ESPN analyst says Dan Mullen is clear leader at Tennessee

At least one analyst thinks there is a clear leader to land the head coaching position at Tennessee, and the leader mentioned is not Jon Gruden.

Many rumors continue to swirl around Knoxville after the firing of Butch Jones. It appeared for a while that Gruden to Tennessee was a serious possibility but that remains speculation at this point. Gruden’s broadcast partner for Monday Night Football, Sean McDonough, weighed in on the Grumors, and he personally doesn’t believe Gruden would take the job.

It still remains to be seen who the Volunteers will hire as their next head coach, but ESPN’s Chris Low sees one current SEC coach as the clear leader for the position.

The Orange & White Report shared Low’s comments Wednesday morning, and he believes Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen is the leader for the position:

"Dan Mullen is the leader in the clubhouse to be Tennessee's next coach."

– @ClowESPN https://t.co/ICwW79NsyU

— Vols Big Orange Podcast (@BigOrangePod) November 22, 2017

Nothing official has been reported yet, but it is worth noting Paul Finebaum mentioned earlier this season that he saw Mullen as a potential fit at Tennessee.

Mullen has reiterated multiple times this season that he is very happy with Mississippi State, and it will be interesting to see if any school can lure him away from the Bulldogs.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.