Coach Kellie Harper fired

[Orange_Mamba]

Will be a rough 2 to 3 weeks.

 

[volfan__18]

So was the whole staff let go or what?

 

[VolBall09]

Where? I am really curious about the part I am missing:

It’s just another confused poster.

Maria really wreaked some havoc here today

 

[volforlife10]

Will be a rough 2 to 3 weeks.

hopefully we don’t wait that long. the new coach MUST make a huge splash in the portal ASAP.

 

[glv98]

Will be a rough 2 to 3 weeks.

Oh if the hire is 2 to 3 weeks it's going to be a rough 2 or 3 years. Unless someone can bring a whole roster with them. We absolutely can't sleep on the portal for 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[Score50]

Danny White is a gutless moron. After 32 years, I see no point in following Lady Vols basketball any longer, and no, I won't let the door hit me on the way out.

I would disagree with you about Danny White but I would agree with you about not letting the door hit you on the way out!! Good riddance.

 

[VolBall09]

Oh if the hire is 2 to 3 weeks it's going to be a rough 2 or 3 years. Unless someone can bring a whole roster with them. We absolutely can't sleep on the portal for 2 or 3 weeks.

On this we agree. I think we have to have an announcement within a day or two of the championship. If not possibly sooner. Just depends on how quickly they can move the process along. White will be very busy this week.

 

[volmanNC]

Kara is to smart to take the job!

I hope so, don't want her at UT... Time for new blood.

 

[madtownvol]

A lot of the media reactions will contain inaccuracies or be overblown or frank trolls and clickbaits. DW runs a very tight ship, and it is not likely at all that people who claim to have inside information with regard to the search do in fact know what is going on behind the scenes. (I am not faulting MMC.) Publicizing searches in detail gratifies rumor mongers, but hinders the actual business of finding the best coach.

Actually, we don't know which account was correct or why it was changed. It was a peculiar error to make unsubstantiated. It's not impossible that one or both of the parties involved thought it was leading to fruitless speculation. I can see Kellie, in particular, not wanting matters involving her family to be spotlighted and thematized.

All shall be well. Let's just stay patient.

But, the path forward story really did not make that much sense in hindsight. It created too many contingencies. White was either going to keep her or fire her. A "maybe if you agree to this" stipulation would have put him behind the curve.

The explanation that Maria jumped the gun on some unverified info she heard requires fewer "DaVinci Code" confabulations. She has a history...

 

[volfan__18]

On this we agree. I think we have to have an announcement within a day or two of the championship. If not possibly sooner. Just depends on how quickly they can move the process along. White will be very busy this week.

agreed. Can’t be too many days after the end of the season. The portal is college basketball now especially with a new coach.

 

[volcity]

this can either be so good, or so bad. ig we will see.

White has a good track record of hires. I have hope

 

[mr.checkerboards]

Where? I am really curious about the part I am missing:

Look at the post I've quoted several times in here.

 

[Bsport]

Truly disappointed with this decision. Kellie deserved at least one more year. She is a class act and brought in a team of exemplary student athletes. I never worried about how Kellie, her staff or the team would represent my alma mater.

DW has shown himself to be weak and subject to which way the wind blows. He brought in a baseball coach that is an embarrassment to the university. That program is now known for vulgarity, poor sportsmanship and generally being a bunch of punks. I am tremendously concerned that the tradition Pat established of a national contender AND a class program is headed for the ash heap.

Just very sorry for a good person, good coach who has been treated unfairly by someone who isn’t even a member of the UT family.

I will continue to support the Lady Vols through thick and thin. I will hope for a new coach we can be proud of but now have significant doubts about DW’s judgment. A very sad day for UT WBB.

Danny White did not hire Coach Vitella. He was here before White came on board.

 

[JohnnyPayne]

Very sad. Hard not to say this is not a perplexing move considering the landscape of college women’s basketball. This board is split, but I guess we hope to resurrect Pat and time travel back to the early 90s (which was a fun time by the way).

In before the 2026 posts of “we should have just kept KJH”…

 

[Remy]

Needed to be done. Unfortunate and sad because she is a Lady Vol. Wish her and her family the best.

If not this year then next year if tournament results were the same or less. I hate it but she was not consistently competitive in recruiting or on the court against her two top teams in USC and LSU.

 

[VolsAgainstTheWorld15]

Or Maria was asked to remove that? If true it would not be a good look for DW.

This is why journalists really need to be more responsible. Maria ran with her emotions rather than facts and now people are theorizing that DW is bossing the media around.

 

[Lucy]

We'll check your stats. Keep your word.

Are you on DW’s staff?? You show up today with the sole purpose of protecting DW?

 

[livefaith]

Needed to be done. Unfortunate and sad because she is a Lady Vol. Wish her and her family the best.

This. Really like her. Not bad $$$ for a 40 something mom. She'll land on her feet well. Wishing much success.

 

[VolsAgainstTheWorld15]

Will be a rough 2 to 3 weeks.

Better not take that long, not in the midst of portal season. The timeline is tight. DW will need to work efficiently to get the position filled so that the new coach has time to create a competitive roster.

 

[Orange.]

I agree. She should make an overt correction and apologize.

I know and like Maria, though we have not interacted for a long time. Unfortunately, her journalistic standards have plummeted.

Perhaps the less said, the better. Let it go. It would likely only draw attention to a detail that nowhere else received the scrutiny and attention to detail that it got here.

Best wishes to you and to all.

 

[brassie]

As Maria Cornelius is prone to doing. She has a heavy emotional investment in the program. It has influenced her reporting in the past.

I thought Cornelius was a UNC fan.

 

[Chippo]

As a Duke grad, please leave Kara Lawson alone lol

As far as I'm concerned she's all yours.

 

[chuckiepoo]

Very sad. Hard not to say this is not a perplexing move considering the landscape of college women’s basketball. This board is split, but I guess we hope to resurrect Pat and time travel back to the early 90s (which was a fun time by the way).

In before the 2026 posts of “we should have just kept KJH”…

One advantage DW’s hire of Heupel will have over the new LV coach. Pruitt was scorched earth, Kellie was not adequate. Big difference.

 

[VolBall09]

I thought Cornelius was a UNC fan.

Nooooo


She was obsessed with Pat. Pat would allow her to pal around the program and felt she was harmless.

Maria is a Lady Vol devotee and Pat purist to the max.

 

[madtownvol]

Look at the post I've quoted several times in here.

That is the issue. Nothing in his statement indicates that he offered Kellie a path forward.