Grading the hires

[Vols410]

Every article I’ve seen gives Tennessee a D/F for the hire, but attributes it mostly to the disaster that the coaching search was.

If we look at the hires themselves (with what we know regarding Pruitt’s staff), what grades do y’all give?

Here are mine:

Chip Kelly - UCLA
A+
Obvious home run. Tremendous success in the same conference. No reason why it shouldn’t translate to UCLA.

Jimbo Fisher - Texas A&M
A
Solid hire for A&M. If you have the money to spend, why not go big? Seems to have fallen off a bit, even with top tier talent, but he does have a championship so...

Scott Frost - Nebraska
A
Obvious hire is obvious. Nebraska lands the top up and coming coach in the nation. Athough, considering he’s bringing his entire staff from the AAC, I’m a little skeptical.

Dan Mullen - Florida
B+
Solid job building the program at Mississippi State. Mediocre record against top 25 teams, now we’ll see how much of a difference he can make with top talent, and if he can recruit that talent.

Jeremy Pruitt - Tennessee
B
The search was a dumpster fire, but I really think we ended up with a good one. Lots of risk with taking a coordinator, but the upside is clear to see. You want to see a coordinator surround himself with good coaches, and he’s going far and away above that standard.

Willie Taggart - Florida State
B
Consistently elevates the talent at his programs, but has never stuck around long enough to reap the benefits of said talent. Recruiting is proven, winning hasn’t been yet.

Chad Morris - Arkansas
B-
Brilliant offensive mind, more than decent job rebuilding SMU, but nothing awe-inspiring. If he somehow poaches Venables, this gets upgraded to an A-.

Joe Morehead - Mississippi State
B-
Another good coordinator coming to the SEC. I rank him below Pruitt only due to staff decisions at this point. Did a good job as the HC at Fordham, but as we all know the SEC is a totally different animal.

Josh Heupel - UCF
B-
Decent hire for UCF became much better with the addition of Randy’s Shannon at DC. Will be interesting to see how they continue the run that Frost started.

Jonathan Smith - Oregon State
C
QB at Oregon state, coached under Chris Petersen. The fans like him, so that’s a step in the right direction for the Beavers.

Mario Cristobal - Oregon
C-
Really feel like Oregon could’ve done better here. Cristobal’s offense was defense before Herbert went down, but how much of that credit belongs to Taggart? Apparently the players pressured the AD into this hire; petition from the locker room wanted Cristobal bad.

Matt Luke - Ole Miss
D
Considering the situation, this was the Rebels’ only option. Sorry not sorry...

Herm Edwards - Arizona State
F
Haha, wow. Somebody in another thread mentioned that Herm probably has CTE. Strong agree. Pro tip - when you sign up to coach a team, make sure you know what they’re called!

 

[NeverWe'llSever]

I’m gonna be a much harsher grader. Keep in mind, C = good. The grade is based off a number of things, but the main thing is what I believe each school can accomplish in their new eras. Also, I don’t care about the small schools, as they won’t affect TN, most likely.

Chip Kelly - UCLA
Grade: A
And I start with a good grade lol. Great hire for UCLA. Got him for a decent price, as well. $6.5 million is a great deal for a coach that is probably worth upwards of 8.

Jimbo Fisher - Texas A&M
Grade: C

This is where I’m gonna start to get harsh. I think A&M got played, hard. When I look at Jimbo, I see a coach who was extremely successful early in his tenure at FSU until 2014 and has since been declining. He has some huge personal problems in his life right now and this will result in one of two things: a renewed drive or apathy. Grade could change based on staff. He needs some guys with huge Texas and Louisiana ties to have the best chance to be successful. This is the big thing: they paid him $75 million guaranteed! HUGE risk!

Ultimately, I just don’t see him accomplishing much at A&M to warrant that salary. Bama is Bama. Auburn isn’t going anywhere and LSU is good as well, who A&M has lost 7 in a row to, btw.

Scott Frost - Nebraska
Grade: C+

When I heard Frost was bringing his UCF staff to Nebraska, that was a HUGE red flag. Butch Jones-esque. It’s already hard to recruit to Nebraska, so what makes Frost think that he can recruit Big Ten country with a staff that’s used to recruiting Florida?

But, the guy is a winner and this is his dream job. Also, the division Nebraska is in is cake, so he may be able to get to the B1G Championship fairly quickly. Slightly above average grade.

Dan Mullen - Florida
C+
This may also change once I see the staff. To me, what Florida is getting is a good game day coach.

But, I question his recruiting ability. Will he be able to beat out Willy Taggart and Mark Richt for Florida’s finest? I personally don’t see it, but maybe I’m completely wrong.

There’s also the questions about the personality. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Austin Thomas said he would come back to Knoxville for anyone but Dan Mullen. That definitely raised some eyebrows here in Knoxville when he was being talked about for the job here. I’m hoping that this will be a disastrous hire for the Gators, but I doubt it.


Jeremy Pruitt - Tennessee
B-
The guy has never been a head coach before so I can’t go higher than B-, but I am super excited.

This guy is an elite recruiter with an elite recruiting staff, that was assembled with ease. He’s young, he’s hungry, he’s easy for players and recruits to relate to and he was hired by our own, Phillip Fulmer. Talent will never be a problem under him, and I think that’s gonna become evident, starting with the 2019 class.

He has been responsible for some of the most elite defenses I have ever seen in my short time watching college football seriously (2008): the 2013 Noles and 2016 Tide. I am very excited to see if that will translate to Knoxville.

Ultimately, we got what I think is a brilliant up and comer for cheap and after a dumpster fire coaching search. For us, I think it’s an A, considering the circumstances.

Willie Taggart - Florida State
B
I agree with the B grade. As you said, he elevates talent and FSU recruits itself. It’s still the #1 Florida job at the moment and Taggart has some big local Florida ties to lean on for recruiting. Winning will come easily.

Chad Morris - Arkansas
D
He might be a great offensive mind and a decent head coach, but it’s Arkansas. They won’t do better than 4th or 5th in the West. Ever. Especially now with the Jimbo hire. Arkansas relies on Texas for recruiting and Jimbo will snatch up most of the big time Texas guys that Arkansas wants.

Joe Morehead - Mississippi State
Grade: D-
Don’t know much about him, but Miss State is probably the worst job in the SEC, all things considered. It’s a below average hire for the same reasons as Chad Morris.

Josh Heupel - UCF
Grade: ?

Don’t care to know. Won’t effect Tennessee.

Jonathan Smith - Oregon State
Grade: ?

Don’t care.

Mario Cristobal - Oregon
Grade: ?

Don’t know, but the players’ coup sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Matt Luke - Ole Miss
Grade: F

Enjoy 7th in the West, Ole Miss. Well deserved.

Herm Edwards - Arizona State
Grade: Lol

WTF was the AD smoking?

 

[zjcvols]

Jimbo got screwed by a bad offensive line and an injured QB. It is still a home run hire by TAMU.

 

[NeverWe'llSever]

Jimbo got screwed by a bad offensive line and an injured QB. It is still a home run hire by TAMU.

They better hope so. But I don’t like the hire. $75 million GUARENTEED for what I think will be third place finishes in the West.

 

[zjcvols]

They better hope so. But I don’t like the hire. $75 million GUARENTEED for what I think will be third place finishes in the West.

Fisher will help clean up Texas and not hire washed up defensive coordinators.

 

[BIG BOI 23]

Jimbo got screwed by a bad offensive line and an injured QB. It is still a home run hire by TAMU.

Offensive line has been bad for a few years now and that’s all on him for keeping Trickett around far too long

If there’s one position other then quarterback where you can’t just lean on talent you actually need development it’s OL

He also kept that defensive coordinator Kelly around way too long

Jimbo don’t like firing his buddies I guess

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

I guess I look at who else wanted a coach or, in the case of Jimbo, who else would've hired him if they could've. I give As to UCLA, UF, FSU & A&M. B for Arkansas. D for Ole Miss and State.

 

[Knox-a-rue]

I think Jimbo is an A+ hire, better than Kelly. I think A&M won the coach search this year. Time will tell though. Hopefully he and Pruitt can put Saban on notice.

 

[gohogs14]

Chad Morris - Arkansas
D
He might be a great offensive mind and a decent head coach, but it’s Arkansas. They won’t do better than 4th or 5th in the West. Ever.

Well this is a bit of hyperbole. As bad of a coach that Bielema was, he finished higher than that. Petrino did it twice in four years. Nutt won the West twice.

Arkansas is around .500 against LSU and Auburn in the last 10 years. Before Bielema, Auburn only led the series 11-10.

 

[zooguy]

I’m gonna be a much harsher grader. Keep in mind, C = good. The grade is based off a number of things, but the main thing is what I believe each school can accomplish in their new eras. Also, I don’t care about the small schools, as they won’t affect TN, most likely.

Chip Kelly - UCLA
Grade: A
And I start with a good grade lol. Great hire for UCLA. Got him for a decent price, as well. $6.5 million is a great deal for a coach that is probably worth upwards of 8.

Jimbo Fisher - Texas A&M
Grade: C

This is where I’m gonna start to get harsh. I think A&M got played, hard. When I look at Jimbo, I see a coach who was extremely successful early in his tenure at FSU until 2014 and has since been declining. He has some huge personal problems in his life right now and this will result in one of two things: a renewed drive or apathy. Grade could change based on staff. He needs some guys with huge Texas and Louisiana ties to have the best chance to be successful. This is the big thing: they paid him $75 million guaranteed! HUGE risk!

Ultimately, I just don’t see him accomplishing much at A&M to warrant that salary. Bama is Bama. Auburn isn’t going anywhere and LSU is good as well, who A&M has lost 7 in a row to, btw.

Scott Frost - Nebraska
Grade: C+

When I heard Frost was bringing his UCF staff to Nebraska, that was a HUGE red flag. Butch Jones-esque. It’s already hard to recruit to Nebraska, so what makes Frost think that he can recruit Big Ten country with a staff that’s used to recruiting Florida?

But, the guy is a winner and this is his dream job. Also, the division Nebraska is in is cake, so he may be able to get to the B1G Championship fairly quickly. Slightly above average grade.

Dan Mullen - Florida
C+
This may also change once I see the staff. To me, what Florida is getting is a good game day coach.

But, I question his recruiting ability. Will he be able to beat out Willy Taggart and Mark Richt for Florida’s finest? I personally don’t see it, but maybe I’m completely wrong.

There’s also the questions about the personality. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Austin Thomas said he would come back to Knoxville for anyone but Dan Mullen. That definitely raised some eyebrows here in Knoxville when he was being talked about for the job here. I’m hoping that this will be a disastrous hire for the Gators, but I doubt it.


Jeremy Pruitt - Tennessee
B-
The guy has never been a head coach before so I can’t go higher than B-, but I am super excited.

This guy is an elite recruiter with an elite recruiting staff, that was assembled with ease. He’s young, he’s hungry, he’s easy for players and recruits to relate to and he was hired by our own, Phillip Fulmer. Talent will never be a problem under him, and I think that’s gonna become evident, starting with the 2019 class.

He has been responsible for some of the most elite defenses I have ever seen in my short time watching college football seriously (2008): the 2013 Noles and 2016 Tide. I am very excited to see if that will translate to Knoxville.

Ultimately, we got what I think is a brilliant up and comer for cheap and after a dumpster fire coaching search. For us, I think it’s an A, considering the circumstances.

Willie Taggart - Florida State
B
I agree with the B grade. As you said, he elevates talent and FSU recruits itself. It’s still the #1 Florida job at the moment and Taggart has some big local Florida ties to lean on for recruiting. Winning will come easily.

Chad Morris - Arkansas
D
He might be a great offensive mind and a decent head coach, but it’s Arkansas. They won’t do better than 4th or 5th in the West. Ever. Especially now with the Jimbo hire. Arkansas relies on Texas for recruiting and Jimbo will snatch up most of the big time Texas guys that Arkansas wants.

Joe Morehead - Mississippi State
Grade: D-
Don’t know much about him, but Miss State is probably the worst job in the SEC, all things considered. It’s a below average hire for the same reasons as Chad Morris.

Josh Heupel - UCF
Grade: ?

Don’t care to know. Won’t effect Tennessee.

Jonathan Smith - Oregon State
Grade: ?

Don’t care.

Mario Cristobal - Oregon
Grade: ?

Don’t know, but the players’ coup sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Matt Luke - Ole Miss
Grade: F

Enjoy 7th in the West, Ole Miss. Well deserved.

Herm Edwards - Arizona State
Grade: Lol

WTF was the AD smoking?

You lose all credibility when you put Jimbo Fisher at a C and Jeremy Pruitt as a B-. One has won a national and multiple conference championships as a head coach. The other hasn't won anything as a head coach, but has had a couple good defenses.

Jimbo Fisher is an A++. A&M outbid everyone.

 

[Volunteer_Kirby]

Herm Edwards wow... must've missed that. What a strange hire by ASU.

Jimbo A+
Chip Kelly A
Scott Frost A-

Mike Bloomgren (Rice) - B+
Dan Mullen B
Willie Taggart B
Morris B-
Pruitt B-
Steve Campbell (South Alabama) - B-

Moorehead C+
Dana Dimel (UTEP) - C+
Huepel - C
Cristobal - C
Jonathan Smith - C

Matt Luke - D+
Chad Lunsford (South Bama) - D

Herm Edwards - Fail

 

[NeverWe'llSever]

You lose all credibility when you put Jimbo Fisher at a C and Jeremy Pruitt as a B-. One has won a national and multiple conference championships as a head coach. The other hasn't won anything as a head coach, but has had a couple good defenses.

Jimbo Fisher is an A++. A&M outbid everyone.

You’re probably right. I just HATE the contract. I don’t care about my e-cred. It’s my opinion. And opinions are like...well, you know. I may look like an absolute buffoon in a couple years and that’s fine. I’m not D4H. If I’m wrong I’ll admit it, no problem.

 

[BUBear]

Herm Edwards wow... must've missed that. What a strange hire by ASU.

Jimbo A+
Chip Kelly A
Scott Frost A-

Mike Bloomgren (Rice) - B+
Dan Mullen B
Willie Taggart B
Morris B-
Pruitt B-
Steve Campbell (South Alabama) - B-

Moorehead C+
Dana Dimel (UTEP) - C+
Huepel - C
Cristobal - C
Jonathan Smith - C

Matt Luke - D+
Chad Lunsford (South Bama) - D

Herm Edwards - Fail

Read in the Ft Worth Star Telegram and Houston Chronicle that A State wanted the new coach to keep both coordinators...Edwards must have agreed. We'll see.

 

[DiderotsGhost]

The A Hires

Scott Frost = A+. Best case scenario for Nebraska. I've made the argument before, but Nebraska is the most difficult of the "traditional power program" jobs. It has no natural recruiting base. The closest 'major recruiting hub' is over 500 miles away. The move out of the Big 12 also made it more difficult to recruit Texas. Scott Frost is one of the few coaches out there who might be able to win big at Nebraska through innovation.

Dan Mullen = A. Dramatically outperformed at Miss State with lesser talent. Will do much better with more resources and a better recruiting footprint in Florida. The SEC East just got a lot tougher.

Joe Moorhead = A-. Moorhead was the real secret behind Penn State's success over the past two seasons. He's the best OC in the nation. He previously turned an awful Fordham program into a regular FCS playoff team. For a school like Miss State that competes with some big disadvantages in the SEC West, this is a home run hire IMO. The only question marks are whether he can recruit at an SEC level (that's not real clear from his work at Penn State) and whether he's a fit in Mississippi (he's mostly been in the Northeast before.)


The B Hires

Jimbo Fisher = B+. A great steal by Texas A&M. That said, this is still a high risk hire. The contract A&M is giving Fisher is insane and while some think that shouldn't matter, what happens if Jimbo doesn't work out and A&M is hamstrung by a massive buyout during a recession? There's a lot of downside here and Jimbo struggled more over the past few seasons at FSU. All that said, we know Fisher is a great coach when he's at the top of his game. Could end up being a home run. Then again, what happens if Jimbo achieves similar results to Sumlin? The SEC West is a Murderer's Row and Fisher now has a much more difficult path to success than he did at Florida State.

Chip Kelly = B+. This was the right fit for Kelly. IMO Florida got lucky he rejected them, as I think Kelly would've struggled in the SEC where he'd instantly become the 2nd most famous person in Gainesville. He's much more anonymous out in LaLa Land. If he can recreate the magic from Oregon, it's a home run. If he coaches like he did at San Fran and Philly in his last two NFL seasons, he might struggle more than people anticipate. Still, overall, I like the hire and Kelly was smart to go to UCLA over an SEC job like Florida, A&M, or Tennessee.

Willie Taggart = B+. Taggart is the new Kiffin: one-and-done. Florida State is a better fit for Taggart than Oregon, but the competition is not going to be easy, especially now that Mullen is at Florida and Richt is at Miami. That said, Taggart is a great recruiter and program-builder.

Chad Morris = B+. A great hire by Arkansas. Chad Morris is underrated as a coach since he took over a terrible job at SMU. However, Arkansas has become the 2nd worst SEC West job (only behind sanction-crippled Ole' Miss) given its lack of a natural recruiting base. This is a good hire for Arkansas, though, as Morris will recruit Texas well and might be able to bring in top talent to be competitive.

Jeremy Pruitt = B. High risk / high reward type hire. I feel like UT missed a golden opportunity with Mike Leach, but Pruitt certainly has the potential to be a championship coach. He also has the potential to be a Will Muschamp type coach who has superb defenses and subpar offenses. We'll have to wait and see the results. Certainly not an "F" hire as some dumb media outlets are reporting, but far from a home run.

Josh Heupel = B. A reasonable hire by UCF. Heupel was under-the-radar, but he's been a very good OC. That said, it's going to be difficult for him to top Scott Frost at UCF. Always sucks to be compared to a great.

Matt Luke = B-. I'm not saying Matt Luke is as good of a coach as the other B hires. Rather, this grade is a reflection of the fact that Ole' Miss had no real shot at landing a big name or an up-and-comer given the NCAA cloud hanging over the program. Their only real options were to keep Matt Luke or hire a has-been like Les Miles. Matt Luke outperformed expectations this past season and is underrated as a coach. While I have no doubt that he's a sacrificial lamb, he's the best hire Ole Miss could've made.


The Rest

Jonathan Smith = C. If we're being honest, Oregon State is one of the worst P5 jobs in the country right now. This isn't the worst hire, but also not the best. Still, better to get an alum who cares deeply about the program, rather than hire a random stranger who is going to give up once he starts to struggle.

Mario Cristobal = D. Feels a lot like our hire of Dooley after Kiffin left. Cristobal is a good recruiter, but I don't see him having wild success at Oregon. On the plus side, he'll be easier to dump in 2-3 years than a high price coach.

Herm Edwards = F. Most of the coaching hires made a lot of sense this season. This is the one that stands out like a sore thumb. Edwards was a mediocre NFL coach who hasn't coached at the college level in nearly 30 years. Oh, and he's 63 years old, meaning that he'll have difficult recruiting as well, since recruits want a coach that's going to stick around for at least 4-5 years. He also has no connection whatsoever to Arizona State. Awful hire.

 

[Burger]

The A Hires

Scott Frost = A+. Best case scenario for Nebraska. I've made the argument before, but Nebraska is the most difficult of the "traditional power program" jobs. It has no natural recruiting base. The closest 'major recruiting hub' is over 500 miles away. The move out of the Big 12 also made it more difficult to recruit Texas. Scott Frost is one of the few coaches out there who might be able to win big at Nebraska through innovation.

Dan Mullen = A. Dramatically outperformed at Miss State with lesser talent. Will do much better with more resources and a better recruiting footprint in Florida. The SEC East just got a lot tougher.

Joe Moorhead = A-. Moorhead was the real secret behind Penn State's success over the past two seasons. He's the best OC in the nation. He previously turned an awful Fordham program into a regular FCS playoff team. For a school like Miss State that competes with some big disadvantages in the SEC West, this is a home run hire IMO. The only question marks are whether he can recruit at an SEC level (that's not real clear from his work at Penn State) and whether he's a fit in Mississippi (he's mostly been in the Northeast before.)


The B Hires

Jimbo Fisher = B+. A great steal by Texas A&M. That said, this is still a high risk hire. The contract A&M is giving Fisher is insane and while some think that shouldn't matter, what happens if Jimbo doesn't work out and A&M is hamstrung by a massive buyout during a recession? There's a lot of downside here and Jimbo struggled more over the past few seasons at FSU. All that said, we know Fisher is a great coach when he's at the top of his game. Could end up being a home run. Then again, what happens if Jimbo achieves similar results to Sumlin? The SEC West is a Murderer's Row and Fisher now has a much more difficult path to success than he did at Florida State.

Chip Kelly = B+. This was the right fit for Kelly. IMO Florida got lucky he rejected them, as I think Kelly would've struggled in the SEC where he'd instantly become the 2nd most famous person in Gainesville. He's much more anonymous out in LaLa Land. If he can recreate the magic from Oregon, it's a home run. If he coaches like he did at San Fran and Philly in his last two NFL seasons, he might struggle more than people anticipate. Still, overall, I like the hire and Kelly was smart to go to UCLA over an SEC job like Florida, A&M, or Tennessee.

Willie Taggart = B+. Taggart is the new Kiffin: one-and-done. Florida State is a better fit for Taggart than Oregon, but the competition is not going to be easy, especially now that Mullen is at Florida and Richt is at Miami. That said, Taggart is a great recruiter and program-builder.

Chad Morris = B+. A great hire by Arkansas. Chad Morris is underrated as a coach since he took over a terrible job at SMU. However, Arkansas has become the 2nd worst SEC West job (only behind sanction-crippled Ole' Miss) given its lack of a natural recruiting base. This is a good hire for Arkansas, though, as Morris will recruit Texas well and might be able to bring in top talent to be competitive.

Jeremy Pruitt = B. High risk / high reward type hire. I feel like UT missed a golden opportunity with Mike Leach, but Pruitt certainly has the potential to be a championship coach. He also has the potential to be a Will Muschamp type coach who has superb defenses and subpar offenses. We'll have to wait and see the results. Certainly not an "F" hire as some dumb media outlets are reporting, but far from a home run.

Josh Heupel = B. A reasonable hire by UCF. Heupel was under-the-radar, but he's been a very good OC. That said, it's going to be difficult for him to top Scott Frost at UCF. Always sucks to be compared to a great.

Matt Luke = B-. I'm not saying Matt Luke is as good of a coach as the other B hires. Rather, this grade is a reflection of the fact that Ole' Miss had no real shot at landing a big name or an up-and-comer given the NCAA cloud hanging over the program. Their only real options were to keep Matt Luke or hire a has-been like Les Miles. Matt Luke outperformed expectations this past season and is underrated as a coach. While I have no doubt that he's a sacrificial lamb, he's the best hire Ole Miss could've made.


The Rest

Jonathan Smith = C. If we're being honest, Oregon State is one of the worst P5 jobs in the country right now. This isn't the worst hire, but also not the best. Still, better to get an alum who cares deeply about the program, rather than hire a random stranger who is going to give up once he starts to struggle.

Mario Cristobal = D. Feels a lot like our hire of Dooley after Kiffin left. Cristobal is a good recruiter, but I don't see him having wild success at Oregon. On the plus side, he'll be easier to dump in 2-3 years than a high price coach.

Herm Edwards = F. Most of the coaching hires made a lot of sense this season. This is the one that stands out like a sore thumb. Edwards was a mediocre NFL coach who hasn't coached at the college level in nearly 30 years. Oh, and he's 63 years old, meaning that he'll have difficult recruiting as well, since recruits want a coach that's going to stick around for at least 4-5 years. He also has no connection whatsoever to Arizona State. Awful hire.

Good news is that there is no more recession. Hasn't been one in a long time.

 

[Otis07]

It's just me but I think Chad Morris is the best hire of the bunch.....

 

[golfballs]

Herm Edwards wow... must've missed that. What a strange hire by ASU.

Jimbo A-
Chip Kelly A+
Scott Frost A
Mike Bloomgren (Rice) - A-
Dan Mullen B
Willie Taggart D+
Morris C
Pruitt C
Moorehead B-
Dana Dimel (UTEP) - B
Huepel - C
Cristobal - D-
Matt Luke - D-
Herm Edwards - Fail

.

 

[BUBear]

Well this is a bit of hyperbole. As bad of a coach that Bielema was, he finished higher than that. Petrino did it twice in four years. Nutt won the West twice.

Arkansas is around .500 against LSU and Auburn in the last 10 years. Before Bielema, Auburn only led the series 11-10.

I'm not sure why the Baylor administration loves you guys so much but y'all should send them an extra special Chistmas gift present every year for eternity. Not only did we serve y'all up Frank Broyles back in the day (took Hayden Fry to the Ozarks with him) but Chad Morris was begging for the Baylor job too...we hired Jim Grobe instead :banghead2:. Never let Baptist preachers near your football program!!!

 

[TNinSC]

I’m gonna be a much harsher grader. Keep in mind, C = good. The grade is based off a number of things, but the main thing is what I believe each school can accomplish in their new eras. Also, I don’t care about the small schools, as they won’t affect TN, most likely.

Chip Kelly - UCLA
Grade: A
And I start with a good grade lol. Great hire for UCLA. Got him for a decent price, as well. $6.5 million is a great deal for a coach that is probably worth upwards of 8.

Jimbo Fisher - Texas A&M
Grade: C

This is where I’m gonna start to get harsh. I think A&M got played, hard. When I look at Jimbo, I see a coach who was extremely successful early in his tenure at FSU until 2014 and has since been declining. He has some huge personal problems in his life right now and this will result in one of two things: a renewed drive or apathy. Grade could change based on staff. He needs some guys with huge Texas and Louisiana ties to have the best chance to be successful. This is the big thing: they paid him $75 million guaranteed! HUGE risk!

Ultimately, I just don’t see him accomplishing much at A&M to warrant that salary. Bama is Bama. Auburn isn’t going anywhere and LSU is good as well, who A&M has lost 7 in a row to, btw.

Scott Frost - Nebraska
Grade: C+

When I heard Frost was bringing his UCF staff to Nebraska, that was a HUGE red flag. Butch Jones-esque. It’s already hard to recruit to Nebraska, so what makes Frost think that he can recruit Big Ten country with a staff that’s used to recruiting Florida?

But, the guy is a winner and this is his dream job. Also, the division Nebraska is in is cake, so he may be able to get to the B1G Championship fairly quickly. Slightly above average grade.

Dan Mullen - Florida
C+
This may also change once I see the staff. To me, what Florida is getting is a good game day coach.

But, I question his recruiting ability. Will he be able to beat out Willy Taggart and Mark Richt for Florida’s finest? I personally don’t see it, but maybe I’m completely wrong.

There’s also the questions about the personality. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Austin Thomas said he would come back to Knoxville for anyone but Dan Mullen. That definitely raised some eyebrows here in Knoxville when he was being talked about for the job here. I’m hoping that this will be a disastrous hire for the Gators, but I doubt it.


Jeremy Pruitt - Tennessee
B-
The guy has never been a head coach before so I can’t go higher than B-, but I am super excited.

This guy is an elite recruiter with an elite recruiting staff, that was assembled with ease. He’s young, he’s hungry, he’s easy for players and recruits to relate to and he was hired by our own, Phillip Fulmer. Talent will never be a problem under him, and I think that’s gonna become evident, starting with the 2019 class.

He has been responsible for some of the most elite defenses I have ever seen in my short time watching college football seriously (2008): the 2013 Noles and 2016 Tide. I am very excited to see if that will translate to Knoxville.

Ultimately, we got what I think is a brilliant up and comer for cheap and after a dumpster fire coaching search. For us, I think it’s an A, considering the circumstances.

Willie Taggart - Florida State
B
I agree with the B grade. As you said, he elevates talent and FSU recruits itself. It’s still the #1 Florida job at the moment and Taggart has some big local Florida ties to lean on for recruiting. Winning will come easily.

Chad Morris - Arkansas
D
He might be a great offensive mind and a decent head coach, but it’s Arkansas. They won’t do better than 4th or 5th in the West. Ever. Especially now with the Jimbo hire. Arkansas relies on Texas for recruiting and Jimbo will snatch up most of the big time Texas guys that Arkansas wants.

Joe Morehead - Mississippi State
Grade: D-
Don’t know much about him, but Miss State is probably the worst job in the SEC, all things considered. It’s a below average hire for the same reasons as Chad Morris.

Josh Heupel - UCF
Grade: ?

Don’t care to know. Won’t effect Tennessee.

Jonathan Smith - Oregon State
Grade: ?

Don’t care.

Mario Cristobal - Oregon
Grade: ?

Don’t know, but the players’ coup sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Matt Luke - Ole Miss
Grade: F

Enjoy 7th in the West, Ole Miss. Well deserved.

Herm Edwards - Arizona State
Grade: Lol

WTF was the AD smoking?

How can you rate Pruitt higher than Mullen? Mullen had mississippi state as #1 in the nation at one point. In the SEC west. He has head coaching experience. the fact you can rate someone with 0 HC experience higher than mullen and what he's done in starkville is crazy.

 

[TNinSC]

It's just me but I think Chad Morris is the best hire of the bunch.....

I think Kelly, Mullen, fischer.

 

[Lawrence Wright]

How can you rate Pruitt higher than Mullen? Mullen had mississippi state as #1 in the nation at one point. In the SEC west. He has head coaching experience. the fact you can rate someone with 0 HC experience higher than mullen and what he's done in starkville is crazy.

Because Pruitt is your coach and Mullen is our coach.

 

[zooguy]

Jimbo A+ (Name one program who wouldn't have taken him, given his pedigree).

Chip Kelly A+ (Perfect place for him to be successful again).

Scott Frost B- (I'm not as sold on him. Hasn't been a head coach in a P-5 program. Has high upside, though, but goes into a difficult situation. This isn't 1995 any longer.).

Dan Mullen A (Has been successful in the SEC West with inferior facilities. Has developed 2 QB's who weren't highly rated. Will he finally develop a QB where they've sucked for 10 years doing so?)

Willie Taggart C (He will recruit well, but how is he as a coach? Sumlin-lite in my opinion (good recruiter, average to poor gameday coach).

Morris A - (He will be successful at Arky. Has ties to all coaches in Tx. Will re-institute the Tx-Ark connection).

Pruitt C - (Who else could UT have gotten at this point? Has had good defenses, but hey, Derek Dooley had also been successful at Bama. High risk / high reward kind of hire).

Moorehead C (Don't know much about him, but he does have Franklin recruits.. so that makes the job easier).

Dana Dimel (UTEP) - B (He sucks and probably won't do much at UTEP)

Huepel - B- (Who knows. Decent coordinator).

Cristobal - D- (Seriously? Hire the assistant coach? Lame).

Matt Luke - B - (Who would want to go to that dumpster fire when their QB is trying to transfer? About as good as they could have gotten, and seemed to right the ship near the end of the year).

Herm Edwards - F----- (Stupidest hire ever. Didn't even know the mascot of the team, or was a really lame joke).

 

[zjcvols]

Jesus people DEREK DOOLEY NEVER COACHED AT ALABAMA

Thats like the third time I have seen that on this board in the last few days.

 

[Otis07]

with Saban at LSU....

 

[TNinSC]

Because Pruitt is your coach and Mullen is our coach.

In that case, pruitt A++. Duh