. Adding to that, his work with QBs before the NFL draft on ESPN would surely get the attention of a lot of highly touted high school prospects. There are some doubts with Gruden, like whether or not he’d be in the know on how to recruit, or if he’d even be interested in doing so. However, I think that Gruden’s name and the potential superstar staff he could bring with him, could more than make up for any faults he might have on the recruiting trail.


3. Jimbo Fisher, FSU- Jimbo Fisher has perhaps the best resume of anyone Tennessee could hire. The guy can recruit, and he knows the southeast. He’s familiar with the passion, intensity, and spotlight that comes with holding the head coaching position at a major southern football school. He is not a guy who this job would be too big for. Also, do I need to remind you the last football coach Tennessee hired who had won a national championship at a different school? That’s right, that coach would be none other than Johnny Majors. Jimbo Fisher’s name hasn’t seemed to come up as much as some others, but I think he would be an excellent coach here, if the opportunity presented itself.



The next level down on my coaching search is perhaps more realistic, but I think these guys could do a really good job here.

“Tier 2” list
1. Gary Patterson, TCU- While Patterson may belong closer to the “dream big” list, he’d be one of the first people I’d talk to. Not only have Patterson’s Horned Frogs had success, but they’ve had sustained success. In today’s college football, that’s not an easy accomplishment. If he can do what he’s done at TCU, imagine what he could do with more talent down the road at UT.



2. Scott Frost, UCF- Frost to me, is this year’s Tom Herman. The last couple of years, during the offseason Tom Herman’s name was consistently brought up when discussing the next up and coming coach. He’s now the head coach at Texas. Well, this season a lot of that chatter has shifted to UCF’s Scott Frost. Frost is well-known for his play at Nebraska, and that has made some believe that he could return there after this season to coach. However, schools like Tennessee and Florida have also been thought to be in the mix as well. Regardless of what happens with him, he’s widely regarded as a potential next big thing in the college football coaching world. He’s taken a UCF team, in a state that has FSU, Florida, Miami, USF, and Lane Kiffin’s FAU Owls, and in year two his team is undefeated to this point. Frost has UCF ranked inside the top 15 in just his second season as the school’s head coach. What makes this even more impressive is that the year before Frost took over, UCF went 0-12 on the year. Yes, you read that correctly. Two years later they’re 9-0 and ranked #14. If he can do that there, he could be a rock star at UT.



3. Justin Fuente, Va Tech- Fuente is a guy who has had an immediate impact at Virginia Tech. He became a hot commodity while at Memphis. He coached up Paxton Lynch and helped turn him into a first round draft pick. The only, and I mean the only reason that Justin Fuente is this far down my list, is because I don’t think he’s a very realistic candidate at this point. Coaches work extremely hard to build and sustain a program, and when they’re having success, typically it’s hard to get them to leave. Fuente appears, from the outside looking in, to be in a really good position right now. Just two years into his tenure at Virginia Tech, he’s 17-7. Again, I don’t think he’s going to leave, but it would probably be a call worth making just to gage his interest.




Lastly, I have a set of candidates that I wouldn’t go lower than. These coaches are coaches who I respect, and I think could succeed here. However, they just wouldn’t be the first person or two I’d call.


“Don’t Settle for Anything Less Than” List 1. Dan Mullen, MSU- While at Mississippi State, Dan Mullen has had a remarkable run. While they haven’t won the SEC West, they’ve been in the thick of things for a lot of the time. They achieved a number one ranking when Dak Prescott was there. Mullen developed Prescott into a legitimate NFL prospect, who was a flat out stud while in college. Mullen has a track record of developing QBs, and in today’s game that’s invaluable. Has MSU had the kind of success Alabama or Auburn have had during Mullen’s time there? No, but if you put him at a school with the tradition and resources that UT has, I think Mullen could very quickly have the Vols contending for, if not back in the SEC Championship Game. Also, let’s not pretend like a legitimate case couldn’t be made for Dan Mullen being the second best football coach in this conference. In a conference that doesn’t have a ton of great head coaches, the Vols could certainly benefit from a guy like Mullen. He does have a few question marks though. While most of them are relatively explainable, these question marks are the reason he’s this far down on my list.


2. Lane Kiffin, FAU- Kiffin doesn’t need a lot of explaining. He’s an uber-talented play caller, who has struggled at certain aspects of being a head coach. Those who are in his corner are hoping that his time under Nick Saban has helped mold and mature the now 42 year old coach. However, the fact that he left Tennessee after just season is still relatively fresh on the minds of some Vol fans. This, and the fact that I’m not sure that he’s ready for the big stage again, are reasons why Kiffin finds himself this low on my list. However, make no mistake about it. I think that if he’s truly matured and grown, he could be successful at this level.


3. Jeff Brohm, Purdue- While his team is 4-6 in his first year, Brohm is a coach with a lot of potential. I saw first-hand what his team could do last season when he was at WKU. His team played with a purpose, and they looked very prepared. However, Brohm is in his first season at Purdue, and he just doesn’t have the longest track record. Make no mistake, he’s got a lot of potential, but if I’m going to go with an up and coming coach, I’d give Scott Frost a call first. For those reasons, I think Jeff Brohm is a guy who would be at or near the bottom of my coaching board.


In the end, there are several different coaches UT could go with and have success with. There are certainly some good candidates that I didn’t mention, but to keep the length of today’s post down, I decided to get down to a few of my favorites. You’ll notice something with my blog as well. Every single one of my candidates has been, or is a current head coach. I wouldn’t want to run the risk of having a guy come in who doesn’t understand the magnitude of being a head coach at this level.


I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you agree with my list? If not, who are some coaches you’d like to see near the top of the list? Tweet me and let me know!


Until next time,
Go Vols!
Alex Myers (@AlexMyersTV)

'J. Gruden knows who to pull strings with and he will do it in a heartbeat. He does this every coaching opening that his name is mentioned. Poor Stephen Hargis, I'm afraid is being used again as he was last go around. He needs to stick to writing about local high school sports and stay out of areas he knows nothing about.


Jon Gruden, as a college football coach will be a little more successful than Lovie Smith has been at Ill., and the reason being is he at first could get a few more quality players. He is not good at evaluating talent, not a good QB coach, but he is a good BSer.


I once heard Bill Polian comment about Gruden's QB program where he interviews the top QB's for the up coming NFL draft as a joke. He pushed Brodles as the top QB in that draft.


Young players will not have a change to improve under J. Gruden's tutelage especially QBs.


He has parlayed his BS into a multimillion dollar living and he needs to stick with that until it plays out.


Tennessee does not need him as football coach, for he will only be an expensive failure.


He's is a egomaniac, he is all about himself, not good for Tennessee.


Butch Jones and Jon Gruden are two peas in the pot, only Gruden is better known because of Monday night football. All about themselves!!!


Harry'

Tony,

Gruden will be in Seattle on Monday night ...put your man Jerry Colquitt on him!!!!


Groom em
BSB

'Tony,

I’m a long time listener and I wanted to say that I really appreciate all your hard work and efforts. You have gotten me through many a long night with the Butch Jones’ years licking my wounds after another soul crushing loss with the 5th Quarter reaction. I want to especially thank you for Sunday’s show as we needed it to celebrate and to heal.


Now, onto the important stuff. After analyzing the big candidates, I think it really comes down to 3 coaches. Tn must go “all in” on these guys and nab one of them. I’ll outline my reasoning below.


1. Gruden—While I tend to be on your side, that I’m not 100% convinced that Gruden is the slam dunk many believe, he certainly would do a good job in the short run and create unbelievable hype and excitement for the UT program. One of your callers the other day I think summed it up best when he said Gruden would be the best hire for an immediate turn around and he would be great for 2-3 years as he would bring in a ton of recruits and excitement. However, after that 2-3 years wears off, is he really going to be committed to recruiting at the level it takes? I don’t know. Do the top level recruiters like Saban and Meyer let their staff do most of the hard recruiting and they are more of the “closers” when the kids come to campus? Again, I don’t know, but I wonder if the luster would wear off in 2-3 years? That is my question mark, but he has to be your main target and go all in to make him say no.


2. James Franklin—No need to go into much detail as he is young, hungry, knows all the high school coaches in an improving Tn high school football world, and he can flat out coach. I actually attended the Ohio-State/Penn State game a couple of weeks ago in Columbus and got a good look at Franklin. Unfortunately he pulled a “Butch Jones” and puked that game away to OSU, but the good news is I think that was one of those growing pains as he hasn’t been in that position much as the hunted instead of the hunter. As much as I despised Urban Meyer, the guy can flat out coach and I think his experience is what made the difference. It was a good learning experience for Franklin that he will learn from. He is my #1 choice and I think he would love to come to TN if we pulled out the red carpet. GET HIM NOW if Gruden falls through.


3. Gary Patterson—LOOK UP THIS man’s resume. In the last 16 years, the man has won 10 or more games 10 times, including 11 or more wins 9 times! What are we waiting on? TCU should have been in the playoffs two years ago if the committee hadn’t decided they were going to take a blue blood in Ohio State. This man would have two or three national championships if he were at Texas or Oklahoma. You mentioned you weren’t sure about a Big 12 coach, but Tony, he is the one guy who does play defense in the Big 12. A guy like Gundy would be a fraud in the SEC as he doesn’t even pretend to play defense. Patterson has 6 conference titles and 9 bowl games. His resume blows just about anybody outside of Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, and Dabo Sweeney out of the park. How is a paper thin Dan Mullen even in this guy’s league when discussing candidates?



2001
TCU
6–6 4–3 T–5th L Galleryfurniture.com

2002
TCU
10–2 6–2 T–1st W Liberty
22 23

2003
TCU
11–2 7–1 2nd L Fort Worth
24 25

2004
TCU
5–6 3–5 T–6th
TCU Horned Frogs (Mountain West Conference)
(2005–2011)

2005
TCU
11–1 8–0 1st W Houston
9 11

2006
TCU
11–2 6–2 2nd W Poinsettia
21 22

2007
TCU
8–5 4–4 5th W Texas

2008
TCU
11–2 7–1 2nd W Poinsettia
7 7

2009
TCU
12–1 8–0 1st L Fiesta†
6 6

2010
TCU
13–0 8–0 1st W Rose†
2 2

2011
TCU
11–2 7–0 1st W Poinsettia
13 14
TCU Horned Frogs (Big 12 Conference) (2012–present)

2012
TCU
7–6 4–5 T–5th L Buffalo Wild Wings

2013
TCU
4–8 2–7 T–7th

2014
TCU
12–1 8–1 T–1st W Peach†
3 3

2015
TCU
11–2 7–2 T–2nd W Alamo
7 7

2016
TCU
6–7 4–5 5th L Liberty

2017
TCU
8–2 5–2

TCU: 157–56 98–40
Total: 157–56

Awards 2x AFCA Coach of the Year (2009, 2014)[2] 2x AP Coach of the Year (2009, 2014) Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year (2009) 2x Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (2009, 2014)[3][4] George Munger Award (2009) Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award (2009) 2x SN Coach of the Year (2009, 2014) 2x Walter Camp Coach of the Year (2009, 2014) 2x The Woody Hayes Trophy (2009, 2014) Home Depot Coach of the Year Award (2014)[5] Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2014) C-USA Coach of the Year (2002) 2x MWC Coach of the Year (2005, 2009)[6] Big 12 Coach of the Year (2014)[7]

Tony, I say you look at proven coaches versus the maybe hires. These guys are light years above any of the other candidates (including Mullen or Peterson). I didn’t include Fisher because it looks like A&M is zeroing in on him.

While some of these other coaches could do good jobs as well, I’m looking for coaches to get us in the playoffs and win National Championships. Thoughts?

Mark
UTK 01’

A New Direction At TonyBasilio.com: Here at Tonybasilio.com we’re creating a series of programming with little to mostly zero commercial sponsorship. In other words, you will be digesting the following programs in coming days with almost no interruption. This is unprecedented in the history of my business. Nobody has ever done this. Here are the offerings coming your way.

Our Family Of Offerings:

‘X-Cast: A Recruiting Podcast’: Featuring Tony Basilio & ‘X’ where we discuss the latest moves, behind the scenes machinations and all the intrigue from the world of recruiting. This will hopefully be offered twice monthly with lengths varying. If this takes off perhaps we can even do some live offerings of this show. THIS IS BEING OFFERED COMMERCIAL FREE!!!


Fifth Quarter Fan Reaction: Back for season 4. Sponsored by Marcos Garza. This year with NO OTHER SPONSORS. This will be pure content for you. I’m taking a chance here but I know you will reward me for not bombarding you with messages Vol Network style. This program will run for at least 3 hours following Tennessee Football Games. We will have new visual presentation of this feature as well that we’re investing in. Thanks to Jayson Swain for helping me with the technical side of our visual presentation.


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Vol-Scars: A podcast featuring Vol Historian Tom Mattingly and Eric S where we go back in time and commemorate the painful losses in UT football history that left a mark. These shows are extremely time intensive to put together. I’ve worked all summer on these offerings and am really proud of what we’ve compiled thus far. I think you’ll really enjoy this. COMMERCIAL FREE.


Gate Twenty Won: A podcast Featuring Vol Historian Tom Mattingly where we celebrate the greatest wins in UT history in time capsule form. These are a breath of fresh air and the type of programming I’m aiming to bring to you . COMMERCIAL FREE


Chill Cast: Tell Me A Story: A podcast where I grab folks from the sports world and our community and allow them to share their stories with us. This will be done in the spirit of the recent re-launch programs that I did. We’ll aim to go deeper here. Stay tuned. COMMERCIAL FREE.


Tennessee Basketball Overtime: Back for year 5! Immediately following Tennessee Basketball Games. A Tennessee Basketball Call-In show featuring ONLY ONE SPONSOR…GARZA LAW FIRM. Therefore we keep the conversation going without bombarding you Vol Network style. What a concept!!!!


Garza On The Law: A Podcast dealing with the legal issues that invade the sports world featuring the great Marcos Garza. We will go deeper here. I promise that you will find this interesting. Presented by Garza Law Firm.

FAQ's Asked Of Tony Per Our Relaunch Announcement:

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Q: What happens if this doesn't generate the revenue you're seeking?

A: We will scale back our online offerings accordingly. The blog itself could even disappear. I really don't want this to happen but will be forced to spend my time in the most profitable way necessary. That's why we're having the conversation. All my cards are on the table here.


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