Kim Caldwell (Rookie Coach of the Year-WBCA) is named Head Coach of Iconic Lady Vols WBB

[Brawlvol]

Our administration top-to-bottom is better than it has been in three decades. The only thing impacting the perception is the damage done by previous administrations and the national media.

Amen to that, yes Foolmer and others might near ruin our Vols, we are in good hands now. Yes mistakes will still be made, few though in comparison.
Go Vols

 

[Aavoxx]

In my household we will fight lol. We both thought Kellie wasn’t the second coming of Pat, but we also thought you only fired her with someone better in the wings. I will argue that hiring someone like Stephens is indicative that more proven coaches didn’t want to come here and that image tarnishes our brand further. My partner will argue that Danny has a habit (if you ignore soccer) of hiring up and comers, and that Stephens wins. I’ll ask what she’s won of consequence. My partner will reply with her conference. I’ll laugh. If I’m really irritated with the blind trust in Danny White, I’ll bring up the lower standards we give to attractive people. We both will be unhappy, but time will pass, and ultimately I’ll return to my true hobby which is bemoaning Joe Kirt’s decision-making. It could be worse, I guess!

No. I will reply with she won the Division II National Championship and it could be much worse.

 

[cobbwebb0710]

Oh dear lord. First—let's figure out your vs. you're, especially if YOU'RE gonna come at me talking about reading comprehension.

The very, very obvious implication from the author of that tweet was that Kara didn't want the job at Tennessee because it "ain't what it used to be." Don't play dumb. You were latching onto it because it plays into the doom and gloom narrative that you've been trying to spin in an effort to show that letting Kellie go was the worst decision in the history of mankind.

I think it's more likely that Danny knows hiring Kara would be perceived by most as 1) going back to the Lady Vol well and 2) a lateral move at best. You don't let Kellie go to pursue someone like Kara.

I would be willing to bet that Danny White reached out to Lawson, to obtain an interview.
I’d also be willing to bet that Lawson knows the expectations and how the last 2 “Pats girls” couldn’t cut it. It’s entirely possible that Lawson declined an interview, simply because she knows that she nor 99.9% of coaches can ever fill the shoes of the GOAT. Maybe she just wouldn’t feel comfortable coaching at and trying to reach the expectations that she herself holds this program to.
no, this job “ain’t what it used to be” but it’s a damn sleeping giant and if the right person walks in, slaps it across its Big Orange face and wakes it up, women’s college basketball better be very, very concerned!
GBO!!

 

[cobbwebb0710]

Our administration top-to-bottom is better than it has been in three decades. The only thing impacting the perception is the damage done by previous administrations and the national media.

This!

 

[SGMVols]

Holly and Kellie never made a serious effort to market the program to younger fans. That’s why as the blue hairs continue to die off, their seats go unfilled and attendance continues to descend year after year.

Bruce Pearl was very adept at selling. I think that’s going to be important for whoever this hire is too.

 

[Voltopia]

105 damn pages and 3000+ comments on a women's basketball coaching search. Most boards would kill for even a single thread with 100 comments, and we're headed for a 5000 comment thread over a coaching search.

I know this much. If young women want to come to a place where women's basketball matters and is treated like something that matters, Tennessee is IT. If a coach wanted to go to a place where the community is ready made to support you, Tennessee is IT. If you can get 100 pages of comments for this thread, ladies, then just think how many seats you could fill by playing great basketball in Knoxville. Here's a hint - it's a lot. And all it needs is someone - or someones - to turn the key.

 

[lvocd]

And like my last post noted: Danny White doesn't care how you or the fanbase will perceive the hire. Regardless if it's a veteran or an up-and-comer. If they're going to win games and turn the program around immediately then they're a candidate.

Not my fight here, but I can't see how Danny White could possible afford to care nothing about how the fanbase feels about the hire since it's the fans who buy tickets to events and who donate to the athletic department. The AD really needs to come up big here, IMO, to get the fans and the donors excited enough about the immediate future to make quick gains in both attendance and donations.

I mean, I think I may understand what you're really trying to say but I don't think suggesting DW doesn't need the fans' approval at all is probably off.

Granted, the AD needs to do most what HE thinks is best since he's the one in charge. He should, and likely will, ruffle a few fan feathers here and there for as long as he has this job. It's one of those "you can't please everybody" kinda jobs. But I'd bet the farm he knows he needs to try his darnest to make a hire that makes a lot more people super happy and proud than he makes feel super underwhelmed.

 

[ttharp]

Funny thing about these "insiders", some are saying opposite things so somebody isn't an insider. Probably no one is an actual insider.

But we gotta speculate! What else can we do?

Yep. Yesterday we were told Kara would get the job if Danny’s first option fell through. She didn’t even interview.

For what’s it worth, I’m glad there’s more speculation this go around. Last time, it was clear pretty early on the job would go to a former LV.

 

[ttharp]

My final comment before I went to bed last night was that if I was Danny White, I would give contradictory info to folks just to see who leaks what.

If Danny is as smart as I think he is, I could totally see this.

 

[Ratvol]

My final comment before I went to bed last night was that if I was Danny White, I would give contradictory info to folks just to see who leaks what.

I’ve done that in the past and it works.

 

[VolBall09]

Yep. Yesterday we were told Kara would get the job if Danny’s first option fell through. She didn’t even interview.

For what’s it worth, I’m glad there’s more speculation this go around. Last time, it was clear pretty early on the job would go to a former LV.

Yes, last time it was pretty much common knowledge within a day that it was going to be Harper. There were rumors they had already met and it was basically a done deal.

 

[vol66]

I would be willing to bet that Danny White reached out to Lawson, to obtain an interview.
I’d also be willing to bet that Lawson knows the expectations and how the last 2 “Pats girls” couldn’t cut it. It’s entirely possible that Lawson declined an interview, simply because she knows that she nor 99.9% of coaches can ever fill the shoes of the GOAT. Maybe she just wouldn’t feel comfortable coaching at and trying to reach the expectations that she herself holds this program to.
no, this job “ain’t what it used to be” but it’s a damn sleeping giant and if the right person walks in, slaps it across its Big Orange face and wakes it up, women’s college basketball better be very, very concerned!
GBO!!

Not to mention, Duke ain’t some schmuck basketball job.

 

[turbovol]

At Buffalo, Danny White hired Felisha Legette-Jack. She coached Buffalo 2012-2022. 202-116 (.635) record, with a S16 appearance in 2018, before getting hired at her alma mater, Syracuse. She was the 2024 ACC COY.

White has a history of hiring coaches that excelled as players. Heupel and Frost won national titles. Legette-Jack was a star for Syracuse. Dawkins was NPOY. Hurley won 2 national titles. White has said he prefers hiring point guards, catchers and quarterbacks.

White also takes his time (btw there's a great Athletic article about him that I'm pulling this info from. Not trying to pass it off as my own. You're getting cliff-notes). It was a month after White interviewed Leipold before he hired him. During that time he had Leipold draft him up a staff and a reason behind it, and a plan for the roster essentially. He did the same for Oats.

White doesn't care about how the public perceives the hire near as much as if he believes the hire can win Day 1. There's no "Year 0". I would not for a second think White doesn't know or care about the Lady Vols' NCAA tournament record and expectations.

I hope White makes a great hire--but this notion that he's some AD savant is comical.

Frost was a complete bust at Nebraska.

Leipold? This guy? He's 59 and this is his record at Kansas.

2021	Kansas	2–10	1–8	10th
2022	Kansas	6–7	3–6	T–7th	L Liberty
2023	Kansas	9–4	5–4	T–7th	W Guaranteed Rate	23	23
Kansas:	17–21	9–18

I like Heuepel but he hasn't accomplished anything significant yet. Yes, we had the one big year--then fell back last year. He's got to show that he can keep us at the top of a conference that is bigger and tougher than ever. The only other hire he's made at UT doesn't look good after two years...

 

[glv98]

Holly and Kellie never made a serious effort to market the program to younger fans. That’s why as the blue hairs continue to die off, their seats go unfilled and attendance continues to descend year after year.

Bruce Pearl was very adept at selling. I think that’s going to be important for whoever this hire is too.

Attendance went up this year.

Don't know if you go to games, but there are many marketing games, events, opportunities for kids. They are highly emphasized.

 

[spojo13]

No. I will reply with she won the Division II National Championship and it could be much worse.

We had a coach who took Missouri State to the Sweet Sixteen in a much harder Division I…

 

[cobbwebb0710]

Funny thing about these "insiders", some are saying opposite things so somebody isn't an insider. Probably no one is an actual insider.

But we gotta speculate! What else can we do?

Exactly! The home page would look really silly with this headline and article...

TENNESSEE COACHING SEARCH

I got nothing.

-Writer X

 

[SweetasSoda]

I’m so glad we have DW in charge, and not sweating this at all. Go Big Orange!

 

[SGMVols]

I hope White makes a great hire--but this notion that he's some AD savant is comical.

Frost was a complete bust at Nebraska.

Leipold? This guy? He's 59 and this is his record at Kansas.

2021	Kansas	2–10	1–8	10th
2022	Kansas	6–7	3–6	T–7th	L Liberty
2023	Kansas	9–4	5–4	T–7th	W Guaranteed Rate	23	23
Kansas:	17–21	9–18

I like Heuepel but he hasn't accomplished anything significant yet. Yes, we had the one big year--then fell back last year. He's got to show that he can keep us at the top of a conference that is bigger and tougher than ever. The only other hire he's made at UT doesn't look good after two years...

I know this sounds weird, but 17-21 is not a bad record at Kansas. They are Big 12 Vanderbilt.

 

[madtownvol]

Attendance went up this year.

Don't know if you go to games, but there are many marketing games, events, opportunities for kids. They are highly emphasized.

"Weekend at Bernie's" fans? Did you check to see if they had pulses? Attendance numbers are never what they seem..........

 

[cobbwebb0710]

Not to mention, Duke ain’t some schmuck basketball job.

Everyone seems to ignore that part.

 

[Kurtastrophe]

I hope White makes a great hire--but this notion that he's some AD savant is comical.

Frost was a complete bust at Nebraska.

Leipold? This guy? He's 59 and this is his record at Kansas.

2021	Kansas	2–10	1–8	10th
2022	Kansas	6–7	3–6	T–7th	L Liberty
2023	Kansas	9–4	5–4	T–7th	W Guaranteed Rate	23	23
Kansas:	17–21	9–18

I like Heuepel but he hasn't accomplished anything significant yet. Yes, we had the one big year--then fell back last year. He's got to show that he can keep us at the top of a conference that is bigger and tougher than ever. The only other hire he's made at UT doesn't look good after two years...

He hired him at UCF.

Leipold was a grand slam hire for KANSAS.

Last football season was the second best year we have had in 17 years.

 

[LUVMESUMVOL]

Not to mention, Duke ain’t some schmuck basketball job.

To add to yours maybe in her heart she thinks she has a better job

 

[glv98]

"Weekend at Bernie's" fans? Did you check to see if they had pulses? Attendance numbers are never what they seem..........

I'm sure Jon Harper skews attendance figures somehow as part of his general plan of evil and destruction.

 

[brockytop]

Ok, you disagree. I don't take offense to that. But you have a screw loose if you don't think this hire is going to have significant impact on DW's perception as AD. Football is king, men's basketball is #2, it's debatable whether LV basketball is behind baseball. In recent years, yes. Women's basketball is far bigger nationally in exposure and $ than baseball. Have you paid attention to their season and tournament ratings (higher than ever)? The Lady Vol BB team may not be important to you but it is very important to the fanbase. This is an extremely important hire for DW. If this hire doesn't succeed, how are people going to fell about the not-to-distant search for Barnes' replacement? My trust in him will be impacted by how this LV search goes.

You say this as if White doesn’t have a track record of quality hires at TN and previous stops. If football and men’s basketball succeed (with Barnes and post RB) then the LV hire is irrelevant to how White is perceived by the vast majority of TN fans.

Seems to me like at least a good sized segment of diehard LV fans were willing to stick with the coach providing their current mediocrity so that tells me right there just how little pressure White has making this hire.

As for current interest in women’s basketbal, well, that can be summed up with one person: Caitlin Clark.

 

[JohnnyD1024]

I hope White makes a great hire--but this notion that he's some AD savant is comical.

Frost was a complete bust at Nebraska.

Leipold? This guy? He's 59 and this is his record at Kansas.

2021	Kansas	2–10	1–8	10th
2022	Kansas	6–7	3–6	T–7th	L Liberty
2023	Kansas	9–4	5–4	T–7th	W Guaranteed Rate	23	23
Kansas:	17–21	9–18

I like Heuepel but he hasn't accomplished anything significant yet. Yes, we had the one big year--then fell back last year. He's got to show that he can keep us at the top of a conference that is bigger and tougher than ever. The only other hire he's made at UT doesn't look good after two years...

Do you not know how bad Kansas was before he was hired? They were six feet below rock bottom. The fact he got them to a bowl in year 2 and won 9 games with a back up QB in year 3 is very impressive.