I enjoyed the read and thought it was a well thought out and well written piece. I only take exception with two statements:
'The speculation was over the top for Tennessee fans who traditionally overvalue their program'. I find this statement to be insulting. We don't 'over value' anything. The Tennessee brand has great inherent value.
'Remember, this is a fan base that was convinced Jon Gruden was a possibility.' This is also insulting. The fan base had plenty of reason to think Gruden would consider Tennessee and he did absolutely nothing to dispel that idea. I watched him several times on MNF and he was very careful to mention Tennessee as often as possible. He was playing the game to up his ante for a pro gig, but no Vol fan was foolish for buying into his shtick. He sold it well and it was a reasonable concept, based on his past relationship with the school.