Don't see it happening, but I'd be happy if it did. Wondering why the sudden change though? Academics?

Hate to lose any commit, but given the new style of offense that UT will be running, I don't know that a lineman of his build would be able to keep up. Can't blame him for wanting out. Best of luck to him.

My thoughts exactly.

We (fans) will have to remember that given the type of offense that CJH will run, this defense will get scored on... a lot. I am not expecting much there, but I am expecting this guy to recruit like crazy.

Agreed, Either focus on getting a recruiter that can (within the rules) bring in as much talent as possible and hope their talent can overcome bad calls (I.E. Josh Dobbs, but on defense) or find an overlooked DC from a smaller school (maybe D2) that would love the money and the chance at the big stage.

Who knows who we will be able to get at this point. Can't say I blame the coaches at bigger programs saying, 'No'. All they need to do is wait another year or so and they will probably get a gig at another big school not under NCAA sanctions. I don't understand why CJH isn't targeting the best DCs in DivII. They have shown they are good and are more likely to make the jump to D1 even with the negative circumstances surrounding UT for three reasons.. money, notoriety, and MONEY.

Was thinking the same thing.

They still might, though I doubt it. He hasn't been named DC yet, that tells me that either he didn't want it or CJH did not want him. Either way, if he stays on as an assistant for a year or so, that would be good.

Given the circumstances, I can see the value in that. It may be that due to the style of offense that CJH runs, it won't really matter the DC as the defense will probably be on the field a lot. Jt may be better to just get a ton of athletes that can handle the workload... who knows, just want to see consistent improvement.

I know the Vols aren't likely to have many highly successful DCs that want to come there, given the current circumstances...but throwing that kind of money at someone that has never been a DC???? He is obviously a good coach and may be great calling plays, but there has to be an experienced DC that would be available and want it. Check D2 teams, there are plenty of good DCs that would probably take even less $ just for the opportunity at an SEC school.

I could live with that. Better than paying him all that cash for a few months work.

Exactly. By all accounts, the guy is a great coach... but no coordinator experience. Hard to get excited about that. I know the reality that the Vols face getting a DC and that any good coach is a plus, but you can't tell me that there isn't a single DC out there with good experience that wouldn't take the job. I'd look in the D2 ranks for a solid DC that is getting overlooked because he is at a smaller school. UT really needs to focus on hiring coaches that can A. Recruit (within the rules) B. Do more with less talent C. Both A and B (preferred).

When did Maurer enter the transfer portal? To my knowledge he is still on the team. Not saying he would beat out any of the three listed here, but Heupel's offense might work better for him than Chaney's.

Yep. The only way he gets the entirety of the fan base on his side is simple...win. Until then, he can get things moving in the right direction by keeping To'oto'o and Crouch and making some great staff hires.

Agreed. Thanks for being civil Army. Obviously, getting the right players in the system is the most important thing, but I would argue that Heupel's success or failure is going to revolve around the coaches he hires more than anything else. I believe that is why Pittman has so much early success. He nailed the OC and DC hires. Heupel absolutely needs a homerun..scratch that, he needs a grand slam hire for DC and some serious (within the rules) recruiters to stand any chance of righting the ship and getting things moving in a positive direction quickly. Most likely it will once again take several years - which makes it frustrating to see other schools seeing big success in only 2 or 3 seasons after hiring a new coach. But it is what it is. The odds are against Heupel based on what the prior regime did to the program- but for now, the best I can do is hope and cheer them on. Go Vols.

Bet we are number one in buyout dollars spent.

LOL-somehow, I don't think that concept has gotten a lot of traction on this site. Especially on the UT stories.

You all do realize that UCF will probably hire one of the coaches that we actually wanted now. Yep...seems about right.

Anyone else feel like we just got scammed by UCF?

Welp, if this is accurate, we'll be seeing all of you on an article like this again in about 3 seasons...maybe 4. At least that will give everyone time to come up with some new burns.

Man I hope I am wrong and White finds some way to earn his massive salary and comes up with a coach that can get the fan base excited again. Not expecting championships, just steady improvement and decent bowl games.

It's probably just a ploy to make the real hire (who will also suck) seem more palatable.

Trust me, after a decade plus of what we have beem going through, expectations are most certainly lower. Everything you listed is more of a 'want' these days. I think most reasonable fans would'expect' a bowl game and winning the games they are supposed to win and occasionally pulling the upset. Once that has been established, expectations will and should grow. And yes, there are many reasonable UT fans...but like most large fan bases, the crazy ones just tend to be the loudest

Short version: I liked Fleck over several other options that have been floated, especially any coordinators...but not gonna lose any sleep on him not coming to UT.

Agreed. As I stated on another article here - Elliott might be great and if hired, I hope he is. But, considering the talent he has had around him since he started calling plays you have to question how much of the success is because of him and how much is because of the players he has had at his disposal.

He might be.. but I have to question if the success is actually because of him or because of the talent. Too often have I seen coordinators from stacked teams get hired at schools without that talent and never turn it around. I am skeptical of him, but if he is hired, I hope we all give full support to him and the team. I plan to.

Right off the bat, I recognize that given the state of the UT program, hiring a coach that has a proven track record as a winner as a head coach in a Power 5 school is unlikely at best. That being said, none of the coaches here are likely to get much fan excitement unless they can outperform expectations. I don't know enough about Sykes to speak regarding him, Fleck is interesting, but don't want Elliot. He may be a great coach, but who isn't a great coach with the talent he has had around him. I would hope that our new 'superstar' AD can sell the position of head coach at UT to a coach that has proven that they can win against the odds. Would also hope that some of the bigger names on the wish list are at least being asked about the position. If they don't want it given the circumstances, can't blame them, but it would be a waste not to at least try.

I'm just hoping we don't hire another coordinator from Bama or Clemson. How hard is it to look like a genious coordinator when you have talent like that? I am hoping for a coach that has proven they can do more with less...which is what they will have to do for at least a few more recruiting classes. Unfortunately, we may have no choice considering the situation that any hire will need to be willing to accept at UT.

You are correct. It could be worse, any of our past three head coaches could still be there. That doesn't mean Steele is a good choice. I see him as the VFL version of Pruitt. Whomever the new AD is should not hire Steele as the HC until each of the other 6 or 7 better options tell us "No". And yes, they probably will. It would be more embarrassing to just accept things as they are and continue down the current path than it would be to, at least, trying to make things better, no matter how unlikely those chances are.

That would be disappointing (not the firing Pruitt part, that is needed)... but you are right, Steele being brought in to replace him is not something to be surprised about.