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Orange Throat
'Tony World:
Random musings as we hope we can get through typing this submission without another dumb Jon Gruden rumor surfacing.
GRUDIOTS. Stop. Just Stop. You're making all of us look like squealing school girls at a Taylor Swift concert. Jon Gruden isn't worth all of this. He obviously doesn't want our job and would only take it if we gave him a stupid amount of money. Stupid because he hasn't coached ANYTHING since 2008 and hasn't coached in a college program since 1989. We would suspend our disbelief and skepticism if the Gruden thing were happening and get on board and pack Neyland for the presser or the spring game and go all ga-ga, BUT IT AIN'T HAPPENING.<
WHAT WE BELIEVE IS HAPPENING is we continue to believe Mississippi State
HC Dan Mullen is Tennessee's best and perhaps only shot to lure an established, power conference head man to leave a high-paying, stable situation. A face-to-face meeting could happen starting after State's regular season finale with Ole Miss on Thanksgiving night. If Mullen takes the meeting, which almost certainly will include Peyton Manning, you have to like our chances of landing him. Could Mullen be signed and delivered to Knoxville in time to appear at the Vols' season ender vs. Vandy next Saturday? That's a tight schedule.
IF WE ARE WRONG ON MULLEN or he turns it down, we still think John Currie and UT are then fishing in the pond of promising but much less-experienced HC prospects and coordinators. There's little doubt that young Memphis HC Mike Norvell is probably high on the lists at Tennessee, Ole Miss and Arkansas, despite being in only his second season as a head coach. Norvell's Tigers, largely comprised of Justin Fuente recruits, polished off SMU (coached by another candidate to move, Chad Morris) on Saturday to win the AAC West and qualify for the Dec. 2 championship game. So, you're not likely to hire Norvell and get him going until Dec. 3.
THE LIST IS CONSIDERABLY MUDDIER after Norvell. Iowa State's Matt Campbell has a huge buyout and PURDUE HC JEFF BROHM has a big one too. With so many SEC schools likely to be in the market, some names will surface out of the blue and almost certainly one or more coordinators is going to get a head coaching job.
UCLA'S HEAD COACHING JOB opened up yesterday, which may capture Chip Kelly's fancy and leave Florida out in the cold, if Scott Frost goes home to Nebraska. We don't think Currie will opt for a coordinator but super agent Jimmy Sexton is pushing Ohio State DC and former Rutgers HC Greg Schiano and it's possible a dark horse like former Vol Kevin Steele, in the midst of a great run as Auburn's DC, could get into the picture if Currie gets down the list. Steele, like Mullen, Norvell and Schiano, is also a Sexton client. You also can't rule out Clemson DC Brent Venables or perhaps Alabama DC Jeremy Pruitt.
AS FOR TENNESSEE'S bizarre Saturday night game with LSU, the Vols missed a golden opportunity to get the lead in the first half before the rain hit. With Will McBride out on concussion protocol, a gimpy Jarrett Guarantano wasn't going to do anything with his legs and the Tiger defense suffocated our running game. Too bad Marquez Callaway had two muffed punts but he atoned for seven of the 10 points LSU scored off those miscues when he scored a TD late in the first half. Some press box wags were wondering why interim Brady Hoke didn't elect to kick off as the second half started in a driving rainstorm and visibility was very poor. Oh well.
OUR BASKETBALL VOLS are in the Bahamas starting Wednesday in a good Battle 4 Atlantis tournament field. The opener is against Purdue and is a great opportunity for Rick Barnes' team to get a first quality win of the young season.
AROUND THE SEC: Mullen's Bulldogs struggled but rallied to win at ARKANSAS 28-21 and are now a home win over Ole Miss away from a 9-3 record ... MISSOURI'S 45-17 win at VANDY ensured the Vols and Commodores will battling to avoid a winless record in the league and dead last in the standings.
GEORGIA got back on track by beating KENTUCKY 42-13. The Bulldogs have a date with pesky Georgia Tech before the SEC Championship game with either Alabama or Auburn ... Kevin Sumlin avoided being fired for another week as his AGGIES won at Ole Miss 31-24 with 272 yards passing from Nick Starkel.
ALABAMA is a four-point favorite on the road at AUBURN Saturday for the Iron Bowl and SEC West title. That one will be a street fight.
Orange Throat
IGYSD'
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Throaty....I don't blame the Gruthers but at some point they have to face the facts. Gruden and Tennessee isn't going to happen. The Vols tried either in a cursory interview or a full court press depending on what you read, but that story leaked to Dennis Dodd of Cbssports.com told me everything I need to know about UT's pursuit of Gruden. It's obviously not going to happen. So, let's look to the future. I must say that I'm less than impressed with the PR savvy of John Currie in this deal. There's no way he doesn't understand how all in this fan base is for Gruden. He's got to knock this stuff down.
I think he believes he's using Gruden as a smoke screen but in the process UT's next coach will have smoke inhalation. And I'm like you Throaty, Gruden isn't Nick Saban. Nor is he Steve Spurrier of the 90's. In fact, he's not even Phillip Fulmer from his days as a young college coach. Color me skeptical but Tennessee is better than BEGGING some .500 NFL coach to take this job. I want somebody here that DESPERATELY wants this job. Not some cult of personality that must be begged to take the position.
At This Point...I'd Take: Bill Snyder....Just reunite him with John Currie. I'm kidding but in a fit of Big Orange desperation I would take..
Lane Kiffin: If you asked most Vol fans who they would rather have as coach 24 of the Vols, Lane Kiffin or Dan Mullen? Who do you think they would choose. I'm going to run a Twitter poll today on this very subject. UCF and USF will be an interesting football game this weekend as the winner gets Memphis in the Conference USA Title Game. Friday 3:30 in on ABC. Beleeee.
Lane Kiffin > Dan Mullen... Mullen > Kiffin? Take the Twitter Poll here!!
That poll will be fun to watch. I'll bet you Lane Kiffin makes quite a run at Dan Mullen. Amazing what a winless SEC season will do to you. Yeah, we're desperate.
UCLA's failure under Jim Mora Jr. proves the uncertainty of hiring any head coach. When Mora Jr. was hired several years back it looked like a complete winner. There was no way he was going to fail. He had the personality, the pedigree, the coaching ability and the advantage of the NFL name recognition.
Michigan is another cautionary tale when hiring a head coach. The Wolverines got their Gruden several years back and are about to finish their 3rd consecutive season finishing 3rd in their division. That's three consecutive third place finishes in their division. Brutal. Michigan couldn't keep a QB healthy this year, and it was as a nightmare. Meanwhile, Michigan lost to a Wisconsin team playing without their two best wide receivers.
Not Into Firing or Firing On Interim Coaches: But what was Brady Hoke doing Saturday night with the game management. Firstly, he should've requested that officials wait 10 minutes to start the second half. Then he made that silly decision to not defer the kickoff. Tennessee's return guys looked like rejects from the Weather Channel trying to catch the football. It made no sense! None. Zero. It's a shame as Orange Throat said as Hoke did a nice job of putting together a game plan that was at least representative on short notice.
Wisconsin IS A Plumb Job: Wisconsin is a great job. They're in a nothing division. They've won their division four of the last 5 years. That job is without a doubt the easiest layup in college football.
THE CONFLICT OF MY MIND AND HEART THERE IS NO KNOWN CURE FOR MY DISEASE
MONDAY ON MY MIND
WHO’S OUR NEXTUN, JIMMY SECTION?
MY “I’VE HAD ENOUGH” BRAIN SAYS:
MY “VFL HEART SAYS:
LSU TAKEAWAYS:
WHAT WE LEARNED IN WEEK TWELVE:
FINAL MONDAY MUSING:...[more]
But I'd take him on my team. I love his body language even though he's a complete punk. The guy is a total leader even though he behaves like he's 10 years old. He has about a 10 cent brain at this point. You know what they call guys that act like that in the NFL? Jameis Winston or Vince Young. That guy is a punk and a clown. I wouldn't touch him in the NFL. That said, he would be a perfect Cleveland Brown.
Speaking of the Browns: They've now lost 42 of the their last 47 games but who’s counting? I'm not sure what Jimmy Haslam's organization is trying to do, but they're among the worst groups in all of professional sports. They're worse than the Philadelphia Union, and that's saying something.
Reminder.....Tennessee Basketball Overtime presented by Garza Law Firm debuts Wednesday as soon as Tennessee/Purdue goes final. The game tips at Noon Eastern Wednesday, so we're probably going live at 2pm or so.
Go Vols
Beat Purdue, Vandy and history...
Tony
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.
Southeastern Sunday Night: 7p to 9p on Sunday Nights airing on Periscope/Facebook Live and other platforms including your Tony Basilio Show App. This will be a regional program that aims to keep it real. We will tell the truth on us, them and all with you. This could be a lot of fun if you help me spread the word across the region. This hopefully will turn into a free for all that is free for all. ZERO SPONSORS. COMMERCIAL FREE OFFERING.
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.
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FAQ's Asked Of Tony Per Our Relaunch Announcement:
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