Tennessee’s new athletic director, Danny White, has drastically changed the prospects of the volunteers’ head coaching search. And if you’re a Vols fan, Josh Heupel is a reason to feel good.
Hupel is not a candidate for UT, but he is proof that White can adapt and still deliver during a coaching search. Perhaps more impressive than White’s hiring Scott Frost at UCF in 2015 (19-7 in two seasons, including a 13-0 campaign) or Lance Liepold at Buffalo in ’14 (37 wins and three bowls) is Heupel to the Knights in ’17. Frost and Liepold were the best choice. That might not happen in Knoxville.
When Frost left UCF for Nebraska, White’s top targets (Kevin Sumlin, Neal Brown) did not end up in Orlando. Heupel, then the Missouri OC, said yes and has since held a 28-8 record with the Knights. White’s current job at an SEC program damaged by years of administrative failure will require a sharp evaluation of the market and possibly a hard sell to a quality candidate.
How White Changes Tennessee’s Search
Just last week, a coach who was interviewed during White’s Buffalo search complimented me on his process and football prowess and described Tennessee’s new AD as ‘decisive and genuine’.
This is one way reporters say that top candidates now know they are not going to deal with Crazy Tennessee. They do not have to deal with former AD Phil Fulmer, they do not have to guess which corner of the Full Booster network is actually too involved in the administration, and they will work for someone with an excellent record for hiring coaches. which, based on its reputation, will transparently communicate the reality of the situation in Knoxville regarding the ongoing NCAA investigation.
At this point, I fully expect White to strip a sitting FBS head coach of a logical contract regarding what comes from the NCAA. I also believe White will try as hard as he can to get a name big enough to inspire donors as well as the people of the nation to sustain another rebuilding period in Knoxville.
Let’s divide the field into three categories: the best available, the names mentioned in public, and sitting head coaches, I believe White can try to strip:
College Big is ‘Big 3’
Of the sitting head coaches who are considered the best available for any job – Matt Campbell, Iowa State, Luke Fickell and Cincinnati and Billy Napier, Louisiana, Campbell and Fickell were not options for UT until White arrived, and I believe that is still true. Fickell has already told UT that he is happy with the Bearcats. Therefore, I feel confident that Fickell will leave UC for nothing less than Notre Dame or Ohio State. Maybe, if Penn State were to open up (see below), he would have a conversation, but it looks like the man with six children is destined for American work in Catholicism.
Napier is the game map here. He was born in Cookeville, Tennessee and grew up in Chatsworth, Ga., Literally just across the state line. He also just walked away from South Carolina and Auburn, a story that takes different paths depending on who you talk to. On the face of it, Auburn (even in the Saban era) is undoubtedly a better concert than the sanction-battered Tennessee, but context could be the key here. White will almost certainly not captivate Napier with the demands of staff or reservations, specifically Kevin Steele in both situations.
Napier would be a big win for UT. They may express a narrative that he turned down other league works to get ‘home’ while preaching patience during the rebuilding. He’s a Saban tree trainer who’s familiar with the SEC sausage factory, but unlike Pruitt, he’s an offensive man with head coaching.
Names mentioned in public
White has a reputation for defying media predictions. He specifically mentioned it last week.
At the moment, I’m convinced that the three most named candidates – Minnesota’s PJ Fleck, SMU’s Sonny Dykes and Clemson’s OC Tony Elliott – have been legally selected, but they will not get the job unless White has to make a third or fourth choice. .
Of the three, Fleck is the best here. His media-friendly personality would bridge a huge gap between now and when a post-sanction could be competitive again. He is also a sitting head coach who took a MAC program to the New Year’s Six and won 11 games in Minnesota in 2019.
Do I think these names are a deliberate smokescreen? Kind of? I do not want to say yes because it means that these coaches are not good quality candidates or that they are being used. But I believe White is using the opulence of a public list to divert attention from a larger “get”.
Put P5 coaches Tennessee can try to strip
Scott Satterfield, Louisville – I cheat a bit here because I saw Satt in some places he mentioned for the job, but not nearly as much as Fleck, Dykes and Elliott. His first Cardinals team finished 8-5, but Louisville finished 4-7 in 2020. Take 2020 records for everything you want; I tend to ignore it, but not everyone in the industry. This is where I mention that Satterfield was linked to the opening of South Carolina this past fall and eventually returned to UL without extension or increase from AD Vince Tyra. I do not think that relationship is in the best place. Satt would start at the UT track, but I do not think he currently qualifies as a ‘wow’ appointment.
Dave Doeren, NC State – If Phil Fulmer did this search instead of White, Doeren would probably be at the top of this list. He was part of the “second half” search Fulmer conducted in 2017 after former AD John Currie was sacked who ended up with Pruitt (he was originally selected by Currie). He also almost got the Ole Miss post the same year as then-interim Matt Luke. The Wolfpack ended 8-4 in 2020 and looked better than most in the industry expected, and you, yeah … I can not see that happening under White. I exclude Doeren because of his popularity with the previous regime (stupid logic, but popular in this industry) and his lack of national star power.
Neal Brown, West Virginia – Brown has SEC experience as an assistant at Kentucky (and former player). He beat Ed Orgeron’s LSU during a rebuild of Troy, meaning he won more recently as an SEC national winner than Tennessee. He’s 0.500 in West Virginia, but they’re upward; several Big 12 assistants remarked to me that it looks like Brown is before rebuilding WVU. His name was driven late in the Auburn search, but the concert went to Bryan Harsin, who is picked up by the same agency as Brown. I’m honestly not sure if UT supporters would consider this a ‘big advantage’, but Brown is popular with ADs and people in the industry.
James Franklin, Penn State – How bad was 2020 in Happy Valley? This has yet to be determined. Let us, hypothetically, assume that one or both parties want to move on here (and let us all stop and realize how healthy the Cal / Dykes divorce seems to be). Franklin was tormented because he left Vanderbilt in 2013, not because the Commodores are equal to PSU, but because he realizes the potential to recruit and develop in the SEC. His last two yard classes at Vandy were 247 higher than those of Penn State (2012: VU No. 46, Penn State No. 47; 2013: VU No. 25, Penn State No. 33).
Also – right or wrong – if you win nine games a season on the hardest job in the best league, you can not help but think about how good you will be at a power program. Is Tennessee a power program in the SEC? Not now. Was Penn State in the Big Ten when he got there? Not at all, but they are now a fixed number 2 or 3. Franklin’s persona will apply well for the road ahead in Knoxville.
The reality check is that Penn State only extended Franklin last year with an agreement that includes more than $ 7 million a year, including incentives. It seems completely too steep at the moment to get UT to agree, especially if they end up having to pay part or all of its buyout to Pruitt.
Mike Norvell, Florida – It depends on what you think of the unrest in the state of Florida. If you tend to believe this is the worst case scenario, it is not at all unlikely that Norvell thinks and wants the same thing. As head coach of Memphis, he has been investigated by several SEC programs. Some did not love him and vice versa. As for the optics: if you’re Tennessee, you do not hire the Memphis head coach, you hire Florida’s. And if you’re a member of #FSUTwitter, my real name is William Elliott Jr. and this is my twitter handle.
Lane Kiffin, Ole Mej – Sure why not. I read Twitter. I know what the fools want and do not have to explain myself.
RYAN NANNI, BANNER SOCIETY EDITOR: Steven, this is your job.
Well. He meets every requirement: sitting P5 head coach, offensive, big recruiting. Even has league experience. And he would give Tennessee the satisfaction of snatching an SEC head coach, and something similar to closure after Kiffin stepped out on the Vols after the 2009 seasons. This step is unlikely, potentially hilarious and will be amazing in every conceivable good and bad way. I can not decide if this is too wild an idea for White, or just what it takes to make him look like a kingpin.