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

[BruisedOrange]

Midnight on the central coast means = Volstylexx out.

G'night all. If I wake up to news of Stephen's confirmed I don't know what I'll do (other than get my litterbox ready I guess) lol.

The baseball forum game thread, with all its (relative) sanity will be waiting for you with open arms and a listening ear. VFLs take care of their fellow VFLs (just more so in certain forums).

Sleep tight. Nothing is going to happen overnight that any of us would have had any control over, anyway.

 

[Coach Jumper]

I think Kim Stephens will win a lot of games here. She's a winner, doesn't matter what division. She's taken a historically terrible team to it's best record ever. . . in 1 year.

UT is a top women's basketball school with an elite athletic department. The players will be here. Give Stephens competitive SEC talent and she will just keep on winning.

Would be a home run hire. . . like when Florida hired Urban Meyer.

I'm not asking you to take me serious. Did my post make sense to you otherwise? Was Urban Meyer a home run hire? Would people at UF call him a home run hire when he was first brought in?

it would be somewhat similar to DW hiring Leipold from a lower division, Scott Frost (who had 0 head coaching experience), even Heupel for the football team (who had only a few years HC experience at a smaller school.)

Regardless of whether it's Stephens or not, DW is elite at hiring winners that fit in perfectly for what his program needs at the time. I have no doubt he'll hire a winner, whoever it is.

Hmmm,,,I'm not giving up on this one just yet

I formally nominate @Coach Jumper (HC), @DarkPhoenix (recruiting coordinator), @ttharp (offensive coordinator), @VolBall09 (Defensive Coordinator), @Volstylexx (Director of Ops), and @chuckiepoo (media relations) to DW to end his coaching search

Contract: 20 bucks and a 12 pack of Coke. 1 week at the helm. Your move DW. You have 24 hours or we threaten with WC.

If I go into the HC position,,Coach Sam stays on as recruiter (She knows how to get to em,,I know how to close),,,then I will bring on Kim Stephens to be my offensive Coordinator and whom will take the helm after I right the ship...My fourth member will be named at a later date

Does mean that we have hired an older coach who is close to retiring or a coach who is only interested in coaching here for a few years?

Yes i am old
and I may not be better than I once was,,,but I am better once than I ever was

 

[BruisedOrange]

Better start texting a buddy, I guess. I love the UT fanbase thinking we’re going to get a big splash of a hire and getting a ripple at the announcement. We set ourselves up every time. Never fails to disappoint.

Your text actually highlights our shared insecurities as Tennessee fans. We're still looking for "the outside sports world" to affirm us and confirm our decisions.

It's just as legitimate to think (and say) that whoever DW hires is ipso facto a worthy coach of substance and significance, because he/she has been hired by Tennessee.

 

[Coach Jumper]

... because he/she has been hired by Tennessee.

Now you're on to something
This IS still TENNESSEE

 

[Ulect]

I think this is a great hire and some of you all need to give her a chance. Marshall would had beaten Wake Forest and came really close to beating Virginia Tech if she had a second year I think...

 

[Brillovol]

White is overrated and hardly a genius. That we've been successful in various sports owes to the coaches---none of whom he hired but Heupel, who has had one good season. If he hires Caldwell and she fails, White should be fired--seriously---for botching a crucial hire. This would like a struggling Formula One team offering a seat to a kid who performed very well for a year on a dirty track oval in Georgia.

This is some serious copium. White not only has one of the best reputations for hiring top coaches, he has retained the top coaches when others came calling, gave them the tools for success, improved facilities, and has put us ahead in the NIL field. He also has full support from his leadership, so if you don’t like him, you might need to pack your bags.

Only a fool would complain in the current environment. This is the best it’s been in 25 years.

 

[volfan__18]

I think this is a great hire and some of you all need to give her a chance. Marshall would had beaten Wake Forest and came really close to beating Virginia Tech if she had a second year I think...

came close? they got beat by almost 50. It would be a horrible hire and actually worse than kellie coaching wise. If you for this route u should have kept kellie and kept the recruits she had coming in.

 

[Ulect]

came close? they got beat by almost 50. It would be a horrible hire and actually worse than kellie coaching wise. If you for this route u should have kept kellie and kept the recruits she had coming in.

Bro I said if she had a second year at Marshall I bet she would had came close to beating Virginia Tech... Y'all keep forgetting she was only there for ONE YEARRR!!! calm down.I think the recruits and transfers will come once she start winning games. Y'all see...

 

[Ulect]

Maaan... She will be one hellava coach if she gets hired... Back to Pat Summitt level records here we come!!!

 

[volfan__18]

Maaan... She will be one hellava coach if she gets hired... Back to Pat Summitt level records here we come!!!

pls stop trolling.

 

[aRmo]

came close? they got beat by almost 50. It would be a horrible hire and actually worse than kellie coaching wise. If you for this route u should have kept kellie and kept the recruits she had coming in.

Worse than Kellie. Good lord. Yall need to wake up

 

[Ulect]

pls stop trolling.

Nope. Just stating the facts... Her record speaks for itself!!

 

[turbovol]

The moves he has made, not just coaching hires, for our university have been huge. Modernizing our football and baseball stadiums. Approving multimillion dollar renovations for football, baseball, and basketball. The pitch to building an entertainment district on the River. He’s doing things our former ADs never really were great at doing, and yes he hired our best football coach in over a decade. Which is something people shouldn’t overlook. He’s also hired brilliant basketball coaches at previous stops. Oats at Buffalo, I’m pretty sure he also hired Hurley at Buffalo. He also hired Lance Leipold at Buffalo who is an outstanding football coach as well. It may or may not be Caldwell, but so far DW has done nothing but elevate our entire university in his tenure as AD.

I posted the records of most of White's BB hires a few pages back. With the exception of Oates, it's a pretty lackluster group. Hurley
is lucky to still be employed.

Modernize the football stadium? The football stadium has been in an almost-constant state of modernization for 30 years---and will be for the next 30. Every major is modernizing one facility or another yearly--it's what they do and have to do. SOP. Our baseball stadium was very old and small and in desperate need of expansion and improvement. It doesn't take a guru to renovate facilities--it's a basic part of every major AD's job. I've got nothing against the guy but have been bemused by this notion that he's some super-genius AD. He's been fortunate that we've been strong in various sports last few years coached by people he /didn't/ hire--woodruff, barnes, kredich, vitello, pensky (before leaving), the exception being the one big Heupel/football year.

More to the point: For a long time our women's BB program was this university's shining athletic star. After PS retired, we made one bad hire, followed by another meh hire, and as a result our prestigious program, which had brought the university massive amounts of good publicity, has floundered for 15 years and lost much of its cachet. Warlick had zero head-coaching experience and thus was totally unproven. Bad hire and fail. Harper had experience but a mixed record: She did not do well at NC State (44 percent win percentage and was sacked after four years. She bounced back and did well at Missouri State--a mid-major--with a 72 percent win rate) in six years. That and her LV background got her the job after a cursory search. I thought Harper was the wrong hire--but of course most Vol fans were OK with it because of her association with Summitt etc. But Harper certainly wasn't a sit-up-and-take-notice hire for a program with a pedigree of 8 national titles. The upshot: Over five years Harper struggled to get the program out of the ditch of mediocrity.

With Harper let go, logic would strongly suggest that with a proud program in desperate need of revival, if it wished to become a national contender again in a sport that's more competitive than ever, the best way to do that would be to get serious---for a change--and hire a proven winner at the major level, especially after your two previous, unproven coaches had failed. Logic and common sense would strongly suggest that the LAST thing you'd do is hire yet another unproven coach.

So for White to hire somebody with one year of mid-major experience would be the ultimate head-scratcher: truly bizarre. Talk about sticking your neck out! What, third time's a charm with an unproven coach? Caldwell would prove to be either the ultimate basketball whisperer over the next few years and merit a statue next to Summitt's--or, and more likely, she will flop because she took a very big job mistakenly offered to her way too soon. And then White should be tarred and feathered and trundled out of town.

It's not like Caldwell's Div. II success is special. I quickly found two coaches who've won multiple Div. II national titles in the last decade--one guy with three titles and a young woman with 2 and a 90%+ win rate over her 10 years with Ashland College--and each with undefeated season! Why aren't we offering one of them? Why hasn't anybody? They're still in Div. II--probably, though I'm speculating, because no major would want to risk the hire, fairly or unfairly. (I can't imagine why they both haven't been swooped up by mid-majors by now.) Hiring Caldwell would be White pushing all his credibility chips onto Number 7 and then watching the spin the roulette wheel. Only a rampaging Heupel could save him if this hire comes a cropper.

 

[BruisedOrange]

In Barnes' first seasons here, doubted even by Tennessee fans--despite his experience, respect among coaches, and record at each stop throughout his career--he proved he could develop a competitive team out of lesser talent, and that he could develop a 3-star recruit into a two time SEC POTY. Recruiting got better.

Heupel in his first season--despite most of the talent in the cupboard exiting via the portal--proved that his offensive system could succeed in the SEC, and that a severely undermanned defense would play their tails off for him. The people who bought-in were shining on the field, and that was enough to begin attracting better talent on the recruiting trail.

There are seldom any shortcuts in a coaching change.

The players you inherit may or may not be a useful asset. Each coach has to come in, communicate his/her vision, teach his/her precepts and concepts, cultivate and demand his/her culture, and then outwork the coaching staffs they will face.

The best we fans can do to support the program is show up in numbers, encourage the players, encourage the coach, and have the coach's back when criticism comes, for at least the first couple of seasons.

 

[turbovol]

Your text actually highlights our shared insecurities as Tennessee fans. We're still looking for "the outside sports world" to affirm us and confirm our decisions.

It's just as legitimate to think (and say) that whoever DW hires is ipso facto a worthy coach of substance and significance, because he/she has been hired by Tennessee.

Our prior two coaches failed, so, no, there'd be no ipso facto assumption of a significant hire. Not at all.

 

[aRmo]

I posted the records of most of White's BB hires a few pages back. With the exception of Oates, it's a pretty lackluster group. Hurley
is lucky to still be employed.

Modernize the football stadium? The football stadium has been in an almost-constant state of modernization for 30 years---and will be for the next 30. Every major is modernizing one facility or another yearly--it's what they do and have to do. SOP. Our baseball stadium was very old and small and in desperate need of expansion and improvement. It doesn't take a guru to renovate facilities--it's a basic part of every major AD's job. I've got nothing against the guy but have been bemused by this notion that he's some super-genius AD. He's been fortunate that we've been strong in various sports last few years coached by people he /didn't/ hire--woodruff, barnes, kredich, vitello, pensky (before leaving), the exception being the one big Heupel/football year.

More to the point: For a long time our women's BB program was this university's shining athletic star. After PS retired, we made one bad hire, followed by another meh hire, and as a result our prestigious program, which had brought the university massive amounts of good publicity, has floundered for 15 years and lost much of its cachet. Warlick had zero head-coaching experience and thus was totally unproven. Bad hire and fail. Harper had experience but a mixed record: She did not do well at NC State (44 percent win percentage and was sacked after four years. She bounced back and did well at Missouri State--a mid-major--with a 72 percent win rate) in six years. That and her LV background got her the job after a cursory search. I thought Harper was the wrong hire--but of course most Vol fans were OK with it because of her association with Summitt etc. But Harper certainly wasn't a sit-up-and-take-notice hire for a program with a pedigree of 8 national titles. The upshot: Over five years Harper struggled to get the program out of the ditch of mediocrity.

With Harper let go, logic would strongly suggest that with a proud program in desperate need of revival, if it wished to become a national contender again in a sport that's more competitive than ever, the best way to do that would be to get serious---for a change--and hire a proven winner at the major level, especially after your two previous, unproven coaches had failed. Logic and common sense would strongly suggest that the LAST thing you'd do is hire yet another unproven coach.

So for White to hire somebody with one year of mid-major experience would be the ultimate head-scratcher: truly bizarre. Talk about sticking your neck out! What, third time's a charm with an unproven coach? Caldwell would prove to be either the ultimate basketball whisperer over the next few years and merit a statue next to Summitt's--or, and more likely, she will flop because she took a very big job mistakenly offered to her way too soon. And then White should be tarred and feathered and trundled out of town.

It's not like Caldwell's Div. II success is special. I quickly found two coaches who've won multiple Div. II national titles in the last decade--one guy with three titles and a young woman with 2 and a 90%+ win rate over her 10 years with Ashland College--and each with undefeated season! Why aren't we offering one of them? Why hasn't anybody? They're still in Div. II--probably, though I'm speculating, because no major would want to risk the hire, fairly or unfairly. (I can't imagine why they both haven't been swooped up by mid-majors by now.) Hiring Caldwell would be White pushing all his credibility chips onto Number 7 and then watching the spin the roulette wheel. Only a rampaging Heupel could save him if this hire comes a cropper.

White’s job will never be in jeopardy for the LV Basketball hire. Thats a fact. DW was on of the best ADs in the country when we hired him. Josh Huepel wasnt Dannys first go to. “RUMOR” Is he tossed the bank at James Franklin. That being said, Marshall went 17-14 in 23 before caldwell got there finishing middle of their league. Once she took over they went 26-7 and won their league. Thats an outstanding turn around. I like this hire alot. Is it the “Homerun” hire? Absolutely not. But its not a bad one either. She has a track record of winning, something Kellie didnt have. With the right staff and NIL support i think she can have great success. If you dont like the hire, by all means you are entitled to your opinion.

 

[Ulect]

I posted the records of most of White's BB hires a few pages back. With the exception of Oates, it's a pretty lackluster group. Hurley
is lucky to still be employed.

Modernize the football stadium? The football stadium has been in an almost-constant state of modernization for 30 years---and will be for the next 30. Every major is modernizing one facility or another yearly--it's what they do and have to do. SOP. Our baseball stadium was very old and small and in desperate need of expansion and improvement. It doesn't take a guru to renovate facilities--it's a basic part of every major AD's job. I've got nothing against the guy but have been bemused by this notion that he's some super-genius AD. He's been fortunate that we've been strong in various sports last few years coached by people he /didn't/ hire--woodruff, barnes, kredich, vitello, pensky (before leaving), the exception being the one big Heupel/football year.

More to the point: For a long time our women's BB program was this university's shining athletic star. After PS retired, we made one bad hire, followed by another meh hire, and as a result our prestigious program, which had brought the university massive amounts of good publicity, has floundered for 15 years and lost much of its cachet. Warlick had zero head-coaching experience and thus was totally unproven. Bad hire and fail. Harper had experience but a mixed record: She did not do well at NC State (44 percent win percentage and was sacked after four years. She bounced back and did well at Missouri State--a mid-major--with a 72 percent win rate) in six years. That and her LV background got her the job after a cursory search. I thought Harper was the wrong hire--but of course most Vol fans were OK with it because of her association with Summitt etc. But Harper certainly wasn't a sit-up-and-take-notice hire for a program with a pedigree of 8 national titles. The upshot: Over five years Harper struggled to get the program out of the ditch of mediocrity.

With Harper let go, logic would strongly suggest that with a proud program in desperate need of revival, if it wished to become a national contender again in a sport that's more competitive than ever, the best way to do that would be to get serious---for a change--and hire a proven winner at the major level, especially after your two previous, unproven coaches had failed. Logic and common sense would strongly suggest that the LAST thing you'd do is hire yet another unproven coach.

So for White to hire somebody with one year of mid-major experience would be the ultimate head-scratcher: truly bizarre. Talk about sticking your neck out! What, third time's a charm with an unproven coach? Caldwell would prove to be either the ultimate basketball whisperer over the next few years and merit a statue next to Summitt's--or, and more likely, she will flop because she took a very big job mistakenly offered to her way too soon. And then White should be tarred and feathered and trundled out of town.

It's not like Caldwell's Div. II success is special. I quickly found two coaches who've won multiple Div. II national titles in the last decade--one guy with three titles and a young woman with 2 and a 90%+ win rate over her 10 years with Ashland College--and each with undefeated season! Why aren't we offering one of them? Why hasn't anybody? They're still in Div. II--probably, though I'm speculating, because no major would want to risk the hire, fairly or unfairly. (I can't imagine why they both haven't been swooped up by mid-majors by now.) Hiring Caldwell would be White pushing all his credibility chips onto Number 7 and then watching the spin the roulette wheel. Only a rampaging Heupel could save him if this hire comes a cropper.

Good read!!!

 

[BruisedOrange]

Our prior two coaches failed, so, no, there'd be no ipso facto assumption of a significant hire. Not at all.

My point is, it's a fan's choice how they react. We don't have any say in it, we don't ever know all the reasons for the hire (or for why others weren't hired). We don't really know much at all.

But we do get to choose whether to hold our ignorance with a positive attitude, or a negative attitude. The latter protects us from disappointment, but contributes nothing positive to the program or to the fan experience.

 

[Ulect]

I posted the records of most of White's BB hires a few pages back. With the exception of Oates, it's a pretty lackluster group. Hurley
is lucky to still be employed.

Modernize the football stadium? The football stadium has been in an almost-constant state of modernization for 30 years---and will be for the next 30. Every major is modernizing one facility or another yearly--it's what they do and have to do. SOP. Our baseball stadium was very old and small and in desperate need of expansion and improvement. It doesn't take a guru to renovate facilities--it's a basic part of every major AD's job. I've got nothing against the guy but have been bemused by this notion that he's some super-genius AD. He's been fortunate that we've been strong in various sports last few years coached by people he /didn't/ hire--woodruff, barnes, kredich, vitello, pensky (before leaving), the exception being the one big Heupel/football year.

More to the point: For a long time our women's BB program was this university's shining athletic star. After PS retired, we made one bad hire, followed by another meh hire, and as a result our prestigious program, which had brought the university massive amounts of good publicity, has floundered for 15 years and lost much of its cachet. Warlick had zero head-coaching experience and thus was totally unproven. Bad hire and fail. Harper had experience but a mixed record: She did not do well at NC State (44 percent win percentage and was sacked after four years. She bounced back and did well at Missouri State--a mid-major--with a 72 percent win rate) in six years. That and her LV background got her the job after a cursory search. I thought Harper was the wrong hire--but of course most Vol fans were OK with it because of her association with Summitt etc. But Harper certainly wasn't a sit-up-and-take-notice hire for a program with a pedigree of 8 national titles. The upshot: Over five years Harper struggled to get the program out of the ditch of mediocrity.

With Harper let go, logic would strongly suggest that with a proud program in desperate need of revival, if it wished to become a national contender again in a sport that's more competitive than ever, the best way to do that would be to get serious---for a change--and hire a proven winner at the major level, especially after your two previous, unproven coaches had failed. Logic and common sense would strongly suggest that the LAST thing you'd do is hire yet another unproven coach.

So for White to hire somebody with one year of mid-major experience would be the ultimate head-scratcher: truly bizarre. Talk about sticking your neck out! What, third time's a charm with an unproven coach? Caldwell would prove to be either the ultimate basketball whisperer over the next few years and merit a statue next to Summitt's--or, and more likely, she will flop because she took a very big job mistakenly offered to her way too soon. And then White should be tarred and feathered and trundled out of town.

It's not like Caldwell's Div. II success is special. I quickly found two coaches who've won multiple Div. II national titles in the last decade--one guy with three titles and a young woman with 2 and a 90%+ win rate over her 10 years with Ashland College--and each with undefeated season! Why aren't we offering one of them? Why hasn't anybody? They're still in Div. II--probably, though I'm speculating, because no major would want to risk the hire, fairly or unfairly. (I can't imagine why they both haven't been swooped up by mid-majors by now.) Hiring Caldwell would be White pushing all his credibility chips onto Number 7 and then watching the spin the roulette wheel. Only a rampaging Heupel could save him if this hire comes a cropper.

Did a little research on Wikipedia of the NCAA division II finals 2023 and it seems that the coach from Ashland college Kari Pickens beaten Kim Stephens Glenville College 76-67 in the final four and this was Kim Stephens 7th season there, Hmmmm....

 

[creekdipper]

I don’t think Caldwell be hired. I don’t think Danny will go in that direction as this is the most storied program on campus and he does want ALL programs to succeed. I don’t see him hiring an unproven coach to lead the Lady Vols.

That being said, we aren’t in the upper echelon of jobs in the country anymore. Lots of coaches will not want to put up with the toxicity of this fanbase. When things are good, the fanbase is loyal. When it’s not, they are vicious.

Kara was not contacted, and neither was Walz. That shows he knows who he wants. Also one reporter indicated she interviewed in Knoxville. That would be very surprising considering none of Danny’s other hires have interviewed on campus. With so many eyes on this search, I don’t think he would switch things up now.

Look for an announcement on Monday.

Maybe the Danny decoy is in Atlanta giving dummy interviews while the real candidates are interviewing in Knoxville. After all, the wily real AD is rarely seen outside his inner circle, so who would know the difference?

This is The Eagle Has Landed-level intrigue.

 

[creekdipper]

I formally nominate @Coach Jumper (HC), @DarkPhoenix (recruiting coordinator), @ttharp (offensive coordinator), @VolBall09 (Defensive Coordinator), @Volstylexx (Director of Ops), and @chuckiepoo (media relations) to DW to end his coaching search

Contract: 20 bucks and a 12 pack of Coke. 1 week at the helm. Your move DW. You have 24 hours or we threaten with WC.

WC is interviewing for the position of DEI Coordinator.

 

[creekdipper]

I just vomited in my mouth.

Just be happy it wasn't elsewhere.

 

[creekdipper]

Yes i am old
and I may not be better than I once was,,,but I am better once than I ever was

Deep thoughts.

"Doesn't mean that much to me to mean that much to you...."

 

[creekdipper]

I can smell the mattress from here. Lol

Gliddens gearing up for a run on white paint.

 

[creekdipper]

I think it really does depend on the caliper of the hire.

We do need to see the depth of the hole we're in.