lawgator1
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Good thing Tennessee has plenty of money to dole out in this lousy economic climate.
The Vols have reached an agreement with strength coach Mark Smith and sent him packing after just six months on the job. They will pay him what he's owed in full for the next two years provided he doesn't land another job. If he does get another job, Tennessee would have to make up the difference.
In the meantime, the Vols have hired away North Texas' Aaron Ausmus (who by the way has an excellent reputation in strength and conditioning circles) and will also be paying him.
Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton justifies the move by saying Smith's contract will be mitigated. He was due to make $190,000 this year and $200,000 next year. Hamilton also points out that Ausmus will make "considerably less" than what Smith was being paid.
Tennessee officials have said little publicly about what led to Smith's departure. He was one of Lane Kiffin's first hires and received a $50,000 raise to come to Tennessee from South Carolina.
But several individuals close to the program said recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron was never fully on board with Smith, and that friction ultimately came to a head. There were other factors, too, but the Orgeron factor was the defining issue in Kiffin parting ways with Smith.
It's a reminder of how much juice Orgeron has with regard to pretty much every decision that's made within the Tennessee program right now.
There's a connection with Ausmus, too. He was Orgeron's strength coach at Ole Miss, and Ausmus also worked with Kiffin and Orgeron at Southern California. Ausmus was a track and field All-American at Tennessee.
Smith said Thursday that he preferred to move on and didn't want to get into a back-and-forth debate on what led to his departure.
"What's done is done," Smith said. "I think everybody kind of knows what's going on there. I just want to let it lie and move on. I don't think anything else needs to be said."
The Vols have reached an agreement with strength coach Mark Smith and sent him packing after just six months on the job. They will pay him what he's owed in full for the next two years provided he doesn't land another job. If he does get another job, Tennessee would have to make up the difference.
In the meantime, the Vols have hired away North Texas' Aaron Ausmus (who by the way has an excellent reputation in strength and conditioning circles) and will also be paying him.
Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton justifies the move by saying Smith's contract will be mitigated. He was due to make $190,000 this year and $200,000 next year. Hamilton also points out that Ausmus will make "considerably less" than what Smith was being paid.
Tennessee officials have said little publicly about what led to Smith's departure. He was one of Lane Kiffin's first hires and received a $50,000 raise to come to Tennessee from South Carolina.
But several individuals close to the program said recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron was never fully on board with Smith, and that friction ultimately came to a head. There were other factors, too, but the Orgeron factor was the defining issue in Kiffin parting ways with Smith.
It's a reminder of how much juice Orgeron has with regard to pretty much every decision that's made within the Tennessee program right now.
There's a connection with Ausmus, too. He was Orgeron's strength coach at Ole Miss, and Ausmus also worked with Kiffin and Orgeron at Southern California. Ausmus was a track and field All-American at Tennessee.
Smith said Thursday that he preferred to move on and didn't want to get into a back-and-forth debate on what led to his departure.
"What's done is done," Smith said. "I think everybody kind of knows what's going on there. I just want to let it lie and move on. I don't think anything else needs to be said."
