DG's Revised Giant List of Coaching Candidates (2nd Edition)

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

Don't really know why but I have never thought of Miles as a top tier coach, even when he coached in the NC games. He doesn't seem to out X & O any opponent just out talent them. He does take chances, but how many times can you convert going for it on 4th down 4 times in a row and making all four. In addition he probably wouldn't coach but maybe 4 or 5 years but I'd think we'd be glad to have a change by then anyway!!!

I've said it repeatedly, but I'll say it again. Les is another Phil. He can out talent most anyone but rarely if ever out coach anyone.

 

[thehill98]

For those wanting Miles, ask yourself this. Would you have hired Fulmer a year after he was fired from Tennessee, if he had been at a similar school like LSU? Their resumes are very similar after 10 years or so. Two conference titles, 3 appearances, one natl. title. The big difference is Fulmer lasted about 6 more years. Not saying he couldn’t succeed, but it appeared he was trending down.

 

[armchair]

--Frost wouldn't be even close to a "home run" hire--he doesn't have the track record. Promising, sure; but that's a long way from "home run" hire. Saban was the archetypal home-run hire. And there are a a bunch of promising candidates--all of whom would be facing a very high hurdle if they took this job--namely, winning in the SEC.

--Kiffin was an inexplicable hire? That's revisionist, 'we're pissed at Kiffin cuz he stiffed us' history. I thought at the time that hiring him was a coup. He is an excellent offensive coach--and he brought his Dad with him and put together a crack staff. He stiffed us, and he was immature in some ways, but I liked the boldness of the hire.

--Tennessee is a place to win a national title? Well, we did not terribly long ago, true, but the fact is it is hard for any SEC program save bama to win a national title--too many tough games. We play bama, florida and georgia every year, for starters: That makes UT a very hard place to win a national title. That's not to say that we don't have lots in our favor--but a brutal schedule is not a recipe for a title.

--the Vols have "loads of talent"? Really? Fans overestimate our talent. What was Jones know for as a recruiter? Landing three-star players. He was a pretty decent recruiter, all things considered, but we're not loaded with talent. We're SO talented that we haven't won an SEC game! Sure, we've got coaching issues, and injury issues; we also have talent issues. Those talented players that we do have are ALWAYS hurt. UT has become Injury U.

We need someone with FOUR qualities, IMO. First, he has to be passionate about the Vols--as Jones was. We need to hire somebody who wants to be here and wants to win the SEC with Tennessee. Second, we need somebody with some charisma who can recruit--another good Jones quality. You can't overstate the importance of recruiting. Third, we need somebody who is X/O smart--tactically smart--and who can win close games, something Jones struggled to do. Finally, we need somebody who has the confidence and management skills and /experience/ to do the job and do it well--somebody who won't be overwhelmed by the job and by the SEC. That's why I want somebody who has some P5 head coaching experience--not a coordinator, and not a guy who's done well at a small school for two years. Alas, we'll probably end up hiring someone considered a "comer" and hoping for the best.

 

[a vol n tears]

I think Butch went to Les' camp on how to run a 2 minute offense

 

[OH-Vol]

My realistic list:

1. Mullen
2. Petrino
3. Schiano
4. Leach
5. Iowa St. Guy

Frost = NE, Kelly = UCLA or FL

Norvell, Brohm, Fleck etc... No thanks

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

If Les Miles is a top tier coach then why didn’t Purdue hire him? He made it well known he was interested in the job.

Please tell me how Miles would revive our offense based on his history at LSU. I will hang up and listen.

I believe he would first, hire a much better staff with a real OL coach. That would go very far in improving our offense. It would definitely make our run game better.

The Purdue job? I have no idea. Thats irrelevant. As I have stated many times before his record in the SEC trumps any argument you can make against him.

Would you care how our offense looked if we were winning say, 10 games a year, competeing for the East title and winning it every few years? I care about winning. Not how great our offense is.

Answer me this, does Les Miles know what it takes to win big in the SEC?

 

[Tidal Surge]

So somebody please present some proof that Fuente, Frost, Mullen, Venables or Taggart should be listed above Les Miles.

“I’d be the first one to tell you that I would like to think that I had called timeout before that. I can’t imagine that I did not. I can’t tell you that I did, and that’s my issue.” -- Les Miles

 

[MFL]

Frosty Soon

 

[Volz4lif3]

I think a little of Chip Kelly goes a long way - one eccentric weird dude. Kiffin was passed over by every AD but one last year and is at the level with his temperament and baggage he needs to be at.

Neal Brown is a reach hire that may be worth considering. How he beat LSU this year is hard to figure. He sure has upgraded Troy significantly and played a great game vs. Clemson last year. Troy vs. Clemson - Game Summary - September 10, 2016 - ESPN

The guy from Penn State looks like a Big 10 type guy to me - not having the needed charisma of an SEC coach.

Mullen has to be at the top of the list - Norvell worth a look and Campbell for sure if someone can foot the heavy buyout. Mullen needs to make his move now - if he waits he may be stuck in Starkville indefinitely.

Fuente is Tier One for sure but he will not foul the nest of VA Tech who gave him his big opportunity.

The guy from Penn St used to coach SEC..

 

[tpsdave]

Kelly has a 46-7 record coaching college football. Gruden has a SB ring and is one of the most widely respected and recognized coaches in the world. True he is never coached college but I believe IF he came here he would hire a great staff and let them do their jobs.

They should be our #1 and #2. To say theyre teir 2 is just laughable.

And Gruden never won another playoff game after the Super Bowl win. Not consistent in the NFL.

 

[secking]

Kelly has a 46-7 record coaching college football. Gruden has a SB ring and is one of the most widely respected and recognized coaches in the world. True he is never coached college but I believe IF he came here he would hire a great staff and let them do their jobs.

They should be our #1 and #2. To say theyre teir 2 is just laughable.

I’ve seen the list that is supposed to be Gruden’s coaching list. It is nowhere near great. Jay Graham was the best coach/name on the list, think about that.

 

[Volz4lif3]

--Frost wouldn't be even close to a "home run" hire--he doesn't have the track record. Promising, sure; but that's a long way from "home run" hire. Saban was the archetypal home-run hire. And there are a a bunch of promising candidates--all of whom would be facing a very high hurdle if they took this job--namely, winning in the SEC.

--Kiffin was an inexplicable hire? That's revisionist, 'we're pissed at Kiffin cuz he stiffed us' history. I thought at the time that hiring him was a coup. He is an excellent offensive coach--and he brought his Dad with him and put together a crack staff. He stiffed us, and he was immature in some ways, but I liked the boldness of the hire.

--Tennessee is a place to win a national title? Well, we did not terribly long ago, true, but the fact is it is hard for any SEC program save bama to win a national title--too many tough games. We play bama, florida and georgia every year, for starters: That makes UT a very hard place to win a national title. That's not to say that we don't have lots in our favor--but a brutal schedule is not a recipe for a title.

--the Vols have "loads of talent"? Really? Fans overestimate our talent. What was Jones know for as a recruiter? Landing three-star players. He was a pretty decent recruiter, all things considered, but we're not loaded with talent. We're SO talented that we haven't won an SEC game! Sure, we've got coaching issues, and injury issues; we also have talent issues. Those talented players that we do have are ALWAYS hurt. UT has become Injury U.

We need someone with FOUR qualities, IMO. First, he has to be passionate about the Vols--as Jones was. We need to hire somebody who wants to be here and wants to win the SEC with Tennessee. Second, we need somebody with some charisma who can recruit--another good Jones quality. You can't overstate the importance of recruiting. Third, we need somebody who is X/O smart--tactically smart--and who can win close games, something Jones struggled to do. Finally, we need somebody who has the confidence and management skills and /experience/ to do the job and do it well--somebody who won't be overwhelmed by the job and by the SEC. That's why I want somebody who has some P5 head coaching experience--not a coordinator, and not a guy who's done well at a small school for two years. Alas, we'll probably end up hiring someone considered a "comer" and hoping for the best.

Damn truth hurts

 

[FORDMAN]

You make some goods points I do agree that Chip Kelly may be a tier 2 coach and that Gruden has not done anything in years except talk about football and you cannot talk your way into winning games in the SEC. I think our best shot at a really good hire is Dan Mullen but we shall see.

 

[JMSqb11]

Good post; well thought out.
For whatever 2 cents it’s worth....(keeping in the real world, not fantasy land:
1. Mullen
2. Fuentes
3. Frost
4. Venables
5. Norvell
6. Taggert
7. Strong

Any of the top 4 would be excellent hires.
Got a sneaky suspicion that almost all of us will be disappointed when the music stops and the dust settles.

1. Mullen- stays at MSU w big raise; maybe
UF
2. Fuentes- stays at VT w big raise
3. Frost- Nebraska w big raise
4. Venables- stays at Clemson w raise;
Maybe Ta&m
5. Norvell - Arkansas (played and coached at
UCA); outside chance of MSU if
Mullen goes to UF
6. Taggert - replaced by C Kelly at Oregon;
Will go to UCLA (Phil
Knight opens Nike check
book to bring back the
Prodigal Son to recreate the
magic in hideous uniforms)
7. Strong- stays at USF w raise; flips UTK the
bird if they approach him.
Remember, 5 yrs ago UT told
him he would
get the job if Gundy turned it
down. Gundy said no; Stong
said no because he didn’t want
‘sloppy’ second place to that
booger eater w a mullet.
Personally, IMO would have
been the best hire last time
around. We got Forrest Gump
instead.

On second thought.....worth only 1 cent.

Sorry but Strong has no leverage in getting a raise from USF because of his Texas buyout still paying him. His contract this year and next is 500K and Texas is paying him roughly 4.8 Million this year and next. He’s not gonna mess that up.

 

[JMSqb11]

For those wanting Miles, ask yourself this. Would you have hired Fulmer a year after he was fired from Tennessee, if he had been at a similar school like LSU? Their resumes are very similar after 10 years or so. Two conference titles, 3 appearances, one natl. title. The big difference is Fulmer lasted about 6 more years. Not saying he couldn’t succeed, but it appeared he was trending down.

So you’re saying Dooley > Phil?

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

I’ve seen the list that is supposed to be Gruden’s coaching list. It is nowhere near great. Jay Graham was the best coach/name on the list, think about that.

You don't know anything.

 

[A10uhCVolFan]

My only issue with these coaches that have only been at smaller schools for 2 years is that the 1st year they are playing with someone elses recruits and the 2nd yr they have some of their guys but not enough time to see player development. I feel UT has had an issue with player development and to bring in a coach where they haven't proven to be able to recruit and develop is a risk. I would honestly rather see us a higher a bad azz OC/DC and hell let Brady have a chance. I dont like what he did at Michigan but I like what he did at Ball State and SDSU. I honestly dont think hiring a HC is going to magically make things better. Recruiting, Asst Coaches and Player Development all need to be improved. TN needs an overhaul/rebuild and that doesnt happen overnight.