Part 4 of 4
SUMMARY
It hit me the other day we were seeing something that was meant for two years ago. However, conditions werent right for the change at the time and the Gruden faction of the boosters used the next two years wisely to iron out every detail and get everyone on board. I believe the plan was there two years ago, but only had a slim chance of succeeding much like 2012. Fast forward to now and public support for a Gruden hire has never been higher and even the other coaching search candidates would be seen as lacking when he announces his staff. Mullen could never bring together a group of former Vols into the fold that would generate such interest in the fan base. Hence, why Gruden is and was the only option ever considered by that faction of boosters. They made sure everything was in order, all parties would be happy and pushed the entire package in front of Currie early in the process and politely asked him to go to work to make it happen.
Now, why is Josh Dobbs a major factor in all this? Its very simple. Nobody could foresee the impact that young man had on the leadership position he was thrust into during the 2013 season. He, in my honest opinion, single-handedly kept Jones in a job through the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He wasnt an extremely high ranked recruit, so nobody could have predicted the impact he would have on the field until after Freshman year. During the 2014 campaign, we started to see how big a factor he truly was in the offense, keeping drives alive through his pure talent and pulling the team forward with him. He really shined in 2015 and 2016 and delayed the inevitable firing of Jones in my opinion. Else, Jones would have been a three seasons and out coach at UT and we would have been searching for a new coach then.
And how does Bubba factor into this? Havent the first clue. He could be anyone from Currie himself to Gruden to a time traveling figure sent here to keep us from the brink. I personally think hes a deep insider with information that is only meant for the select few that shared it in riddles and cryptic messages. As to why? Who knows. Be thankful we have him.
These are my own meandering thoughts and I am only connecting the dots Ive seen myself. I have not talked to anyone specifically about this, but rather worked backwards from the (inevitable) outcome of Gruden being coach to the start of the process. Basically asked myself how would I do it and saw many facts supported the outcome.
