Sabanocchio
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Just for VolfanBill:
Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton is working on the biggest business decision of his career looking for a new head coach for the Vols.
If Hamilton makes the right pick, chances are he won't be faced with a more pivotal decision the rest of his career.
Should Hamilton's pick not work out, there's a chance he could end up having to begin his career as an athletic director at another school.
It shouldn't be that cut and dry - Hamilton has served UT as well as most any athletic director in the nation with his other coaching hires, the Vols' commitment and success in non-revenue sports, his ability to fundraise and upgrade facilities and the relationship he builds with his coaches.
But we're talking UT football, and there's a bottom line, even for guys with streets named after them and national championship trophies.
Winning means fans in the seats, and fans in the seats means money, and money means being able to build and upgrade premium facilities, and premium facilities means being able to recruit great players to keep winning.
So goes the cycle.
So it only makes sense that Hamilton would prefer as little interference as possible during the coaching search.
When it gets out that he has "lead'' candidates, such as Butch Davis, or more recently, Brian Kelly, it has the potential to gum up the process is a few ways.
For one, those coaches are currently leading other teams, and "distraction" is a dirty word in any team sport.
Just look at how Fulmer's firing has affected the Vols - just went you thought the team couldn't possibly play any worse on offense, Wyoming comes to town.
The second reason Hamilton wants things kept quiet is the matter of confidentiality.
Hamilton & Co. have done a wonderful job keeping the job interviews they have done private. That helps UT save face when a high-profile coach, such as a Bill Cowher, says "No.''
It also builds credibility in Hamilton, that he is powerful and effective enough to keep things mum in his office.
Thirdly, there's the matter of negotiations. Tricky business to be sure when you're dealing with mastermind negotiators like Jimmy Sexton, who has come up with some of the most creative and lucrative deals of our lifetime.
So it's understandable that Hamilton is in no hurry to confirm or deny UT's interest in any candidates.
The last candidate Hamilton wants written or talked about at this juncture in the process is the one he has the most interest in.
There's a very good chance he hasn't interviewed that candidate yet, be it Kelly, Davis or perhaps even Mike Leach.
But once their names get out, through various sources close to the program or close to the money people in the program, the candidate goes on trial with the fans.
The Google search engines start up: winning percentages and statistics are examined, various off-field issues are put under the microscope and fans weigh in on their preferences.
All of this makes one wonder why Hamilton would pull the trigger on Fulmer with three games left in Tennessee's season.
In hindsight, would it have been better to let the Big Guy finish out the season, thereby minimizing the distractions the UT players had to deal with while maximizing the recruiting commitments?
Hamilton is a sophisticated businessman, and that means there had to be a reason he fired Fulmer early.
It could be as simple as Hamilton wanting to ensure a big gate for the Vols' regular season finale with Kentucky.
It could be as innocent as one of the reasons that he gave, that he wanted the Vols' fans to be able to "honor" Fulmer.
Or the reason(s) could be incredibly complex, and we might never really know the whole story (See Johnny Majors' firing).
For now, Tennessee football is in a fog, with different sources saying different things on different days to different people.
And that's just the way Hamilton would prefer it stays.
It's hard to blame him. Hamilton knows better than anyone that - fair or not -- his job, ultimately, could be on the line with this hire.
GoVolsXtra - Ask Griff
Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton is working on the biggest business decision of his career looking for a new head coach for the Vols.
If Hamilton makes the right pick, chances are he won't be faced with a more pivotal decision the rest of his career.
Should Hamilton's pick not work out, there's a chance he could end up having to begin his career as an athletic director at another school.
It shouldn't be that cut and dry - Hamilton has served UT as well as most any athletic director in the nation with his other coaching hires, the Vols' commitment and success in non-revenue sports, his ability to fundraise and upgrade facilities and the relationship he builds with his coaches.
But we're talking UT football, and there's a bottom line, even for guys with streets named after them and national championship trophies.
Winning means fans in the seats, and fans in the seats means money, and money means being able to build and upgrade premium facilities, and premium facilities means being able to recruit great players to keep winning.
So goes the cycle.
So it only makes sense that Hamilton would prefer as little interference as possible during the coaching search.
When it gets out that he has "lead'' candidates, such as Butch Davis, or more recently, Brian Kelly, it has the potential to gum up the process is a few ways.
For one, those coaches are currently leading other teams, and "distraction" is a dirty word in any team sport.
Just look at how Fulmer's firing has affected the Vols - just went you thought the team couldn't possibly play any worse on offense, Wyoming comes to town.
The second reason Hamilton wants things kept quiet is the matter of confidentiality.
Hamilton & Co. have done a wonderful job keeping the job interviews they have done private. That helps UT save face when a high-profile coach, such as a Bill Cowher, says "No.''
It also builds credibility in Hamilton, that he is powerful and effective enough to keep things mum in his office.
Thirdly, there's the matter of negotiations. Tricky business to be sure when you're dealing with mastermind negotiators like Jimmy Sexton, who has come up with some of the most creative and lucrative deals of our lifetime.
So it's understandable that Hamilton is in no hurry to confirm or deny UT's interest in any candidates.
The last candidate Hamilton wants written or talked about at this juncture in the process is the one he has the most interest in.
There's a very good chance he hasn't interviewed that candidate yet, be it Kelly, Davis or perhaps even Mike Leach.
But once their names get out, through various sources close to the program or close to the money people in the program, the candidate goes on trial with the fans.
The Google search engines start up: winning percentages and statistics are examined, various off-field issues are put under the microscope and fans weigh in on their preferences.
All of this makes one wonder why Hamilton would pull the trigger on Fulmer with three games left in Tennessee's season.
In hindsight, would it have been better to let the Big Guy finish out the season, thereby minimizing the distractions the UT players had to deal with while maximizing the recruiting commitments?
Hamilton is a sophisticated businessman, and that means there had to be a reason he fired Fulmer early.
It could be as simple as Hamilton wanting to ensure a big gate for the Vols' regular season finale with Kentucky.
It could be as innocent as one of the reasons that he gave, that he wanted the Vols' fans to be able to "honor" Fulmer.
Or the reason(s) could be incredibly complex, and we might never really know the whole story (See Johnny Majors' firing).
For now, Tennessee football is in a fog, with different sources saying different things on different days to different people.
And that's just the way Hamilton would prefer it stays.
It's hard to blame him. Hamilton knows better than anyone that - fair or not -- his job, ultimately, could be on the line with this hire.
GoVolsXtra - Ask Griff
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