“Heupel is the only coach we offered” statement at presser…….

[SaintLouieVol]

Many are commenting on this statement made by our new AD in the press conference and most are asserting either: 1) This proves he was the wrong man for the AD job and we overpaid for him, or 2) No way this is true and he is lying to us. I do not believe either of these is the actual case. I take his statement to mean that Josh Heupel is the only person we placed a legal, written, formal job offer contract in front of for their signature of acceptance. This would not be at all unusual for an executive level job search and the HC position at UT is definitely an executive level job, regardless of what anyone thinks of the last few individuals who held the position. He never said that there were not other coaches higher on the “hit list” than CJH. He cannot say that because you don’t want to start the new coach off by telling the world “we settled” even if some believe that to be the case. Everyone including the new coach can surmise that Fleck, Elliot, Campbell, etal. were higher on the list, were fully vetted but were not “formally” handed a contract to sign. Reason being, formal contracts for executive positions only come into play when verbal terms have been reached and there is a 99+ % belief that the contract will be signed, NOT rejected. This is how the “game” is played. You may not like the “game” but this is the world we live in. This DOES mean that within the boundaries that AD White had to operate he could not craft an offer that was “good enough” to convince any of the individuals at the top of the “hit list” to sign. That is more a statement on the current state of UT football than an indictment of the AD’s abilities. And, yes, I am sure he was working within a set of boundaries as to what he could offer/promise. Everyone has a boss, and there is no such thing as a blank check. Some on this site don’t want to accept the reality of this but sometimes reality bites!

 

[VOL Campbell]

I think he lied.

 

[1967vol]

Just an indication of how toxic this job is right now to coaches who can be trusted,

 

[Bigorange123]

AD speak. Let it go. Don’t let millionaires get you down.

 

[allvol123]

It's a white lie. He is probably the only one that got a formal contract put in his face.

They probably talked offers with others and were turned down before an official offer was extended.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

What else is he going to say? I'm sure that the accepted AD definition of an "offer" is when you get to the point of putting something in writing and putting it in the hands of the other party with your signature on it. If you go by that definition, it's easy to say you only offered something to one person.

 

[SKBubba]

Coach prospect, answering phone: "Hey, Danny! I know why you're calling, and the answer is no."

 

[Border Vol]

 

[nash101]

I agree. I think during the vetting/interview process they gauged interest and quickly found out there wasn't much so they moved on. Digging us out of a 10+ year hole won't be an easy task, but I think the plan is in place to get us there and at least be fun to watch for a change in the meantime. Kiffin didn't win many games here, but made things more fun to watch and kept a team with 2 walk on linemen competitive in most games. Expect the same from the new staff

 

[Volfaninfl2]

Many are commenting on this statement made by our new AD in the press conference and most are asserting either: 1) This proves he was the wrong man for the AD job and we overpaid for him, or 2) No way this is true and he is lying to us. I do not believe either of these is the actual case. I take his statement to mean that Josh Heupel is the only person we placed a legal, written, formal job offer contract in front of for their signature of acceptance. This would not be at all unusual for an executive level job search and the HC position at UT is definitely an executive level job, regardless of what anyone thinks of the last few individuals who held the position. He never said that there were not other coaches higher on the “hit list” than CJH. He cannot say that because you don’t want to start the new coach off by telling the world “we settled” even if some believe that to be the case. Everyone including the new coach can surmise that Fleck, Elliot, Campbell, etal. were higher on the list, were fully vetted but were not “formally” handed a contract to sign. Reason being, formal contracts for executive positions only come into play when verbal terms have been reached and there is a 99+ % belief that the contract will be signed, NOT rejected. This is how the “game” is played. You may not like the “game” but this is the world we live in. This DOES mean that within the boundaries that AD White had to operate he could not craft an offer that was “good enough” to convince any of the individuals at the top of the “hit list” to sign. That is more a statement on the current state of UT football than an indictment of the AD’s abilities. And, yes, I am sure he was working within a set of boundaries as to what he could offer/promise. Everyone has a boss, and there is no such thing as a blank check. Some on this site don’t want to accept the reality of this but sometimes reality bites!

In today’s presser, White said Heupel was always the top person on his list, no matter what others have reported, and the only Coach offered the job.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Doesn't mean he did not have serious talks with other coaches, just means he never got to the offer point because they either turned him down at some point on made unreasonable demands he couldn't or wouldn't meet. I read somewhere that Franklin and Elliot were the only 2 previous coaches he had any meaningful discussions with. Franklin wanted too much $ and Elliot backed out. Then he went to Heiple.

 

[Eastknox865]

You don't offer the job to someone that tells you they aren't interested. So yes he is telling the truth most likely. Wake up fans this is no longer an attractive landing spot.

 

[deezvols]

Semantics

 

[BruisedOrange]

This is also the usefulness of "expensive" headhunters. They can contact any number of coaches to gauge their interest, learn how the Vol program is perceived today, discern how much money it will take to draw coaches of varying stature to Tennessee's situation, and even inquire off-the-record about other coaches (who's suspect/who's underappreciated)--before reporting back to the AD. No one knows to whom Tennessee has talked because Tennessee has not talked to anyone at that point.

Search firms can also report what concerns they are hearing from the coaches they speak to, as well as what coaches find desireable about the position.

People scoff at the expense, but Tennessee purchased a lot of information without making our program vulnerable to (any more) public humiliation or questioning. What if many coaches perceive Knoxville as an unhealthy environment? You absolutely do not want that information getting leaked publicly! Recruiting would be ruined for 10-20 years!

When our new AD makes these carefully parsed statements, he is not trying to lie to fans---he is proving to other coaches and interviewees that he can be trusted, that he will not share things said in confidence, or throw someone under the bus to make himself look better. White is building trust and elevating the perceived integrity of our program among its peers.

These are some of the necessary baby steps back to respectability.

 

[andywilson001]

Interviewing someone and getting shot down doesn't count as a rejected offer, so he's not technically "lying". They're not going to make a formal offer until they've talked and reached a verbal agreement.

 

[Go aeiou]

Coach prospect, answering phone: "Hey, Danny! I know why you're calling, and the answer is no."

Nope, "Answer is Hell no!"

 

[Hallie]

he is not lying ..the firm vetted the interest ... they discussed things like money, staff etc ..and it things didnt jive .. no offer made ..

 

[37620VOL]

Use your freaking head. Heupel was the only one we offered. Sure we discussed the job with 5-10 others, but they were never officially offered - we just guaged interest and found there was none.

Would you rather he go up there and say, "This guy here... he was 15th on our list, but he said yes, so yayyy"?

 

[airvols]

He’s telling the truth, the search firm relayed details to other coaches. You never make an offer you know the candidate want take in these circumstances.

 

[Steinlöwen]

AD speak. Let it go. Don’t let millionaires get you down.

Solid advice

 

[VolNExile]

In today’s presser, White said Heupel was always the top person on his list, no matter what others have reported, and the only Coach offered the job.

Well, what else would he say?

“Josh was around 17-18 on the list, but he’s what we have, so yay.”

It’s a press conference for a football coach, aka a PR event.

Good grief, people.

 

[andywilson001]

Use your freaking head. Heupel was the only one we offered. Sure we discussed the job with 5-10 others, but they were never officially offered - we just guaged interest and found there was none.

Would you rather he go up there and say, "This guy here... he was 15th on our list, but he said yes, so yayyy"?

He just shouldn't have brought it up at all. It's not "technically" a lie, but its dishonest. We were turned down by several people before landing on him, whether formal offers were made or not.

 

[VolDave53]

How the conversation possibly went on those not "offered":

AD: "Hi Coach Lane, how much would you need to come to UT as our new Head Coach?"

Coach Layne: "$150 million over 10 years"

AD: "Have a nice day."

 

[willinhf]

Optics. That is all that is...pure Optics.

 

[Volbrando]

I think he lied.

Had to