The more I learn about him the more I like Tony Elliott. Let me try to explain. I would very much prefer that he had been a head coach at some point. For sure. But that doesn't mean he's not ready for this and wouldn't crush here.
Just seeing his name float around made me feel uneasy earlier. But after hearing him speak and researching him more I can see why people think highly of him. He's impressive and in my opinion would make a massive impact on our culture in a positive way. He's had offensive success through the roof. He had loads of talent to work with, but he also recruited a lot of it there. I could see him recruit at a very high level here, both assistant coaches and players. It's possible Dabo has been grooming him for an opportunity like this for a really long time. Hiring a coordinator worked for UGA. Smart had never been a head coach. Just because it didn't work for Pruitt doesn't mean anything in regards to Elliott. My guess is Elliott would have a much higher chance of success under Danny White than Pruitt did under Fulmer. Plus he's an offensive guy.
Would it work here? Could he build a program from the ground up? This is a tough job. I do think this AD will climb over a mountain for whoever he hires to see them succeed. He's good at this. Who knows though. It's a tall climb for whoever takes the job. We're all looking for the sure thing hire. We may or may not have one on the table.
Maybe it's Matt Campbell. I think he's the first call and would be a comet shot across the landscape of college football, but I'm still a little skeptical he'll make the leap. Just feels too good to be true at the moment for me. Even though he probably should take it. Kiffin could happen and I think there's reason for hope but I have my doubts about his sincere interest. I'll believe it when I see it. That part goes for Freeze too. I think both could be incredible hires. I have been knocking down the doors for both of them but I can't shake this hunch we might be looking for the next Kiffin/Freeze instead. That's kinda what White is good at. That's what we really want. Success. No more drama. At least for awhile.
After those names it's a bunch of guys that all have their own risks. But a ton of them with high upside. I think we'll find somebody good. We should try not to harshly judge the hire the day it's announced just because it's not the coach we wanted or had built up in our mind. Wait a few weeks or better yet until we get to this time next year and we'll have a more clear picture. We don't have any clue how any hire is gonna actually play out.
We need a coach to lead us out of this hole. If that coach ends up also being the answer to getting us back to competing for the SEC championship then hell yeah.
But for the first time as a Tennessee fan I have faith that if whoever we hire doesn't have a championship ceiling and that becomes evident, our AD will fire him quickly and find a better coach. Hopefully by then this will have become a coveted job that elite coaches will be trying to get. To get there you have to hire a good man right now at the very minimum that shines a positive light on everything Tennessee. It has to be fun and hopeful and get us back to regular bowl games again. That's step 1 for whoever we hire anyways.
Fun fact. Matt Campbell, Billy Napier and Tony Elliott are all 41 years old. I think they all represent a different tier in all this. But all 3 of them have the characteristics White mentioned he was looking for and is known to target. Each one took different paths to this Tennessee search. They all found incredible success in the current job they're in. Let's see who wants to build something here.
