GreatSmokyVol
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Freeze wants the UT job. He was a successful Memphis high school coach before beating Saban twice at Ole Miss. No better fit than him.
The only other coach I'd consider is Bob Stoops, & no way would we spend the money to get him, nor would he probably take the job. However, he's the only other cultural fit that UT should consider if we fire Pruitt.
The Tennessee Vols have a legitimate chance to land Hugh Freeze - A to Z Sports Nashville
It's clear that even a top coordinator at an SEC school isn't the formula for success. Witness Pruitt, Muschamp, even Smart. Ditto for a mid-major guy moving up. Jones & Dooley are examples of that.
Urban Meyer is going to Texas, if anywhere. We don't want him anyway, as he's not the cultural fit we need. Fickell at Cincy is the flavor of the month, but we already went that route with Jones.
If UT is going to hire a new head coach, it absolutely must be someone who has proven himself to be a winner as a head coach at a Power 5 school & is a cultural fit at UT. Here's a name that fits that description that would jump to get the job & would most likely be successful here if we're not gonna go get Freeze:
Neal Brown - Wikipedia
I have long contended that West Virginia is the proving ground for the type of coach UT should hire in both football & basketball. Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, Morgantown shares the same culture as Knoxville. Facilities here are far better & the SEC is a huge step up from a Big 12 school. WVa is paying Brown only $3 mil a year. We could easily get him for $4 mil & he would crawl to get here.
He's only in his 2nd year there, but he has that program on the rise. He won big games when he was at Troy. He played for Hal Mumme & Mike Leach at Kentucky. If you're looking for an up & coming head coach on the rise that has Power 5 head coaching experience, there's no one else that would be a better cultural fit.
He's very big on his Christian witness & active with FCA. Would fit in well & could do as well as what we have now. I like his OL coach at WV better than we one we have now for sure. He hasn't proven yet he could hire a staff that could compete in the SEC, but our current UT staff appears to be grossly overpaid.
Again, I'm advocating for Freeze, not Brown, but if Bob Stoops isn't someone we would go after or that would come if we did, Brown would be as good as Fickell, in my opinion, & just as good as whoever else the Haslams or Fulmer would pick.
That brings up another question. The Haslams want Fulmer out, which is why Fulmer will seek to keep Pruitt, as he Phillip may be out the door with Jeremy if Pruitt is fired. Dan Wolken in USA Today said this week that letting Fulmer pick the next coach would be a disaster.
I'm happy with Fulmer as AD, & the choices that the Haslams would make would be unpopular ones, as they want someone who owes their job just to them alone & doesn't have a widespread following among Vol Nation.
The only other coach I'd consider is Bob Stoops, & no way would we spend the money to get him, nor would he probably take the job. However, he's the only other cultural fit that UT should consider if we fire Pruitt.
The Tennessee Vols have a legitimate chance to land Hugh Freeze - A to Z Sports Nashville
It's clear that even a top coordinator at an SEC school isn't the formula for success. Witness Pruitt, Muschamp, even Smart. Ditto for a mid-major guy moving up. Jones & Dooley are examples of that.
Urban Meyer is going to Texas, if anywhere. We don't want him anyway, as he's not the cultural fit we need. Fickell at Cincy is the flavor of the month, but we already went that route with Jones.
If UT is going to hire a new head coach, it absolutely must be someone who has proven himself to be a winner as a head coach at a Power 5 school & is a cultural fit at UT. Here's a name that fits that description that would jump to get the job & would most likely be successful here if we're not gonna go get Freeze:
Neal Brown - Wikipedia
I have long contended that West Virginia is the proving ground for the type of coach UT should hire in both football & basketball. Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, Morgantown shares the same culture as Knoxville. Facilities here are far better & the SEC is a huge step up from a Big 12 school. WVa is paying Brown only $3 mil a year. We could easily get him for $4 mil & he would crawl to get here.
He's only in his 2nd year there, but he has that program on the rise. He won big games when he was at Troy. He played for Hal Mumme & Mike Leach at Kentucky. If you're looking for an up & coming head coach on the rise that has Power 5 head coaching experience, there's no one else that would be a better cultural fit.
He's very big on his Christian witness & active with FCA. Would fit in well & could do as well as what we have now. I like his OL coach at WV better than we one we have now for sure. He hasn't proven yet he could hire a staff that could compete in the SEC, but our current UT staff appears to be grossly overpaid.
Again, I'm advocating for Freeze, not Brown, but if Bob Stoops isn't someone we would go after or that would come if we did, Brown would be as good as Fickell, in my opinion, & just as good as whoever else the Haslams or Fulmer would pick.
That brings up another question. The Haslams want Fulmer out, which is why Fulmer will seek to keep Pruitt, as he Phillip may be out the door with Jeremy if Pruitt is fired. Dan Wolken in USA Today said this week that letting Fulmer pick the next coach would be a disaster.
I'm happy with Fulmer as AD, & the choices that the Haslams would make would be unpopular ones, as they want someone who owes their job just to them alone & doesn't have a widespread following among Vol Nation.
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