Last week, SEC Network analyst Chris Doering suggested that former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn would be the perfect hire as Tennessee’s next head football coach. On Wednesday, the Volunteers officially their new head coach – and it isn’t Malzahn.

Josh Heupel is following athletic director Danny White from UCF to UT. As you might expect, Doering is unsure of the Heupel hire. During a Wednesday appearance on Sirius XM, he called it a “rushed” hire and implied White made a “comfortable” hire instead of holding out for a head coach who would be more appealing to high school recruits and players in the NCAA transfer portal.

“I think the problem is, it’s all about optics,” Doering said. “The optics look a little bit comfortable. It looks more so rushed. Why the sense of urgency to hire a guy you probably could have hired in (another) week or two or more? I don’t know if he’s a guy that’s going to necessarily shore up things when it comes to recruiting before next Wednesday with the signing period. I’m not sure he’s going to be the guy who excites guys’ names who are in the transfer portal. But to me, the thing that will probably frustrate Tennessee fans the most is the rushed appearance of making this hire.”

With Signing Day just around the corner and the portal producing numerous transfers, we’ll find out sooner than later if Doering’s early thoughts prove to be correct.