As The World Turns Wednesday: We continue to track this soap opera we call Tennessee Football from every angle possible.
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Steele Reinforcements: I want to begin by patting our insider Orange Throat for calling the Kevin Steele hire right on the money. Orange Throat is among many that really deserve Kadoos for this. My Kevin Steele Hire Kadoos Honor Roll is as follows.
Basilio's Kevin Steele Kadoos Honor Roll:
Philip Fulmer: I'm not sure how good of job he's done to this point as AD but this was a nice move for Fulmer to initiate. Sure Jeremy Pruitt is getting the praise in UT's release for bringing Steele to Knoxville but what do you want Tennessee to do? Pruitt is the head coach of the Vols ... At least for a few more days ...
John Adams: I'll bet he's glad to see his name on my Kadoo's Honor Roll next to Fulmer's. I believe John Adams has an absolutely masterful handle on what UT is doing here. Adams says that Kevin Steele is going to be your next Interim HC ... He's right on the money.
Blake Toppmeyer KNS: Did a really nice piece of reporting in digging into the language of Pruitt's deal. The bottom line is that Tennessee doesn't need to find level one violations to fire him for cause. Blake has done a really great job of coloring the conversation here.
Doug Mathews: It has to feel great to him to think that Steele has been hired as a defensive coach on Jeremy Pruitt's 2021 staff. He's been saying for weeks that Pruitt is coming back no matter what and yesterday's announcement has to feel wonderful for him.
If Pruitt's Job Status Was A Sporting Event:
If Pruitt's Job Situation Was A Football Game: It's 35-7 with 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter. JG is the QB and we're at home with Kentucky.
If Pruitt's Job Situation Was A Basketball Game: Down 75-55 with 7:30 left in game. Pruitt is Bama Basketball coached by Anthony Grant versus Bruce Pearl.
If Pruitt's Job Status Was A Baseball Game: He's trailing 6-1 going to the bottom of the 9th and Charlie Culberson just took strike 3 right in the face as he's called out by Angel Hernandez.
If Jeremy Pruitt's Job Status Was A Soccer Game: Down 2-0 in 85th minute. Of course this is Tennessee so they're going to add 10 minutes of extra time.
If Pruitt's Job Status Was A Hockey Match: He's down 3-0 with 8:30 in the game ... His team has a man serving a double minor. He needs Mike Eruzionie as captain and Al Michaels on play by play.
Backstory on Tennessee Vanderbilt Cancellation: Tennessee was in transit to Vanderbilt Monday when they learned that Vanderbilt was having Covid-19 issues. I hear Tennessee would've liked to have heard the news before they were on the bus and almost in the Music City. I'm shocked the news didn't break until Tuesday Morning that the game was off. I tweeted out early Monday night that the game was in doubt. Surely Vandy knew early Monday this game wasn't going to happen.
Will The SEC Juggle Tennessee's Schedule This Week If Vandy Can’t Answer The Bell Saturday? This is going to depend on Vandy’s test results from later today. If they get the all clear, Saturday’s Tennessee Vandy game in Knoxville could still happen. If not it would make sense that the SEC might put LSU Vs Tennessee Saturday at LSU. The Tigers' weekend opponent (South Carolina) is already a Covid casualty so this match up could easily happen. Oh and the Tennessee Vandy game has now been moved back into its original spot.
Wanya Morris Has A Couple Of Possible Destinations: Houston & Texas are said to be at the top of his list. I hear that Morris is looking for a next stop that's going to challenge him and make him a better football player.
Happy Trails To Ty Chandler: I believe he's going to land on his feet and have a nice season at North Carolina.
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T Mail:
'TB:
On Steele's hiring I have two theories
1. Auburn has a few players in the transfer portal. Is Steele going to help land them in Knoxville?
2. Could the hire of Steele be to help lure in Rodney Garner (stud recruiter)?
Go Vols
Cofer'
Cofer ... Great hearing from you ... My sense of this deal is that John Adams of KNS nailed it. Kevin Steele on the short term is here because he's most likely going to be the interim head coach until Tennessee can figure out where they're heading for a head coach. I do believe Rodney Garner could get in the mix down the road here on a future coaching staff. As for Auburn players in the portal that Tennessee might chase ... Sure.....
CCCP Football: The Soviet Red Army of Dir Kommisar Saban have descended on college football and they've ruined the sport. They're sucking the blood out of the sport as we speak. Check out this blurb from Hollywoodreporter.com.
'The College Football Playoff championship game drew its smallest audience ever on Monday night. Alabama's 52-24 rout of Ohio State in the title game averaged 18.65 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, a drop of 27 percent — and almost 7 million viewers — compared to last year's title game (25.46 million).'
Here's an idea ... How about if Saban retires and lets somebody else win something for a change.
Tone