Has she actually said that or is there any record that she's turned down a big-time offer?
Alabama has facilities...pays the coaches better...has a larger fan base in the seats...It's the big picture and I repeat...We have a larger fan base in the seats...have won the title (regular season and tournament) several years in a row (lately, not years ago). Staley gets 1.5 million and Tennessee is paying way less now. This would be, at best a lateral move for Staley and with the support she has at South Carolina and the class coming in (that SHE picked, not Warwick) you could argue it would be a step down for Staley....If you are going to make an argument that Staley would come to Tennessee then you have to show better than.."It's Tennessee" which it is...but....That’s like saying Alabama has nothing on Vandy except tradition. Silly.
mb
For years the famed Summitt coaching tree was the envy of all WCBB. We had head coaches all over the country at UCLA, LSU, NC State, Arizona, Ky, Missouri State, Ga State, Wright State, Old Dominion, Nevada, Lipscomb, Miss State, UNC, Purdue, and a number of others. These include former players and assistants.
Used to believer Kellie Jollie Harper or Nikki Caldwell Fargas would be the successors. Caldwell particularly had great success at UCLA prior to taking the job at LSU when Warlick took over. I've wondered if Nikki's recruiting suffered from a suspicion she would bolt for UT.
Kellie got a raw deal at NC State following a very popular coach after doing great at tiny WNC. She has been solid at Missouri State.
But neither of these have had the success that would give them a shot at UT - although I wonder what they might have done with the recruits we've had in the past 7 years. At present, the extensive "family" has no particular standouts.
Looking at current successful head coaches:
Perhaps we should look to Oregon where Kelly Graves Oregon and Scott Rueck Oregon State have had success - we did well recruiting in Oregon. But Rueck is an O State alumnus and Graves is older - and both are male where I would prefer a female.
Muffet McGraw - NOT A CHANCE same with Baylor or Uconn or Stanford NONE OF THE FOUR ARE POSSIBILITIES
Staley would not come to UT -
Vic Schafer at Miss State is a Texas A&M graduate - perhaps he would make the move.
Christy Curry at Alabama has been everywhere and is not that successful except against our own FOLLY
I'm not a fan of the KY coach and in the SEC it's these four plus Caldwell-Fargas. or nothing.
Syracuse, Gonzaga, Mich State, Marquette?
Texas, Louisville,?
The NC State Coach looks like a good fit
Personally, I can't stand Brenda Freese at Maryland
So when it comes to currently successful head coaches, I don't see any obvious choices to break into the UCONN Baylor Stanford Notre Dame USC success barrier aside from perhaps Miss State.
I would personally love to see us roll the dice with Kara Lawson and give her 5 years to make it work. A staff with Caldwell Fargas, Lawson, Kellie Harper, and the great Tamika Catchings is a pipe dream that would be awesome.
Lawson is extremely intelligent and personable. I think she could recruit like crazy and put together a staff of former pros who could do something special as a staff.
I doubt some of the big name coaches in the game would come to Knoxville, especially since they spent a great deal of time setting up their programs to be run the way they'd like.
At Tennessee they would pretty much have to set things up again, BUT I could see maybe one or two coming on a slim chance. And I think that only because their respect for Pat might be a factor in influencing them to come and restore her program for all she did for the game. It would have to be someone with a personal connection to her.
Dawn looks to be in support of Holly, not take her job!
HA! Holly makes Dawn’s job easier. Lol. I would want her to stay, too, if I were Dawn the way her ass is losing! It makes South Carolina look better to recruits and ensures that Tennessee is one less program she has to worry about battling for the SEC crown. It was the same reason Calipari wanted Tubby Smith to stay at Memphis...he knew he would have to battle Penny Hardaway for top recruits, especially the #1 recruit in the country which he lost. Lol.
Game recognizes game.
Not so sure any top tier coach would want to put up with some of our fans. But, I can't think of any successful Top 25 coach who frequently appears in the top 15-top 10 who might want it. I don't know.
Come on Spur...you're giving your team too much credit and discrediting Pat, which SC did beat in Pat's last year as HC...before that, she was spanking SC's tail up & down the floor...As far as Dawn goes [whom I've always loved as a coach & player] I think she would more than strongly consider coaching here...She can win & recruit anywhere, but to do it behind the Lady Vol name is still something that is enormously special...I'm not just saying this just because I bleed orange ...Go LVFLDespite them being rivals on the court, Dawn and Holly are genuine friends who support one another regardless. Not sure what Dawn would get out of wanting her friend to keep her job. SC can beat UT when Pat was still coaching so your post is very bleak. I think she should be much more worried about Schaefer at this point. I took the tweet as her defending someone she cares about on a personal level not just a coach who she can beat every time they play.
As far as recruits go both are attractive destinations! You can’t compare WBB recruiting to the men’s when money and bribery is used far more on that side.
Despite them being rivals on the court, Dawn and Holly are genuine friends who support one another regardless. Not sure what Dawn would get out of wanting her friend to keep her job. SC can beat UT when Pat was still coaching so your post is very bleak. I think she should be much more worried about Schaefer at this point. I took the tweet as her defending someone she cares about on a personal level not just a coach who she can beat every time they play.
As far as recruits go both are attractive destinations! You can’t compare WBB recruiting to the men’s when money and bribery is used far more on that side.
Why not break the mold, with the cashay the coach of this program brings. How about a top men's basketball coach? That would be innovative and hopefully, bring women's basketball to a new level.