Sounds like the process worked well.

[UtahVol]

Although Hamilton has kept his cards close to his vest, what little that has leaked out suggests that this hire was based on a pretty good process. The evidence indicates that the school contacted Lovie Smith and Jon Gruden as well as Tim Brewster and Brian Kelly. The first two were long shots and the last two were somewhat unknowns.

The fact that Tennessee went to the extent of contacting the Grudens of the world shows that the search was fairly thorough. This would further indicate that the man ultimately hired, Kiffin, was pretty closely vetted. I would suppose the search folks contacted both his college and pro peers to get a sense of his skills and weaknesses. The reviews must have come back pretty good for him to be given the reins to one of the top 15 overall programs in the country.

Whether we like it or not, we may simply have to accept that the timing of this coaching change was not ideal. The year Zook and Willingham were let go at FL and ND, there was no question that Urban Meyer was available and skilled enough to take over either program. Saban was ready to leave the NFL for Alabama. This year, there is neither the obvious NFL coach ready to return to the college game, nor is there a sure-fire Urban Meyer available. All of the candidates had flaws.

Thus, I am reluctant to criticize the process since I cannot envision anyone who was an obvious alternative choice who was overlooked.

 

[therealUT]

Although Hamilton has kept his cards close to his vest, what little that has leaked out suggests that this hire was based on a pretty good process. The evidence indicates that the school contacted Lovie Smith and Jon Gruden as well as Tim Brewster and Brian Kelly. The first two were long shots and the last two were somewhat unknowns.

The fact that Tennessee went to the extent of contacting the Grudens of the world shows that the search was fairly thorough. This would further indicate that the man ultimately hired, Kiffin, was pretty closely vetted. I would suppose the search folks contacted both his college and pro peers to get a sense of his skills and weaknesses. The reviews must have come back pretty good for him to be given the reins to one of the top 15 overall programs in the country.

Whether we like it or not, we may simply have to accept that the timing of this coaching change was not ideal. The year Zook and Willingham were let go at FL and ND, there was no question that Urban Meyer was available and skilled enough to take over either program. Saban was ready to leave the NFL for Alabama. This year, there is neither the obvious NFL coach ready to return to the college game, nor is there a sure-fire Urban Meyer available. All of the candidates had flaws.

Thus, I am reluctant to criticize the process since I cannot envision anyone who was an obvious alternative choice who was overlooked.

Great argument as long as you overlook the fact that Urban Meyer was not exactly available in December, 2004. I am neither a Leach nor Pinkel fan, however, the fact that neither of them were contacted by the UTAD, shows how shallow the search actually was.

 

[theutvolunteers]

I thought Leach was interviewed in Dallas? Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[bburger991]

Great argument as long as you overlook the fact that Urban Meyer was not exactly available in December, 2004. I am neither a Leach nor Pinkel fan, however, the fact that neither of them were contacted by the UTAD, shows how shallow the search actually was.

We interviewed Leach..

 

[UtahVol]

Meyer was available in 2004 in the sense that he was at a non-BCS school and looking for a change. He was contacted by Florida's agent (the same used by Tennessee in its search) and the process was started in December. By the time Willingham was let go, Meyer indicated he was "already too far along with Florida" to consider Notre Dame. So it is a mistake in my mind to assume that Leak and Pinkel were not contacted. More likely, they simply were not as interested or not as liked by TN as much as Kiffin.