Coach Kellie Harper fired

Runs counter to the narrative that White had the big fish replacement ready and waiting when he mad the call to Kellie. This pending outcome will be interesting....

On the contrary. I think it feeds it.

UT is a public university so they have to open the job and entertain candidates. The fact that he’s doing that in Atlanta instead of Knoxville makes me think it’s someone big.

He doesn’t trust that he could get them in and out of Knoxville without it being leaked all over town.

I love how seriously he is taking this.
 
On the contrary. I think it feeds it.

UT is a public university so they have to open the job and entertain candidates. The fact that he’s doing that in Atlanta instead of Knoxville makes me think it’s someone big.

He doesn’t trust that he could get them in and out of Knoxville without it being leaked all over town.

I love how seriously he is taking this.

Seriously would have meant a replacement was already in the works and ready to be named today.
 
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Partner and I last night were also talking about how the media narrative around Kellie really shifted to one implying she couldn’t get it done, and the SC game gave everyone a ready clip to illustrate that, true or not.

Forget the South Carolina game. Harper's problem was recruiting and the fact that we couldn't beat ANY top 20 teams. Losing to Va. Tech in last year's NCAA was for me emblematic of her UT stint. An important game we could've won, should have won--but didn't. Didn't bring in enough talent and--here's the heart of the matter-- couldn't make us nationally competitive. Actually, we were nationally competitive--but we always ended up losing. Losing to SC was not fatal; her inability to beat anybody in the top 20 was. She was unlucky to lose Jackson early in the season when we played OSU, Indiana and ND, etc. The fact that we couldn't do better than a 6 seed in the NCAA also hurt---badly--because it meant that we were going to get a good opponent in the second round. We also had way too many games in which we were terrible for one of the first two quarters and thus were chasing the game---this seemed to ALWAYS be the case when we played a strong opponent. We were very often trying to rally from a 14-point deficit against top 20 opponents. See NC State. That is not the way to win games, and we didn't.
 
My understanding from a friend who used to work for an AD is he would have contacted the coaches agents to get the feedback on who was interested. All talk goes thru the coaches agent so if leaks occur the coach can say I have not been contacted by said school. For the mutually serious interested parties the AD would begin contract discussions again thru the agent.

Once the important things are agreed to it accelerates from there.
So this is all done and agreements made even before the AD meets with the prospective coach? You see what I'm getting at here I am sure.
 
On the contrary. I think it feeds it.

UT is a public university so they have to open the job and entertain candidates. The fact that he’s doing that in Atlanta instead of Knoxville makes me think it’s someone big.

He doesn’t trust that he could get them in and out of Knoxville without it being leaked all over town.

I love how seriously he is taking this.
Bingo. I’ve worked in Higher Ed long enough to know how search committees operate *most* of the time.

I trust Danny to do his due diligence. At least more than Fulmer did in 2019.
 
Tennessee is not the destination it once was for woman's basketball. If we could have gotten one of those coaches to come here, it would have happened 5 years ago.
If Kentucky can attract Kenny Brooks, Tennessee can atttact a big time coach. If Danny’s hire ends up being as underwhelming as the KJH hire, I will circle back.
 
So this is all done and agreements made even before the AD meets with the prospective coach? You see what I'm getting at here I am sure.
No that is not what I said. I said initial negotiations starts thru the agent to see if the school and coach can realistically come to a contract agreement, $, etc. If so, then the real negotiations start with said meeting. It appears there must be interest from more than one coach, thus the Atlanta meetings begin.
 
If Kentucky can attract Kenny Brooks, Tennessee can atttact a big time coach. If Danny’s hire ends up being as underwhelming as the KJH hire, I will circle back.

We'll see - with the firing he has put the expectation out there that whoever takes this job has 5 years to be challenging for a NC. If the program is the dumpster fire some of you think it is - that may be an impossible task for any coach.
 
We'll see - with the firing he has put the expectation out there that whoever takes this job has 5 years to be challenging for a NC.
Is it really your assertion that the head coach of the Lady Vols shouldn't be able to operate in that realm within five years? Do you all remember what school this is, or do we need a history lesson?
 
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Runs counter to the narrative that White had the big fish replacement ready and waiting when he mad the call to Kellie. This pending outcome will be interesting....
How many reports of "Danny White reached out via back channels and hired her replacement before firing her" do you really expect to hear? I mean, it might have happened like that, it might not, but the only thing out there now is what the AD wants out there.
 
I know many will disagree but unless you can get one of top 3 biggest names in women's basketball you are better off spending more on NIL getting the best players instead of the coach at the women's level. One player like JUJU and for next 3-4 years you can finish in top 5. 2 of them and you legitimately can go toe to toe with Dawn Staley and any roster she places out there.
 
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We'll see - with the firing he has put the expectation out there that whoever takes this job has 5 years to be challenging for a NC. If the program is the dumpster fire some of you think it is - that may be an impossible task for any coach.
That’s fanatic mentality. Never been uttered by the AD. Harper had showed ANY upward momentum and she would’ve got more time. Whomever gets the nod needs to have us as a CONSISTENT tough out in five seasons. Fun fact: It took Pat 14 seasons to win her first NC.
 
Tennessee is not the destination it once was for woman's basketball. If we could have gotten one of those coaches to come here, it would have happened 5 years ago.
Zero way of knowing that, especially since the job has never really been open to anyone not a LVFL or hired by a competent AD. After this hire we'll know.
 
We'll see - with the firing he has put the expectation out there that whoever takes this job has 5 years to be challenging for a NC. If the program is the dumpster fire some of you think it is - that may be an impossible task for any coach.
If that’s not the expectation from the AD given the history of our program, then we need a new AD.

Danny wants to win and is willing to make moves even if there’s a time crunch. He’s gonna make moves until he gets it right. And I love it.
 
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Tennessee is not the destination it once was for woman's basketball. If we could have gotten one of those coaches to come here, it would have happened 5 years ago.
Giving up before you even start is the new good work ethic. 😏
 
I know some of you are sold on DW but being honest, this will be his second major hire, so we'll see how this goes.

He was not the one that hired Barnes or Vitello even though most seem to give him credit for the success of both of those sports. He also did not hire Weakley - she has been here forever.
He may not have hired vitello, but hes the reason Vitello stayed when LSU came knocking. It wasnt just a raise that was promised, it was an improvement in baseball facilities aswell. DW knows what hes doing. There is a reason he was one of the best ADs before coming here.
 

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