Paul Finebaum shares his thoughts on what traits Tennessee will look for in next coach
By Keith Farner
Published:
As new Athletics Director Danny White and those involved in the Tennessee search continue to look for the Vols next football coach, there is a way to find out which direction White is leaning.
SEC Network host Paul Finebaum shared his opinion on the situation during his regular appearance on “The Roundtable” on WJOX 94.5 in Birmingham, Alabama. Finebaum said Tennessee officials in the first place made a good first step to move a qualified athletics director into that position.
“People close to Danny White indicate look to his past to predict the future and his past is finding young coaches with a lot of upside, such as Nate Oats, Scott Frost, Josh Heupel. I’m not suggesting exactly that path, but I think it’s a pretty good template to look at if you’re trying to guess who the next Tennessee coach is going to be.”
Finebaum said the first step is to figure out who is interested in the job, which is not the, “most coveted in the world,” most notably because of pending NCAA sanctions involving postseason or scholarships. Not to mention, “your roster thins by the hour,” along with annual games against Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
Finebaum noted that former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has a “very slim chance” to land the job, even though Finebaum said he likes Malzahn as a coach. Malzahn could be effective at a new program, but with Tennessee already hiring former Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, Finebaum asked, “Do you want to see that soap opera again?”
“I think Danny White wants to put his imprint on the program by finding someone a little bit different and I think Malzahn is more form than different,” Finebaum said.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
