List of Coaches that Rejected Us

Another interesting test for Danny White will be when he has to hire the successor to Rick Barnes.
 
I watched the presser today, so someone else that did please refresh my memory. Did White say no other coach was offered the job???

Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not. But two points:

1- I wouldn’t expect him to say JH was our fifth pick and happy he said yes. Welcome to Rocky Top!

2- You can get a long way down the path of interviewing, talking numbers, expectations, etc. without making a formal offer. I suspect this is what we did with multiple candidates before finally making an official offer to JH
 
We didn't miss anything with Dykes and Franklin; Heupel is an upgrade.

We also have a coach that is as good or better than Elliot with HC experience.

Fickel and Fleck are good coaches as well but I see Heupel as good as them.

As an added bonus, we already know the AD/HC relationship should be pretty solid!
 
My problem is I do not see
Gus Malzahn
Lane Kiffin
Hugh Freeze
If I am making the phone calls I start with those 3 and let them turn me down. All 3 are winners in the SEC, some have baggage (Kiffin, Freeze) but all are capable of being good quality coach for us.
This program needs energy to thrive with a depleted roster; get something done with less kinda guy. Only name I’ve heard that I think had a chance was Freeze... Lane Kiffin can’t be trusted (not just by UT but by the recruits) and Gus would’ve kept us stuck in the mud.

I feel good about this hire in this situation Heupel.
 
According to Chris Low, here's the list of coaches who rejected us.

James Franklin, Penn State
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
Sonny Dykes, SMU
PJ Fleck, Minnesota
Tony Elliot, Clemson (OC)

Sorry to say it folks, but as it turns out, a lot of coaches don't want to walk into a situation with NCAA penalties are looming overhead. Other than Franklin, I don't think any of those coaches turn us down in a normal search. Getting a coach of Josh Heupel's quality in this situation is actually pretty good. Compare Ole Miss in 2017 who had to hire Matt Luke.

Overall, I think White did an excellent job in a bad situation. He swung for the fences, struck out a few times, but still hired a quality coach. In the previous coaching searches, we never even tried to land top-tier coaches. We passed on Gary Patterson and Mike Leach in 2008 (both of whom were interested). We never seriously went after Mullen in 2017 and our AD got fired when he went rogue and went after Mike Leach.

Heupel may succeed or he may not, but regardless, I think we'll be in better shape 3-4 years from now. Either Heupel improves us or we're in a better spot to hire a top-tier coach.

Given what has happened over the past month, I think this is actually one of the better case scenarios. At the very least, we got an elite AD. If we're lucky, we got a good HC, as well.

P.S. Glad Sonny Dykes rejected us. I think Heupel is better than Dykes.

Wow! What a list...
 
Our offense has been stagnant, and we'll be greatly improved by an offense minded HC. He's avg over 500 yds a game the last 5 seasons. How many times have we gained 500 yds in a game over those years is a good question.

Im hoping for the best...and will try not to opine much on CJH and his abilities. However this "offensive minded coach" stuff needs to stop.


A HC needs to be a great leader...we just had a great coordinator try to be a HC...a leader is all CJH needs to be. No more and no less.


CJP was a defensive mimded Coordinator...where did that get us? Blowout loss after blowout loss.
 
Did they offer Matt Cambell, Did they offer Jeff Fisher. Did the AD fly to their house and say hey we want you what's it going to take. I doubt it, well that's what it takes to get a really good coach. Searching firms are money wasters. You want somebody , you show them you want them .
So it is that easy. Then why doesn't every team get the number one person on their list?
 
Our offense has been stagnant, and we'll be greatly improved by an offense minded HC. He's avg over 500 yds a game the last 5 seasons. How many times have we gained 500 yds in a game over those years is a good question.
I was gonna say I was sure we got 500 yards in a season then saw you wrote in a game. My bad.
 
So you believe Chris Lowe knows who Tenn reached out to????? White did not get to be a very respected AD by talking about potential hires who were offered, blacklisted, etc. Doesn’t happen
You don’t earn much respect hiring the guy you hired earlier either.

Cop out
 
To be fair........if Dykes and Elliot said no.......I’m fairly confident Herman would also say no.....while having an “are you crazy” look on his face.

Chadwell.......though.....come on. I know there was NCAA stuff....but it wasn’t on him, and it was years ago.

What’s the love affair with chadwell? East TN ties? Heupel has the better resume between the two.
 
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According to Chris Low, here's the list of coaches who rejected us.

James Franklin, Penn State
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
Sonny Dykes, SMU
PJ Fleck, Minnesota
Tony Elliot, Clemson (OC)

Sorry to say it folks, but as it turns out, a lot of coaches don't want to walk into a situation with NCAA penalties are looming overhead. Other than Franklin, I don't think any of those coaches turn us down in a normal search. Getting a coach of Josh Heupel's quality in this situation is actually pretty good. Compare Ole Miss in 2017 who had to hire Matt Luke.

Overall, I think White did an excellent job in a bad situation. He swung for the fences, struck out a few times, but still hired a quality coach. In the previous coaching searches, we never even tried to land top-tier coaches. We passed on Gary Patterson and Mike Leach in 2008 (both of whom were interested). We never seriously went after Mullen in 2017 and our AD got fired when he went rogue and went after Mike Leach.

Heupel may succeed or he may not, but regardless, I think we'll be in better shape 3-4 years from now. Either Heupel improves us or we're in a better spot to hire a top-tier coach.

Given what has happened over the past month, I think this is actually one of the better case scenarios. At the very least, we got an elite AD. If we're lucky, we got a good HC, as well.

P.S. Glad Sonny Dykes rejected us. I think Heupel is better than Dykes.
I agree with everything except Mullen. He was Florida bound as soon as it opened up regardless. A lot of fans are hating on this hire. It’s not Lane, Hugh, or Chadwell and I get that but considering where we are and where we’ve been, it’s our best hire on paper since Butch. Butch was meh but also last time we even sniffed national relevance as well. We are better today than we were a month ago. I’ll take it.
 
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