List of Coaches that Rejected Us

#51
#51
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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LittleVol, Hoof Harted, volman128 and 4 others
#53
#53
DiderotsGhost said:
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.
Click to expand...
If true only Fickell was a debateable "good hire"
the rest are either douches or risky hires as well
 
  • Like
Reactions: GrayWaterCanine, RobertPellitt and Border Vol
#56
#56
DiderotsGhost said:
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.
Click to expand...

I think the only one that was actually offered was Franklin. I am guessing the others were more to gauge interest if things fell through with Franklin.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Woodlawn VOL and DiderotsGhost
#57
#57
VFL-82-JP said:
I actually think Chris Low is dead-on accurate. I think Danny White used him to get the word out on who he went after, without publicly acknowledging that our new head coach wasn't always his top choice.

Because publicly, that's what you gotta say if you're the AD, right? This guy, this one who is now our head coach, he's precisely the coach we need and exactly who we wanted. You have to support your new coach publicly.

But at the same time, Danny White is aware the fan base and public know better. They know, and they're loudly wondering who he went after first, who turned down the job. Danny's own self-interest forces him to find a way to prove that he wanted more, that he shot higher.

So he leaks the list to a trusted reporter who has always been fair to the SEC programs, including and possibly most especially Tennessee. Chris Low.

And voila, this list appears.

I think it's probably dead-on accurate, and right from the horse's mouth.

And incidentally, for the folks giving @Stoerner Fumbles grief, this Chris Low list vindicates his source. Looks like everything he described did actually happen. Those giving Stoerner grief owe him an apology, it seems.

Go Vols!
Click to expand...

Why would DW leak a list of candidates who rejected us? It's the same logic as admitting to severe NCAA infractions during a press conference. It does not put him nor the university in a good light by admitting that no one wanted the job whether it is true or not
 
#58
#58
I am not believing for one second the James Franklin news. There is no way he was legitimately pursued. This goes against literally everything stated in the press conferences by the Chancellor, President and new AD. Good/Great coach or not, Franklin would have been a disastrous hire in the wake of an 'AA investigation in terms of getting someone who is ethical or moral. We all know what surrounds Franklin, whether true or false or fair or not fair...but certainly always gets mentioned....NOT GOOD
 
  • Like
Reactions: coach799 and ArdentVol
#60
#60
Border Vol said:
You can't force top shelf head coaches to walk into a sh*tstorm like the one currently surrounding the Tennessee football program and backing up a truck full of $$$$$ isn't going to work this time.
Click to expand...
nah. they tried to cheap out on James Franklin. He was listening and was attainable. Our stud AD negotiated and whiffed
 
#63
#63
landscapingvol said:
Why would DW leak a list of candidates who rejected us? It's the same logic as admitting to severe NCAA infractions during a press conference. It does not put him nor the university in a good light by admitting that no one wanted the job whether it is true or not
Click to expand...
Right. It doesn't help the University. So Danny doesn't do it. Officially, anyway. He never said it. Wink-wink.

But Danny White has to look out for Danny White, too, and he needs to reassure the fan base that he's not unqualified for his own job. The fan base, the entire public, knows that he should have started higher than Heupel.

So, quandry. How to not admit something while letting that something be known?

Chris Low.
 
#64
#64
DiderotsGhost said:
Franklin just hired Yurcich as OC to replace the previous underperforming OC. Think Penn State will be better next year.
Click to expand...
It starts with a decent quarterback - you can't run JG type qb's out there and expect success in any conference - ( sorry Wa. State ).
What you get with Freeze, Kiffen, and hopefully Heupel is a head coach, that has successfully called plays, and understands the offensive side of the ball in and out. So he called plays when he played qb at Oklahoma, called plays for Missouri as OC, also involved in calling plays as a head coach.
Conceptually it could work - you hope you are bringing on the next Freeze/Kiffin - he doesn't look like he could recruit with those two, but perhaps people on his staff can bridge that gap.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Border Vol
#65
#65
I like Chris Low but I bet he has no more clue of who White talked to and who turned us down than I do. If you look at Heupels UCF record he has done a damn good job. Last year he had 8 Offensive players and 3 defensive players who were starters opt out due to Covid. He beat teams we couldn't have beaten. If you like offense this is a good hire. Go Vols.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fatman Photos, Big Al Orange, Rickyvol77 and 2 others
#66
#66
DiderotsGhost said:
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.
Click to expand...
Probably offered them 2 million a year. Also, when is everyone going to learn that Chris low is a puppet for the university.
 
#69
#69
chad954ut said:
Probably offered them 2 million a year. Also, when is everyone going to learn that Chris low is a puppet for the university.
Click to expand...
I think "puppet" is the wrong word. And not just for Tennessee.

More accurate to say that Chris Low is a trusted journalist among the SEC. He has a track record of keeping a secret for a while if a coach or AD asks him to sit on something for a day or three, and for not throwing the people he writes about under a bus.

In short, coaches and ADs trust him. To be fair and to hold confidences. That doesn't make him a puppet, by any means.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DiderotsGhost
#70
#70
JoAllan said:
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.
Click to expand...

Agree that they should've looked at Chadwell. The NCAA stuff several years back isn't really an issue.

But tough to fault White for having more comfort with Heupel, who he knows from UCF. I feel like that's why the deal happened. Heupel probably wouldn't have come here if not for White.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 67Vol, SpookyAction, JoAllan and 2 others
#71
#71
landscapingvol said:
Why would DW leak a list of candidates who rejected us? It's the same logic as admitting to severe NCAA infractions during a press conference. It does not put him nor the university in a good light by admitting that no one wanted the job whether it is true or not
Click to expand...

They didn't. This is Low speculating based on little to no information to show he still has journalistic skills.
 
#73
#73
DiderotsGhost said:
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.
Click to expand...
Did Franklin really count as a rejection considering he would have taken it if we ponied up the money. Boosters screwed that one up. Also didn't know we formally offered Dykes the job just that we interviewed him.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Border Vol
#74
#74
DiderotsGhost said:
Agree that they should've looked at Chadwell. The NCAA stuff several years back isn't really an issue.

But tough to fault White for having more comfort with Heupel, who he knows from UCF. I feel like that's why the deal happened. Heupel probably wouldn't have come here if not for White.
Click to expand...

I can’t fault White really. I want to.......as he was supposed to be this “rock star”.....however I understand the situation. I don’t know everything.....but I understand it.

I could be wrong.......however I take it, that Heupel was his fall back coach. Looks like White tried to swing for the fences, then tried a couple others then went with the guy he already knew, already vetted, and thought could do the job.

I just personally wanted Chadwell or Elliot (after it was clear top guys and baggage guys were not a possibility).

White knows what he is doing......I don’t have a clue......so that should give us all “some” hope.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.
Advertisement



Back
Top