ajh101474

Agreed, it is a tough schedule, but that is the case every year. It doesn't help that UT's schedule for the last few seasons also always seems to be against that top two West division teams. While I also agree that 6-6 is a logical probability and definitely better than 4-8... I don't think I could ever call it "good" or be happy with it. Best of luck to your Dawgs this season.

Totally agree. I also will not be 'elated' with losing six games. What fan would? It is getting pretty old, reading sports writers 'speak for UT fans'. UT fans recognize that Tennessee is in a great/tough conference and there are a lot of questions about the players. There are two in particular; staying healthy and living up to their recruiting rankings (which was actually pretty high). We recognize that the odds of UT winning a national championship anytime soon are slim to none, but that doesn't mean in the least that we would be "happy" or even "content" with UT just making a bowl game. The only scenario where a UT fan could possibly be happy with six wins would be if those wins were against Alabama, Florida, Georgia, USC, West Virginia, and Auburn, but we also know there isn't a shot in hell of that happening. There are only four games on this schedule that I absolutely expect UT to lose. There are four that I expect UT to win. The remaining four are toss ups that have too many variables to comfortably pick one team or the other. No matter what happens, we will cheer on the players.

A sad day for Vol fans. Used to love listening to John Ward.

Interesting article. However, it appeared that Chryst's best games came against lesser opponents. Let's face it, Oregon today is not Chip Kelly's Oregon. He will have to prove that he can handle pressure against solid teams. I would personally rather see JG win the job because it would mean that the Vols are more likely to have the same QB in Helton's system for a couple of years. If Chryst wins the job, I would not be surprised in the least to see JG transfer immediately. That would leave the Vols with having to break in a new QB again.

While I don't agree with Seat that "most fans" don't want Shrout, I do agree that 25 interceptions to 27 touchdowns is concerning. However, keep in mind that there are three quarterbacks already on the roster, with playing experience. Even if one of them transfers away, odds are that Shrout won't see any playing time this coming season and UT will have time to find other QBs coming out of high-school. Hopefully Shrout will show improvement in his control.

Somehow, I think UGA's roster will survive this, but it would be nice if he ended up at UT. Can never have too many good players.

Congrats to your coach.

Yes, there are some unfortunate fans within the UT fan base. Fans that the bulk of us wish would not speak. However, that is true for every fan base. And since UT has a much larger fan base than many other schools, there will be more than some others. However, I have not seen many UT fans on here going to the pages of other schools and bashing them the way you see it happen on every article about Tennessee by other school's fans. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but twice in the last two months have I searched this site for evidence of UT fans going to other pages and bashing other SEC schools and did not find any. So, while I will not argue that there are no ignorant UT fans, that would be a losing argument. I will argue that there seems to be an inordinate amount of hate towards UT that doesn't appear to be justified. IF you have to get your joy in life by bashing a down program and making general insults about an entire fan base based on a few individuals, then more power to you. I wish you all the best.

It's nice to see a player show loyalty to the school and more importantly, his teammates. Not a comment against, Fournette. He was battling injuries and made the decision that he felt was best for him. It's just that a college player only has so many opportunities to suit up for their school. Seems to me they would want every one of them. I know I would have loved to have had a few more.

It's a shame. Hate to see any player forced to quit something they love for reasons out of their control.

Oh don't worry, I will cheer whomever it is on as well. It's ingrained in my DNA. Just very disappointed with this search. I was of the mindset that you start at the top and work down, not the other way around. I do know that because this hire will not be the splash hire that UT fans wanted, the coach is going to have to produce and produce fast to keep our fanbase happy - right or wrong, it is what it is.

Damn Right, give me the pirate!

It's so comforting to know that UT is closing in on a solid D-Coordinator to be the next head coach. Who cares if he has no head coaching experience... and it's not like UT's offense was bad or anything last season... SMH

That's what I was thinking considering how many jobs he turned down before Washington... but hey, it doesn't cost anything to dream. And why not at least offer him; the worst he can say is, "No".

Petersen is about as likely as Gruden, but WOW! That would be not only a homerun hire, but a walk-off homerun hire in game seven! Love mixing baseball metaphors while talking about football...

Would be okay with Miles, but would prefer someone with a bit more of a reputation for a high-powered offense like Leach or even Kiffin.

I'm still intrigued by the idea of Leach. Hope that he will still be considered. If not, no worries, but would be fun to watch Air Raid in the SEC

Cute, but a couple of minor alterations would make it more accurate. First, need to add "AD" after UT. Second, the AD is too much of a moron/coward to try for the 10 first. He goes for the shady looking 4 over in the corner and tries to sneak out before someone sees him and then he backs away quickly, trying to pretend it didn't happen. Third, I think the ending may be the AD finally begging the "ex" to come back which could end in one of three ways, the ex says "no", the ex says "yes" and then dumps him again shortly after, or lastly the ex says "yes" and they live happily ever after.... At this point, you just have to laugh and roll with it. It is what it is and the only thing that is affected is how long it will take for UT to come back. At this rate, probably a while.

Correct. Waiting would be best for now - early signing period is too close for a new hire to make much a difference, so no reason to worry about it anymore.

So funny that the portrayal of this "turn down" is that it upset UT fans. I didn't see a single one that wanted him. Trust me, we were happy about this coach turning us down. So far, the only coach that Currie has gone after that seemed to genuinely get the fans excited was Gundy. Even then, most of us didn't count on it. This was not a set-back in the search, it was a win. The problem that most Vol fans have with this search is that it is all over the place. Currie should have started at the top (best and biggest names) and worked his way down. Yes, most would say, "No", but at least UT could say that we actually tried as opposed to giving up and hiring Butch 2.0 right away. IMO - Currie should wait till after FSU makes their hire and see who they jilt in the process. That would be a much more likely coach to say yes to UT.

Don't worry guys... Johnny boy is gonna get us NCST's coach... that is so much bett.. Nope, I can't even finish that sentence. Leach would be great! If he didn't win, he would still be fun to watch. WTF is Currie's problem?

I believe that you would be correct and I would be fine with it. Didn't like him leaving, but can't fault anyone for going after their "dream job". He did it knowing that he was going to be taking over an NCAA punished program too.

Kind of cherry picking some tweets there. Yes there were plenty of fans upset and many still upset. I am only disappointed that Gundy was trotted out after the initial fiasco. I'm not surprised by the, "No", but I am happy that at least Currie went after a legit coach this time. I would rather UT take the rejections (yes, I know there will be many) before settling. But at least try to get the homerun hire.

I would say, based on Twitter reaction, Morris would only mildly be more palatable than Schiano (focusing on coaching resume only here) so... no... Tennessee doesn't want him, but I can't explain the illogical thinking of John Currie.

Agreed. Better to go for best available...if that happens to be a school alum, great; but I want the coach with the best suited resume. I know that many UT fans want Tee to come home. I would love to see him back at UT too, but at the same time, I believe there are still many coaches out there with HC experience already that are as good if not better on paper than Tee.

Can someone please explain how Tennessee ruined Schiano's chances to get another head coaching job? Based on the over-riding media perspective, UT was in the wrong and Schiano was totally in the right. In truth, I didn't like that he had any connection to Sandusky, but since that hasn't been proven, I focused on him as a coach and was more disappointed by his coaching record and lack of big name appeal. Yeah he made Rutgers better, but it's not like he could have made them much worse. If everyone outside of the "Tennessee fan base" believes that the Sandusky thing had nothing to do with Schiano, then based off of that argument, it seems like schools would be clamoring to get him to be their head coach. So which is it?

After yesterday's fiasco, almost any coach brought in will have a better than average chance to win over the fan base. I would also love to see Tee back at UT, however, I would prefer it to be as the OC and not the HC. Guess we will have to see where this goes.

What if this Schiano fiasco was just a smokescreen to make the real choice more palatable?

LOL - I just hope that Currie makes his decision sooner than later so that we can start adjusting to whomever it is and get behind him. The waiting is the worst part of it.

Yes, but not changing perspective. My original point was focused on my opinion that he wouldn't be the best choice for UT. The second point was that I would be surprised if he left Miss St. Both points valid opinions and do not invalidate the other. I will try to get behind any coach that is hire. I played football in college (D2) and went through 3 head coaching changes in my 5 seasons. I know what this is like, I also know that the players want to have a coach that they can be excited about too. Hopefully if he is hired, I will be proven wrong on my opinion and hopefully the players will get excited about him. My entire point is that I, personally, would see his hire as "meh". Not great, but certainly not bad. You are correct, there are no guarantees and also there are no coaches out there (that would likely come) that the fan base will be 100% happy with. Mullen is 5th on my list, ahead of Gruden. On that list, only two of my top four seem like possibilities. Frost is one - and yes he would be a gamble, but the known negatives are limited to his experience level. Mullen's negatives are far more plentiful.