Official Jon Gruden Thread XLIII

[Doyle Hargraves]

I feel like even if Gruden was interested, all of this yesterday probably drove him away unfortunately.

Agree

 

[KB5252]

I’m not really interested in anyone else that is represented by Sexton. Have we not been screwed enough by him?

Who does Sexton not represent though?

 

[VolFan32]

So there's a booster civil war happening. Gruden agreed in principle to what the boosters offered.

Currie is a Haslam pawn, so he does what Haslam says.

The Trey Wallace, Hargis, Brice, and Ramey pieces came from the booster side to force Currie's hand. Blackburn essentially was interviewed saying if he was AD, Gruden would be signed (reading between the lines of the Hargis piece).

Boosters (minus Haslam) have won the court of public expectations. Former players tweeting out things Wednesday before last were used by Ergen-led boosters.

Time for Haslam to GTFO. Everyone go to Weigel's.

 

[EddietheVOL]

Bringing back Kiffin feels sad and desperate to me. Give Hoke 100k and a Burger King gift certificate for one season while we actually put some time and effort into this search sans king dumbass (Currie)

 

[Lulu]

If Gruden wants complete control over a program, then give it to him. After yesterday, we need a coach who wants complete control. While this is absolute rock bottom and we are languishing in the ashes, this is the perfect time for someone who loves to work and build a team come in and do so. If he has any interest in the job at all, and I think he does to some degree, then perhaps this is his time to shine.

Trying to be positive.

Haslam's the boss, until he's not. Problem is, none of this is a quick fix. Unless someone or someones with more money and influence steps in, the beatings will continue. We're talking months and years to some resolution, not days.

 

[lifeVol]

I said I wouldn't be back, and I'm not, but it seems to me what UT Football needs right now is an adult that can step up to the podium, not as coach, not as AD (he's out apparrently), but just to say look, we hear you, we f****d up

 

[zartan]

The Cocks convinced Lou Holtz and Spurs to go there with no history or tradition to speak of, but I'm supposed to accept that the Vols aren't good enough to reel in the big fish?

Nah. Let's stop being incompetent and have some ambition

 

[tvolsfan]

People should not be bashing certain posters for sharing info. A LOT of people have been lied to.

 

[FacelessArya]

I find that very hard to believe, just based on the known history between the two.

Maybe he doesn’t care about us like we think he does? It really makes you wonder what people really think of this University, the city and it’s people if they thought they could roll out a man with this kind of baggage and think we’d be happy.

People, media, etc seem to think we deserve this. No one was mentioning Schiano for any other job but ours. No one would suggest Schiano for Florida, Arkansas, Texas A & M or any other program. But they think we should be happy with him. It says a lot about what people think of Tennessee.

 

[Grand Vol]

F the national media. Whomever we hire, whatever the fallout, UT as an institution should never allow any of these people on campus. Don't care if Gameday comes, Herby shouldn't be allowed on campus. F Dan Wetzel, and so so many others. The list is too long.

I've defended Herbie many times before on here because he's always typically been pro-Vol in his broadcasts. When he's put us on blast, it's normally been justified.

Until yesterday that is.

He needs to sit down, shut up and remember how badly he was treated by his own fan base before commenting on how irrational ours was yesterday. And remember which State he happens to live in that accepted him in the wake of his own fans going all pitchforks and torches on him.

 

[amavol2]

This was a true civil war. The bad guy isnt always going to be who we want it to be. Our own will be on both sides.

Im not saying Peyton was on the other side but its not as cut and dry as Haslam/Currie vs VFL's. Im thinking alot comes out that will be surprising.

I think cival war is exactly right, this isn't about hiring a coach, it's about who is making the hire, it's not admin not swinging for the fences, there is a reason Schiano was targeted, no coach worth his salt wants to be here under the current circumstances.

 

[AllVolForLife_16]

Bring Kiff home, get Tee on board as OC, Steele as DC, and let's get back to winning games in Knoxville. Seriously the best possibility available at this point.

 

[knucklehead_vol]

No matter what the media says, I'm proud of Tennessee fans and alums and students today.

This

 

[BubbaWms]

Gruden ain’t coming.

Tee is under qualified but at this point he is our best / only option.

Remove this thread

1)Time will tell....2)possibly so....3)too early if you don't mind....grieve might sound silly to some but it'll be alright.

Not much rah rah left right now for some, myself included but this thread has more purpose now than ever before. For those that wish to start dumping, given it a day or two if ya don't mind and let it flow but in somewhat of a positive manner....Thanks !

 

[Grand Vol]

As I was thinking about all this last night, I thought about Les Miles and Lane Kiffin a lot. And while I think both are options, as coaches, I left myself wondering if UT Football needs a coach, or if UT Football needs a DAD.

UT needs a coach that's allowed to run a winning program and an AD that'll tell the money men where to stick it and leave him alone.

 

[mrmax86]

Volnation, I posted earlier today for the first time in years. Been a longtime lurker though and consider this one of the best sources to get my UT fix on. I don't bring a ton of inside information other than a couple of former UT football buddies that occasionally share info. With this said, please hear me out. Before throwing Chucky and some of these Volnation "insiders" under the bus, consider all the information that has been shared on here over the past couple of weeks. Although I can't say that I know any of these insiders, much of their info does add up with much of the stuff that I heard as well.

No doubt about it today was a **** show, and not a good day for our University and our storied football program. Like many of you all, I have been angry texting family and friends trying to wrap my head around this crap today. But after a whisky drink or two tonight and reflecting on all that has happened, I do believe this: Power was restored to our University today and that is pretty cool. The **** show that most Vol fans and college football fans saw play out today goes back to last fall (2016) and earlier this year when we were searching for a new AD. Blackburn was the leading AD candidate most UT alumni, including, several big boosters wanted, yet somehow we ended up with Currie compliments of an intervention by Jimmy Haslam. At best, the Currie AD selection was a compromise between Haslam and the Charles Ergen Camp (like 70/30 type compromise).

The Gruden thing (believe it or not negagrudes) was a very real possibility and at a minimum an MOU was agreed upon. Charles Ergen and several other prominent boosters appear to have been trying to make this happen long before Butch was canned. I believe the Ergen Camp felt that Currie was on board with this plan, and I believe Gruden was very much interested in being our next HC as well. Obviously something happened, and Currie stuck with Haslam and his preference. Likely, this was tied to Currie's loyalty to the man that got him into this AD role as much as anything. It has been reported that Currie is also friends with Schiano. But who knows. So the question I have is this: I know Jimmy Haslam is a big fan of Schiano, but what was/is his beef with Gruden? Why not Gruden? It's been pretty well documented that Haslam did not want UT to the hire him in 2012. Is it because Haslam feared that Jon Gruden would be a man not be easily controlled? Did Gruden say no to his Browns once upon a time? This is a serious question and would love to hear if folks have any insight into this.

Regardless of the answers to my above questions, today was (I believe) a successfull first step in the process of overthrowing the old regime of power (Haslams). It was also more than about Gruden, but also a difference in coaching philosophy - bringing in "UT blood" (Including former UT alumni coaching staff). This is where all the leaks occurred a couple of weeks ago - Former UT players (current coaches like Tee Martin) who were contacted by Gruden about joining his potential staff. Problem was that Currie ultimately sided with Jimmy Haslam. And I believe this was likely part of his plan all along. Play along with the Ergen Camp (and Volnation). Passify them while finding "problems" in the final contract that could ultimately not be ironed out between both sides. Over the past few days, this plan was esecuted by Currie and he goes with "Plan B". He notifies the Ergen Camp of his decision. The Ergen Camp says "hell no" and they execute their back up plan in the event Currie and Haslam go rogue.

So Volnation, what happened today wasn't about Schiano's role in the Sandusky case as much as it was an absolute revolt from Ergen, 6-8 other superboosters, and the entire Volnation family. I really believe that, at a minimum, a couple of the "insiders" that we have seen in the Gruden threads are absolutely part of this Ergen group and their agenda (and also became volnation's agenda). Think about it, there were over 73 state legislators and 3 different UT sports, websites, social media, etc fighting back against this thing within an hour of the Schiano news breaking. Not a coincidence. The negative publicity campaign used to combat this hire won today. Power restored. Now granted, there is no way this group wanted the **** show that insurred today, but no way were they going to let the Haslams screw up another hire either.

Currie is done. Look for Fulmer to step as Interrum AD or some kind of special role for making our next coaching hire. Blackburn will be pushed as our next AD. Blackburn is close to Gruden. I'm not saying we will get Gruden now, but look for whomever the new coach to either be a UT alum or someone committed to hiring a **** ton of assistants that are of UT blood. It is apparent that Ergen and his group don't want outsiders. They obviously think that this is the whole reason we are in this mess to begin with (I.e Kiffin, Dooley, Jones).

Call me a crazy conspiracy theorist folks, but I do believe we are seeing a civil war play out before our eyes right now. So I ask all of my fellow UT brothers and sisters, whether you thought Gruden was/is coming or not, let's not fight amongst each other. No more casting stones. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing and that is to Be relevant again. Let this process play out before we all jump off the ledge! GBO!

This all makes too much sense to not be true. I was wondering if the Ergen/booster camp was behind the release of Schiano's name yesterday.

 

[SHOWOFF]

I feel like even if Gruden was interested, all of this yesterday probably drove him away unfortunately.

I disagree.

From a fans point of view, no. We support and want a coach that can win, but doing it the right way. That's what we showed. We showed that we will not put our morals aside and just hire anyone. We want a coach with integrity and honesty. We also want a proven winner.

From an administrative side, possibly. We showed that we will hire anything that the Haslams trot out in front of us and we are supposed to like it and agree with it. We showed that as a business, we have no clue how to run one effectively.

Overall, I think we are ok. I think we will see a shift in power and our voices will be heard. It will be interesting to see if Currie can weather this storm. My feeling is, no.

 

[Doyle Hargraves]

I said I wouldn't be back, and I'm not, but it seems to me what UT Football needs right now is an adult that can step up to the podium, not as coach, not as AD (he's out apparrently), but just to say look, we hear you, we f****d up

You will never get that, I'm afraid.
As long as the media narrative is that the fans outrage has cost Tennessee a solid head coach, the powers that be will be more than willing to roll with that and any negative repercussions will solely be our fault.

 

[Grand Vol]

Just heard on Jayson Swain’s show that Peyton signed off on Schiano.

Wtf?

I think Swain is slinging poo against the wall to see what will stick.

It's been mentioned, but I'd almost bet half his "info" comes from message board traffic.

Jayson, when you read this, please remember there is no underscore in Grand Vol. Just two words so I can get the entire credit. Thanks in advance.

 

[tennvols77]

I've defended Herbie many times before on here because he's always typically been pro-Vol in his broadcasts. When he's put us on blast, it's normally been justified.

Until yesterday that is.

He needs to sit down, shut up and remember how badly he was treated by his own fan base before commenting on how irrational ours was yesterday. And remember which State he happens to live in that accepted him in the wake of his own fans going all pitchforks and torches on him.

I've heard rumblings from friends who are semi-big in OSU circles, and the move to Nashville had a lot to do with his wife and certain indiscretions concerning his behavior.

As with everything now a days, have to be taking with a grain of salt. But, after seeing his posts yesterday, he should never be allowed to step foot on this campus. Don't care about why he moved, or what he does with his life, But, the line in sand needs to be drawn and kept, and it should be known he isn't welcome in this side of the state.

 

[daj2576]

Another good example. Alabama had its share of missteps, and it was largely controlled by one booster, the Bear's son. Mal Moore told him to get the eff out of the way and hired Saban. The rest is history.

If Currie doesn't have the balls to do that, hire somebody that does. Hell, I have engineering and law degrees. Hire me. I will do it.

I don’t think that’s what happened exactly. At least, not according to my memory after reading the book “The System”.

Mal Moore was actually told that if he didn’t go to Miami and come back with Saban, that he wasn’t to come back.

 

[Silky_Johnson]

How about simply removing yourself from this thread if it bothers you so much?
This thread is about a lot more than just Jon Gruden.
It is a community of good people who enjoy one another's company and discussion.

I’ve been here since 2012. I believed.

But it’s time to face reality.

We have been trolled & Gruden was never coming.

 

[Hubbard]

I read this yesterday on Twitter. If true, then I’ve lost a lot of respect for him.

Why is this being discussed in a gruden thread?

 

[DougVol]

I said I wouldn't be back, and I'm not, but it seems to me what UT Football needs right now is an adult that can step up to the podium, not as coach, not as AD (he's out apparrently), but just to say look, we hear you, we f****d up

Agree. Considering how toxic this is, I would
beg Cutcliffe to come back and right the ship.
Flame away

 

[Coastypop]

well, after sleeping on it this is where i'm at on the situation.

1. I do not believe the trusted insiders intentionally mislead us.

2. I believe the reported power struggle within the program is very real.

3. I believe that one side of the struggle was mislead into thinking a home run hire would be made in order to get the donations for renovations from them.

4. I believe it was these donors that reached out to gruden and felt there was interest and that's where the insider's information came from.

5. I'm not sure just how interested gruden really was about taking the job.

6. I am positive that the ad is not wholly committed to winning at an elite level.

7. At this point i cannot see why any elite coach or player would want to be any part of this mess.

8. There will be no quick fix.

9. I absolutely cringe at the thought of what today will bring in this embarrassing saga.

10. In summary, i'm going to ride this out on the same stipulations as before. We cannot survive this with another google search coach despite the situation dictating that's probably all we will be able to get. For me, the gruden ship has sailed. If we go with anyone other than a miles (cringe) or kiffin (yes please), i'm probably turning in my vol card.


Flame away.

great post