I may get ripped for this one... but if UT doesn't get a great HC....

#1
Stevorino

Stevorino

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2007
Messages
2,490
Likes
465
#1
...I'm not sure how excited I'll be for UT football next year. And I'm certainly not alone. This fanbase is in full-out apathy mode.

After Kiffin & Dooley, I don't think this program can roll the dice with another 'up and comer'. They need the kind of hire that instantly sells season tickets, unites the fanbase for the first time since the early 2000's, and most importantly: Wins games.

Hart's press conference gave me reason for optimism that they are going to bring in a proven coach (and not Petrino who is a scumbag).

Strong - no.
Patterson - no.
Golden - no.
Smart - no.

These are all fantastic coaches, but not proven enough to get everyone on board.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#2
#2
Stevorino said:
...I'm not sure how excited I'll be for UT football next year. And I'm certainly not alone. This fanbase is in full-out apathy mode.

After Kiffin & Dooley, I don't think this program can roll the dice with another 'up and comer'. They need the kind of hire that instantly sells season tickets, unites the fanbase for the first time since the early 2000's, and most importantly: Wins games.

Hart's press conference gave me reason for optimism that they are going to bring in a proven coach (and not Petrino who is a scumbag).

Strong - no.
Patterson - no.
Golden - no.
Smart - no.

These are all fantastic coaches, but not proven enough to get everyone on board.
Click to expand...

Agree with you. Just should add immediate recruiting results to requirements.
 
#3
#3
Get ready to not be excited next yeat then... UT's next coach, when announced, will result in a collective "Whodahellizzatguy??" response, followed by weeks of full on raging on VN....
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#4
#4
bluetickhound16 said:
Get ready to not be excited next yeat then... UT's next coach, when announced, will result in a collective "Whodahellizzatguy??" response, followed by weeks of full on raging on VN....
Click to expand...

This did make me wonder what names could get 99%+ of the fanbase excited immediately.

Gruden
Stoops?

Is there anyone else?
 
#5
#5
I just desperately want to avoid the situation we had in the past - when we were turned down by 6-7 coaches over months and we end up with the "best" remaining one...
 
#6
#6
bluetickhound16 said:
Get ready to not be excited next yeat then... UT's next coach, when announced, will result in a collective "Whodahellizzatguy??" response, followed by weeks of full on raging on VN....
Click to expand...

Why, just out of curiosity, would you say this?
 
#8
#8
tastycar said:
Why, just out of curiosity, would you say this?
Click to expand...

Because it's the ugly truth... Looming sanctions, years of mediocrity, poor recruiting base.... Our history and tradition mean very little to someone who wants to step in and win right away, which is what most any "Big name" guy would (and should) want. Rebuilding a program that is as far in the tank as Tennessee's isn't going to be a very attractive draw to any potential "home run" type of coaches.... We have fallen to the point where we are now a job where some supposed hotshot up and comer goes to make a name for himself, and the last guy we brought in to do that failed miserably. I would actually lump Kiffin in that group too. Had he stayed here, we'd be in the same fix.
 
#10
#10
I think these are those which would unite the fan base:

1. Gruden.
2. The other Gruden.
3. Chris Peterson
4. Jim Mora Jr.
5. Bob Stoops

Those would be my top 5 guesses. I mean, obviously, a Meyer, Saban, Chip Kelly, Gundy hire would be good as well, but I don't consider them gettable.
 
#11
#11
Hart sounds like a smart enough man to know that he can't afford to make the same mistakes as the past AD so I don't expect a Kirby Smart type of hire.
 
#13
#13
Your right, you should never hire an up and coming coach. Florida made a terrible move by hiring and up and coming Urban Meyer. The worst decision ever. Every good coach is an up and coming coach at some point in their carerer
 
#14
#14
Hard to get excited about much of anything this program has done most of the last decade.

When backing into an SEC title game in 2007 is your biggest highlight of that decade, things aren't good.

11 years since we were a serious national title contender given how 2005 played out.

4 straight seasons of hovering around .500.

5 years since we have beaten either of our two biggest rivals in UF and AL.

UT has some of the most dedicated fans in the nation. Other programs would've wilted far worse than us before now. We still have near 90,000 for most games early this season and Dooley blew a golden opportunity to send the fans into a frenzy by blowing it against Florida. I have never seen one half of one football game deflate an entire season like that game did.

Hart is right though, we are at a crossroads and about to hit the tipping point. Screw this hire up, and this program will have a permanent spot along side Ole Miss. We will go from expecting titles to hoping for a bowl game every 5 years.

The only name on your list I approve of is Patterson.

He can win on the BCS stage, none of those other guys have proven they can even win major bowl games as a head coach.

Any of those other guys are gonna lose a lot of season ticket sales for the program IMO. There isn't enough of a track record for them to get the fan base exited about.
 
#15
#15
There's about .00001% chance of it happening, but Chip Kelly would unite the base.
 
#16
#16
Any coach we bring in is still looking at 7-5 or 8-4 at best i'm afraid.



Yep, apathy has set in.
 
#17
#17
I have no problem hiring an up and comer. It's worked plenty well in the past for plenty of big name schools. Most of the "big names" people seem to want are has-beens anyway.

Dooley wasn't an "up and comer". Dooley was a mid major loser no one else wanted to hire.

In terms of the OP, what he's asking for is basically just Gruden. I can't see anyone else coming here who could immediately improve recruiting, unite the fanbase, sell tickets, and give us a real shot at winning quickly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#18
#18
tnmarktx said:
Your right, you should never hire an up and coming coach. Florida made a terrible move by hiring and up and coming Urban Meyer. The worst decision ever. Every good coach is an up and coming coach at some point in their carerer
Click to expand...

So you are saying Urban = Dooley because both were up & comers at one point in their careers? Good luck selling that one. Check Urbans record vs. Dooley's just prior to their landing high profile SEC jobs and get back with us....
 
#19
#19
It's time to get on with it or give it up altogether. There is no capital left within the fan base for UT to milk for a crappy product. The big boosters are faced with stepping up for a few years until new TV contracts are negotiated and flowing dollars, or going cheap and seeing the season tickets drop another 10-15,000. 75-80,000 in the stands would be the new normal.

They know this. Step up and hire the best and the Orange nation will catch on fire. Season ticket sales will go back up over 70,000. Donations and ticket prices will go up. More concessions and product sales. Less dependence on the big boosters, which would be a good thing for all of us.

That's Jon Gruden. No Gruden, that can still be with Stoops and maybe Mora, Jr. A step down from that and you are looking at landing somewhere in between where we are now and where the top rung is - which is anybody's guess.
 
#20
#20
It really is a turning point for the future of UT football. The wrong hire here and everyone who said another coaching change would set us back another 5+ years will be proven right. A home run hire and we're back in business... It's do or die and I just don't have the faith that Hart will get it done. I hope I'm wrong and munching on a big 'ole plate of crow soon but so far, Hart has not given us much to go on....
 
#21
#21
Yeah, I don't have much faith in Hart's ability here. But, I don't see anyone setting us back any further than what Dooley has done. Pretty much any hire is going to be an improvement, but that said, we're so bad now that a little improvement just isn't enough. Most fans don't want to spend several years mired in mediocrity, just because it's a cut above the total disaster we just witnessed. Not when you're charging prices like you're a big time program.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#22
#22
I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed at who we may have to settle with

You can offer everyone and they still have to accept the position

People should probably temper their expectations
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#23
#23
Vols4us said:
It's time to get on with it or give it up altogether. There is no capital left within the fan base for UT to milk for a crappy product. The big boosters are faced with stepping up for a few years until new TV contracts are negotiated and flowing dollars, or going cheap and seeing the season tickets drop another 10-15,000. 75-80,000 in the stands would be the new normal.

They know this. Step up and hire the best and the Orange nation will catch on fire. Season ticket sales will go back up over 70,000. Donations and ticket prices will go up. More concessions and product sales. Less dependence on the big boosters, which would be a good thing for all of us.

That's Jon Gruden. No Gruden, that can still be with Stoops and maybe Mora, Jr. A step down from that and you are looking at landing somewhere in between where we are now and where the top rung is - which is anybody's guess.
Click to expand...

Mora Jr. & Stools are not gonna leave their respective schools . Mora hasn't even been there a full year yet, he won't do what his cross town rival did. Stoops, if he is showing any interest it's just to fleece OU out of more money, which he doesn't deserve. Gruden has been a pipedream and a running joke for 10 years on vol message boards.
 
#24
#24
CountVolcula said:
I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed at who we may have to settle with

You can offer everyone and they still have to accept the position

People should probably temper their expectations
Click to expand...

Well, part of it is on the AD. I mean, you have to woo the big coaches these days. Saban turned down Alabama at first. Meyer could have easily picked Notre Dame over Florida. You can't just offer them and take the first one who says yes (aka "The Mike Hamilton Method").

But also, I think it has to do with who we offer. For instance, if we had offered Sumlin last time around, he probably would have said yes. But instead, we offered Dooley first. That was insane. Likewise, this time around, there are alot of quality mid major coaches out there with solid records and proven success who would probably want to come here for the right price. But if we're offering someone with huge questions marks like Golden or some old retread like Tuberville first, then that's just stupid.
 
#25
#25
Gary Patterson is not 'proven enough'? Certainly not my first choice, but I think it's difficult to argue that he hasn't proven himself at TCU.

I'd be excited about Patterson or Strong. Maybe not our first choices, but they are good enough so that I'd have a lot of hope that they'd succeed here.

Al Golden would be reasonable. People are underestimating him, but certainly, it's a risky hire in some ways, given that he hasn't done much at Miami.

I'd be really disappointed with Kirby Smart. I don't think it will happen, though, because Hart's already signaled that he wants a coach with head coaching experience. Which almost sounds like code word for "NOT KIRBY SMART."
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top