TENNESSEE
KNOXVILLE — For many the last-play loss to Florida was enough to start thinking about finding a new caretaker of Tennessee football.
Many more came to that conclusion after a lackluster 17-13 win the next week against winless UMass.
Now after a third consecutive week of underachieving performances, this time with a 41-0 loss to Georgia the program’s first shutout loss since 1994, many are ready for new athletic director John Currie to rally boosters and to make a change at the helm of Tennessee football.
With the bye-week present before an Oct. 14 home game against South Carolina, this seems ideal to make a change, to remove Butch Jones and have an interim head coach close out the regular season and try to salvage a bowl game appearance.
Doing so also would allow UT to get a head start in the race to land the best coach available.
Whether that elite head coach is Chip Kelly, Les Miles, Bobby Petrino or whomever, it makes too much sense to not move forward with the inevitable change. The silence raises questioning if Vols leaders and boosters really want UT to be elite again.
Behind the scenes, many lower-end boosters are disgruntled and want to buy out Jones’ contract, but at Tennessee, a handful of big-money boosters call the shots.
They are Jimmy Haslam, the CEO of Pilot Flying J and owner of the Cleveland Browns with a net worth of $3.6 billion, and Charles Ergen, a co-founder and current Chairman of the Board and former President and CEO of Dish Network with a net worth of $15.9 billion. Both are UT graduates.
Then there are individuals such as John “Thunder” Thornton, a significant UT donor who has made a wealthy career through being a high-profile Chattanooga developer and founding Thunder Enterprises. And Charles C. Anderson Jr., the CEO of Anderson Media Corporation, who serves on the UT Board of Trustees and Board of Directors for UT Athletics; his family name sits atop the Vols’ indoor practice facility named the Anderson Training Center.
Those are a few of the people who could come together and help hire a program-changer.
After years of mediocrity and going through three head coaches who have a combined record of 55-50, it is time for the big boosters at UT to spend some of money and give up some control, much like Alabama did when bringing in Nick Saban after years of distress.
For years, Alabama boosters, headed by Paul Bryant Jr., steered the Crimson Tide football program. Then-Alabama athletic director Mal Moore convinced all parties, including the son of legendary head coach Bear Bryant, that the time to restore the storied program was now. No more settling; Alabama needed an elite head coach.
And Moore began a relentless pursuit of Saban, who met all of the attributes he was looking for.
“When I set out on this search, I noted that I was seeking a coach who has a proven record of championship success,” Moore said in 2007. “Coach Saban brings that proven record of accomplishment and leadership to our program.”
RELATED: The 38-day pursuit of Nick Saban that saved Alabama football
Understand, Jones still is Tennessee’s coach.
Coming off Tennessee’s 41-0 loss to Georgia, Jones was greeted Monday night at the Touchdown Club of Memphis by questions about his job security.
Jones called his job being in jeopardy “nonsense” and added that he and his staff will have to “put blinders on” and tune out criticism as they go forward.
“That’s part of being a head football coach,” Jones told Memphis’ WATN-TV. “I think that kind of comes with the territory. That’s nonsense. It’s out there, but again, you put blinders on and you go to work each and every day.”
Jones is correct in saying it’s part of being a head coach, but he is incorrect by saying it is nonsense.
It is now time for the University’s big-money boosters to take a page out of Alabama’s book and spend money on an elite head coach and restore prominence.
There is a reason it’s called the Third Saturday in October and why the two most storied SEC schools are rivals and compete against each other.
It’s time for Tennessee to follow Alabama’s lead and regain power with an elite head coach.
1. Chip Kelly
2. Bob Stoops
3. Les Miles(Dont trade one poor clock manager for another.)
4. David Cutcliff(too old.)
5. Justin Fuente/James Franklin
Or kick rocks. Why? Because Money talks, and b******* walks.
I would take miles and Cut off the list. Doesn’t sound like stoops will coach again. At least right now. Doubt franklin would leave penn state and can’t stand the guy but he obviously can coach. Wait a minute I can’t stand sarge jones either. Ok franklin is back in. Still like venables if we won’t spend the big bucks.
I like Venables too
Here are realistic options with (semi)proven track records:
1) Brent Venables-DC Clemson
2) Mike Norvell-HC Memphis
3) Neal Brown-HC Troy
4) Tee Martin-OC Southern Cal
Enough with this BS talk about Kelly, Stoops, Miles, or Cutcliff talk
Chip Kelly HATES recruiting. I don’t see him back in college but if he does it will be back on the west coast where recruiting isn’t as important
Bob Stoops is done with college coaching. Why would he leave Oklahoma to head to Tennessee?
Les Miles is a train wreck and would put us deeper in the hole. Plus, his recruiting base is in Louisiana and southeast Texas. Not a lot of connections in Georgia, Florida, or Tennessee our three biggest states
David Cutcliff will not come back to UT. He loves Duke and to be quite frank, Duke is a great fit for him. He will retire from there.
What big name coach can you think of to lure away from a middling power 5 conference?
If they are serious they will put up $10M a year. Go after the most successful coach they can find. I would start with Pete Carroll. Same age as Saban but has been successful at college and NFL. He has a defensive background. He makes around 8M now. Offer him a 5 year 50M contract. Probably would not take it but at least try. Then work your way down to next most proven coach, maybe Stoops or someone like that. How serious are they? Alabama was serious. Michigan was serious. If you put serious money on the table, which they could, it would draw attention of the BEST candidates.
Of all the ideas on who to replace Jones this one seems like the most “saban” of all. But the boosters are going to have to seriously shell out some cash. If the boosters were smart I think they would, because otherwise you risk getting a Dooley or Jones 2.0. What about fulmer?
This would be a Saban-esque hire, and I would love to see it happen. But they are two very different situations. Saban hated coaching in the NFL. He wasn’t having success, and he couldn’t control the players the way he can in college. He may not have said it, but he wanted to come back to the college level. Carroll, however, is having great success. He has the respect of his players, and he seems to be genuinely enjoying the NFL game. I know money talks, but I just don’t see him leaving a job he loves.
1. Chip – Maybe but name me an offensive minded HC who consistently does “Sabanesque” well in the SEC
2. Bob – Nope. Said yesterday he’s not going to coach college ball again.
3. Les – Seriously?
4. David Cutcliff – Agree…too old
5. Fuente/Franklin – He’ll go from VT to a real major gig. Franklin ain’t leaving Happy Valley for Knoxville
“Buster” Haynesworth mentioned T Martin. Who knows if he’d be a good one but again, offensive expertise and no track record.
Terrible list, Stoops is retired..Les is washed up..Why the hell would Franklin leave Penn St for UT, head scratcher?
Everyone wants Kelly if he’s smart he’d stay away, LSU,A&M and UF are the only SEC schools I think Kelly would entertain. Heres a few names if I’m UT fan I’d want simply because that offense is painful to watch.
Dan Mullen
Scott Frost
Chad Morris
Kliff Kingsbury
Neal Brown
Wait? Are you telling me there is a NC winning coach struggling in NFL that Tennessee could get?
As a Tennessee fan, I basically have zero faith in the administration, BoT, BoD, or the big money donors to make the right call. I have watched UT go from being competitive in multiple sports, to being average at best in everything outside of softball. If seeing is believing, I haven’t seen a lot over the last 10 years to make me believe anything is really going to change.
Maybe Derreck Dooley wasn’t so bad after all? I think Butch is doing a great job and needs a long term contract!
I thought the same thing until I googled Dooley’s record at UT.
More than a little misleading, Dan. Bama had hired Rich Rod and he backed off, or didn’t you think it was important to mention that? Whether we keep Butch or not, let’s not lose sight that Saban wouldn’t be here if not for the above fact. And who would’ve ever thought he’d have that kind of success, dominating every other SEC school. This kind of irresponsible omission is what minimizes the legitimacy of the media.
All of the UT booster fat cats do not want to come off their cash. All they care about is their access and counting their money at the same time.
Unfortunately, Big Jim calls the shots. The only thing the boosters are united on is that CBJ won’t be coach next year. They’re not willing to give up control. Instead they are all jockeying for position and trying to pry the influence from Big Jim’s hands.
1.Chip Kelly
2.Mike Leach
3.Jeff Brohm
4.Justin Fuente
No PJ Fleck he’s Butch 2.0 with his cliches
Don’t think Stoops will be back for a few years
Les Miles is settling for middle of the road
Franklin won’t leave a historic program
Tee Martin was beaten by Mike Leach and has expressed not wanting to come back to TN
Venables from Clemson is overdue for a HC job, though I think he’s just too happy in Clemson.
Venables is the Wade Phillips of CF, he’s best as a DC and he knows it. #knowyourrole
Tennessee needs a proven winner, not a has been or someone thats been fired elsewhere. They can not afford to hire another up and coming coach then play roll the dice to see if he does well. Go give Gruden $10 million a year. Hell looks how much they paid Dooley and Jones so far.
Two words…Jim Tressel…
SMDH. Yeah, UT needs to hire their Nick Saban. If it was that easy, everybody would just hire their Nick Saban. What got UT into the mess they are in now was chasing Nick Saban and hiring the walking program destroyer, Lane Kiffin because they thought he could compete with Saban.
When UT fires Butch, they are going to have to try to find the next Urban Meyer that did it well at a small school and then went undefeated at a middling program and got hired by UF. Sabans don’t grow on trees.
Very good point. But not every school has the money and resources that Tennessee has, nor the tradition.
Let’s look a little closer. We know these things about the team They can’t tackle, block, run, catch, kick or pass and the coaches are just as bad. It’s time to move on to a coach who is able to takes us to the next level. Forget the money, Chip Kelly would be that man. Let’s cut our lost with Butch and hire Chip…. I’m done…