UT officials have been strongly informed by powerbrokers that this hire needs to be a Tennessee person, and there are three entities of great influence beyond President Dr. Joe DiPietro and Chancellor Beverly Davenport.
So for all the committee and firm talk, in this instance the biggest people involved are the Haslam family, Peyton Manning and Raja Jubran.
As one seven-figure donor told us this week, Peytons going to have a lot of say in this.
Yet also we were told, matter-of-factly, Not enough people have UT in mind in this; too many people have their own self interests in mind.
Still, a potential combination of Phillip Fulmer and David Blackburn remains the best-case-scenario for Tennessee --- and probably the scenario that gets the most done, short- and longterm for both UT athletics and campus-wide matters.
Blackburn had made clear to multiple people he would instantly return Fulmer into a role of prominence within the athletics department, and it has likewise been indicated from multiple sources this week that Fulmer would potentially add Blackburn into the fold --- perhaps as the No. 2 in his athletics cabinet. There are boosters strongly encouraging this chain of events, if Fulmer continues as the frontrunner.
And Fulmer believes he has the key support in the right places. Thus people this week saying the deal was about done and all but done.
Tennessee will interview at least some sitting athletics directors, and one prominent member of the search process still insisted this week, If we go out and land a big name, fans wont mind if it isnt a Tennessee person.