The Official Tennessee Baseball Skipper Search Thread

[CAVPUT]

From D1 Baseball....

Josh Elander, Tennessee (35 years old) — Based on the feedback from players, former players and fans, Elander is the preferred choice — at least for now — of the Tennessee community. We actually put out a poll on X the day the Vitello news was announced, and out of 2,800 respondents, 79.1% preferred Elander over any other option. Elander has spent the last eight seasons as an assistant/recruiting coordinator for the Vols, and runs the UT offense. In addition to what he has accomplished with the Vols, Elander learned under Dave Van Horn and Jim Schlossnagle, along with Vitello, and was a standout catcher during his time at TCU. There are a ton of pluses to making Elander the next skipper of the Vols.

All this is exactly why White won't hire him. Doubt he'd permit any new coach to keep Elander or Frank.

 

[tnhunter 10]

Why is everyone clamoring Elander? Does he have any HC experience? Was he heavily involved in recruiting and player evaluations?

Seems like a weird coping mechanism to meditate the pain of Vitello leaving. Does it make people feel like they’d be losing less of Vitello?

Listen to this and you'll know the answer.

 

[AthensVol2007]

And in that one year he made the CWS finals.

Y’all are weird with this Elander or bust thing.

This would be a very good hire if it happens.

I’m sure you were overly familiar with Schnall and his pedigree before about mid May 2025.

 

[Legion of Doom]

All this is exactly why White won't hire him. Doubt he'd permit any new coach to keep Elander or Frank.

DW and his ego need to go. You don’t nuke a national championship program for your own ego.

 

[Vol2B]

Oh boy. Typical BVS posters alive and well I see.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I not sure that is a sign of approve. Those are "laughing" emojis. It could be joy or actual laughter.

I was being sarcastic lol. The players are laughing at Danny for overthinking this.

 

[Weezer]

Per Cainer, the Coastal coach (Kevin Schnall) is a target... you know, the guy who just finished runner up in the CWS? If it's not Elander, I could get behind that hire

But could he keep players from making a mass exodus, and could he retain most of the recruiting class?

 

[Weezer]

I get it, but prior to LSU, Jay Johnson’s entire resume consisted of the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada. He’s doing pretty well in the southeast.

It's also LSU, and they've traditionally supported their baseball program more than most schools.

 

[CAVPUT]

DW and his ego need to go. You don’t nuke a national championship program for your own ego.

Well, White did. But then again, baseball isn't a revenue producing sport so screw the fans.

 

[CAVPUT]

But could he keep players from making a mass exodus, and could he retain most of the recruiting class?

Might not be a mass exodus, but we'll lose guys off this roster. As for the recruiting classes....I think we're back to square one. Dark, dark days ahead.

 

[Weezer]

I know, this isn’t a normal hire. They didn’t get fired for sucking. We know pitchers come to this place for Frank and many of them have options. If DW decides to clean house I really hope he knows what he’s doing.

If DW cleans house, I don't think he knows what he's doing. It will set us back years. Players will leave. Recruits will look elsewhere. Not gonna lie. While I don't agree with those who blame DW for Tony taking the Giants job, I do think he could easily ruin Tennessee baseball if he's deadset on this whole "his guy" thing like some think he is. The answer for stability is already on campus. He needs to learn to love Elander, IMO, and foster a relationship.

 

[TechnoVol]

 

[vol66]

 

[Orange931]

I know it’s a big deal for hiring a HC, but I hope we wrap this up fairly quick or kids are gonna continue to jump ship.

 

[Weezer]

I hope DW is not from the Doug Dickey school of thought. I remember Dickey saying that as long as we were winning in football, nothing else mattered. It would be a crime for DW to let one of the best college programs in the country sink back into mediocrity.

 

[TechnoVol]

 

[knoxvol52]

We're going lose some recruits whether it's Elander or not as next Head Coach..

 

[CAVPUT]

We're going lose some recruits whether it's Elander or not as next Head Coach..

Yep. It's begun. This is gonna be ugly.

 

[Herman Hickman]

Link Jarrett Affirms Commitment to FSU Baseball with New Contract Terms - Florida State University

TALLAHASSEE – Florida State Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford announced Thursday that FSU and Seminoles' head baseball coach Link Jarre...

seminoles.com

That contract is restructured, in large part due to the fact Florida State put way too much money into a gambler who is either extremely hot or extremely cold in consistency with results in football. Right now, they can't even beat a hollowed-out Stanford team in ACC competition.

When Tennessee baseball has run into Jarrett, I've been impressed with both his Notre Dame and Florida State teams. Always seems to have his teams ready to compete regardless of the odds or situation.

As for FSU athletics, they've spent money they don't have. Now it is biting them in basketball, baseball and many of their other sports.

FSU in a world of hurt.

After spending more than $483 million on two football facilities, FSU may spend another $70 million to make Norvell and his staff not coach in Tallahassee, then spend another $70 million for a new, elite-level coach and his staff to replace the mistake they made with Norvell.

That’s more than $625 million spent on football, or significantly more than what the university could’ve paid the ACC two summers ago to leave the conference if it had an invite to the Big Ten or SEC ― which it never did.

 

[Christian Lowe]

Yep. It's begun. This is gonna be ugly.

Kids committed to Vitello, not Tennessee. Can't blame them.

 

[vol66]

Kids committed to Vitello, not Tennessee. Can't blame them.

Reading, watching the same stuff we are…it’s the not knowing, but yer right, can’t blame them.

 

[WaywardVol]

I hope DW is not from the Doug Dickey school of thought. I remember Dickey saying that as long as we were winning in football, nothing else mattered. It would be a crime for DW to let one of the best college programs in the country sink back into mediocrity.

Regardless of my feelings in White personally, and I think he’s a massive douche, I think he wants to be great in all sports. 109 million into the stadium? He wants to win. His want to is just far different. If it keeps us at the top so be it. What’s done is done. We can only hope for the best now.

 

[StarRaider]

 

[Herman Hickman]

The minute you lose someone like this is the minute the vultures circle and take your talent off the field.

I believe White will quickly find a quality replacement for Vitello. As WaywardVol said above, there is too much money vested in that stadium and this program for him to leave it resting in interim purgatory.

 

[BowlBrother85]

I hope DW is not from the Doug Dickey school of thought. I remember Dickey saying that as long as we were winning in football, nothing else mattered. It would be a crime for DW to let one of the best college programs in the country sink back into mediocrity.

I don't think Dickey actually said that. Men's basketball was mostly a mess while he was AD .... but we made great strides in pretty much everything else.