UTC's David Blackburn says no official contact with UT on job

[landscapingvol]

Now I will admit, we have improved lately with Shoop and Barnes but Jones is still the 8-9 highest paid coach in the SEC. We can't honestly expect exceptionally results with a coach making slightly more than the coach at Kentucky. Paying Butch Jones 5-6 million isn't going to make him a great coach it is just an example of where we are as a program.

 

[BigZiti09]

LWS 2 questions if you have the info, 1 is it true that after Kiffin left I believe, that Chris Peterson had called himself and wanted to interview and was told no by Hamilton that we didn't want a mid major coach? 2 was the supposed riff between Anderson And Blackburn because Blackburn had a coach in mind that he wanted and he roasted Anderson for wanting Dooley.

I've heard a similar story with different details.

Hammy supposedly told that to TCU coach Gary Patterson in 2008 when he interviewed for the job after Fulmer was fired.

 

[B EaZy40]

This thread is refreshing. Thanks for all the info. However, its been 5 minutes and I need more

 

[Vercingetorix]

He had at least won a few games with LSU as the head coach but that will probably be a terrible hire in the long run. I won't make excuses for their stupidity.

LSU couldn't get either of the guys they wanted so they had to hire their interim coach. USC hired their interim coach. Georgia hired a coordinator with no head coaching experience. Texas has made two recent hires; first they went with a guy from the AAC, and then when he flopped, they hired another guy from the AAC, this time one who just finished 4th in his division. Florida's two recent hires have been a coordinator and then a guy from the Mountain West.

Those might be the top five jobs in the whole country and not one of them's been able to make a slam dunk hire. This idea that all it takes is a willingness to throw money around is a fantasy.

 

[butchna]

LSU couldn't get either of the guys they wanted so they had to hire their interim coach. USC hired their interim coach. Georgia hired a coordinator with no head coaching experience. Texas has made two recent hires; first they went with a guy from the AAC, and then when he flopped, they hired another guy from the AAC, this time one who just finished 4th in his division. Florida's two recent hires have been a coordinator and then a guy from the Mountain West.

Those might be the top five jobs in the whole country and not one of them's been able to make a slam dunk hire. This idea that all it takes is a willingness to throw money around is a fantasy.

Very well said!

 

[ptcarter]

Our issues is, no "big time" coach wants to be here. Who are we really going to replace Butch with? I mean outside Dan Mullen, I'm not sure what upgrade we can get. Les Miles? He'd worry me. Lane Kiffin :crazy: Jim Bob :loco: Chip Kelly

All I know is, if Butch's has a good 2017 season and bolts/we feel it isn't a long-term fit, I'd throw the house at Dan Mullen. He'd be a "big time" hire IMO, and probably about as good as hire as we can make. Ultimately, I just wish Butch would hire a great OC, let Shoop bring in his guys, and then let his coordinators run the show. That's in everyone's best interest IMO, and its also a fairy tale most likely.

THIS^^
I can't think of a coach that is somewhat available now that I'd throw the bank at.

Look at how many jobs Charlie Weiss bounced around before he was found out. Texas took an expensive gamble on Charlie Strong.

Bottom line: Top tier coaches are rare. Some are a flash in the pan too. The fact that LSU settled (yes.. settled) for Ed Orgeron is indicative of the coaching talent (or lack thereof) available. Yes, CBJ didn't finish good this year. I'm not happy with Vandy and SC game, but you just can't knee jerk now, or you may end up with another Dooley.

 

[05_never_again]

THIS^^
I can't think of a coach that is somewhat available now that I'd throw the bank at.

Look at how many jobs Charlie Weiss bounced around before he was found out. Texas took an expensive gamble on Charlie Strong.

Bottom line: Top tier coaches are rare. Some are a flash in the pan too. The fact that LSU settled (yes.. settled) for Ed Orgeron is indicative of the coaching talent (or lack thereof) available. Yes, CBJ didn't finish good this year. I'm not happy with Vandy and SC game, but you just can't knee jerk now, or you may end up with another Dooley.

You hit on it right there. If there is a fanbase that should be upset with their school "settling" for a coach, it is LSU. Not Tennessee. LSU could have gotten Jimbo or Herman and it is purely about money (reportedly) as to why neither one of them are in Baton Rouge right now. They just didn't want to pay them. The reason Charlie Strong, Muschamp, Sumlin, et al weren't hired is because they didn't really want the job given the situation we were in at the time. And it's not like those 3 guys have exactly set the world on fire since they turned Tennessee down anyway.

 

[LWSVOL]

So I'm assuming Beverly Davenport got approved by BOT today?

yes.

next move coming up next week

 

[Vercingetorix]

You hit on it right there. If there is a fanbase that should be upset with their school "settling" for a coach, it is LSU. Not Tennessee. LSU could have gotten Jimbo or Herman and it is purely about money (reportedly) as to why neither one of them are in Baton Rouge right now. They just didn't want to pay them. The reason Charlie Strong, Muschamp, Sumlin, et al weren't hired is because they didn't really want the job given the situation we were in at the time. And it's not like those 3 guys have exactly set the world on fire since they turned Tennessee down anyway.

Apparently LSU fans have bought into the "we're too cheap!" fantasy just like everybody else.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

LSU couldn't get either of the guys they wanted so they had to hire their interim coach. USC hired their interim coach. Georgia hired a coordinator with no head coaching experience. Texas has made two recent hires; first they went with a guy from the AAC, and then when he flopped, they hired another guy from the AAC, this time one who just finished 4th in his division. Florida's two recent hires have been a coordinator and then a guy from the Mountain West.

Those might be the top five jobs in the whole country and not one of them's been able to make a slam dunk hire. This idea that all it takes is a willingness to throw money around is a fantasy.

And LSU did the smart thing by doing that. Instead of making a panic hire when they didn't get who they wanted, they decided to "punt" and play defense and see how things shake out. If Orgeron craps the bed in 2017, LSU can go hunting again. That's what we should've done after Kiffin left. We should've let Kippy be the interim coach for the 2010 season and that would've given us time to do a proper coach search. Instead we good Derek Doofus and set our program back even further.

 

[Hubbard]

And LSU did the smart thing by doing that. Instead of making a panic hire when they didn't get who they wanted, they decided to "punt" and play defense and see how things shake out. If Orgeron craps the bed in 2017, LSU can go hunting again. That's what we should've done after Kiffin left. We should've let Kippy be the interim coach for the 2010 season and that would've given us time to do a proper coach search. Instead we good Derek Doofus and set our program back even further.

Are you just now figuring out that Dooley was a bad hire or do you just like to woller in it?

 

[05_never_again]

Apparently LSU fans have bought into the "we're too cheap!" fantasy just like everybody else.

Well, it's more reality-based at LSU than it is at Tennessee, isn't it? Jimbo wanted $6.5M per and LSU just told him no. They are paying huge money to their OC and DC though, so I agree, they can't really be accused of being penny-pinchers either.

As far as I can remember, the "bigger name" coaches we approached in all coaching searches just all said no - it wasn't like it got to a money discussion and then they turned us down.

 

[BJWeeks]

yes.

next move coming up next week

Good things about to start happening. You may have already Answered this but Why did Blackburn not get job 1st time instead of Hart?

 

[Vercingetorix]

Well, it's more reality-based at LSU than it is at Tennessee, isn't it? Jimbo wanted $6.5M per and LSU just told him no. They are paying huge money to their OC and DC though, so I agree, they can't really be accused of being penny-pinchers either.

As far as I can remember, the "bigger name" coaches we approached in all coaching searches just all said no - it wasn't like it got to a money discussion and then they turned us down.

It wasn't the $6.5 million per. It was the the ten freaking years on the contract he asked for, presumably with an obscene buyout to match. Fisher wouldn't have made a ridiculous demand like that if he had any serious interest in the LSU job.

It's very, very difficult to get a top coach to leave a good situation where he's already comfortable and successful. I think fans everywhere wildly overestimate how important money is in these coaching moves.

 

[05_never_again]

It wasn't the $6.5 million per. It was the the ten freaking years on the contract he asked for, presumably with an obscene buyout to match. Fisher wouldn't have made a ridiculous demand like that if he had any serious interest in the LSU job.

It's very, very difficult to get a top coach to leave a good situation where he's already comfortable and successful. I think fans everywhere wildly overestimate how important money is in these coaching moves.

Agreed

It matters when you're trying to get a guy like Tom Herman to move from Houston to Texas. Don't really think it matters when you are trying to get a guy to move from Big School A to Big School B.

 

[UT4LIFE86]

Guy in recruiting forum said Brice just said its Blackburn for ad...timing thing now...think 31vfl maybe..

 

[volfan102455]

Good things about to start happening. You may have already Answered this but Why did Blackburn not get job 1st time instead of Hart?

Good things = what you think should occur.

Regardless of who it is, the first time that person doesn't hire / fire who you think should have been hired / fired - you all will be on here saying "fire the AD", "AD doesn't know what they are doing" .... etc.

 

[volfan102455]

Now I will admit, we have improved lately with Shoop and Barnes but Jones is still the 8-9 highest paid coach in the SEC. We can't honestly expect exceptionally results with a coach making slightly more than the coach at Kentucky. Paying Butch Jones 5-6 million isn't going to make him a great coach it is just an example of where we are as a program.

Please explain to me how Shoop can be classified as an improvement at this point. He has been a big disappointment based on how the defense performed this year.

You all want to hold all other coaches accountable but for some reason don't want to hold Shoop accountable. He has to prove next year (or in this upcoming bowl game) that what happened the last part of this year was a fluke.

 

[FiremedicVOL127]

I know for a fact that after Dooley was fired, Jones was the main target.

That is not completely accurate, Jones was the main target after we were rejected by others. I'm not goin to go back thru and name them and the time line but it was documented well and reported even better by those tryin to trash our search.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

That is not completely accurate, Jones was the main target after we were rejected by others. I'm not goin to go back thru and name them and the time line but it was documented well and reported even better by those tryin to trash our search.

Gruden, Strong, Gundy. Pretty sure Jones was at least 4th on the list.

 

[Poppa T]

Good things about to start happening. You may have already Answered this but Why did Blackburn not get job 1st time instead of Hart?

Lack of AD experience. Ever since Hamilton got the job, Blackburn has been making all the right moves to gain the experience needed to get the UTAD position when it became open.

 

[landscapingvol]

Please explain to me how Shoop can be classified as an improvement at this point. He has been a big disappointment based on how the defense performed this year.

You all want to hold all other coaches accountable but for some reason don't want to hold Shoop accountable. He has to prove next year (or in this upcoming bowl game) that what happened the last part of this year was a fluke.

Improvement in pay, not performance. We are becoming more competitive in pay.

 

[landscapingvol]

LSU couldn't get either of the guys they wanted so they had to hire their interim coach. USC hired their interim coach. Georgia hired a coordinator with no head coaching experience. Texas has made two recent hires; first they went with a guy from the AAC, and then when he flopped, they hired another guy from the AAC, this time one who just finished 4th in his division. Florida's two recent hires have been a coordinator and then a guy from the Mountain West.

Those might be the top five jobs in the whole country and not one of them's been able to make a slam dunk hire. This idea that all it takes is a willingness to throw money around is a fantasy.

Georgia hired an ex player whom they were infatuated with for some odd reason, he was always their number one choice from the beginning but was probably the biggest name coordinator in the NCAA. Texas hired Strong who at the time had come off of a BCS birth at Louisville which was pretty impressive even if he did fail at Texas but replaced him with quite possibly the most sought after coach not named Saban or Meyer. Mcelwain had resurrected a terrible Colorado State team before coming to UF. Pat Haden is an idiot but it has paid off for USC however Kiffin and Sarkisian did not. Muschamp must give one heck of an interview but give UF credit he was a very sought after coordinator and was the coach in waiting at Texas. When is the last time UT hired a coach anywhere near that caliber outside of Johnny Majors? Kiffin had been a sole OC for a grand total of one year at USC and a horrendous head coach for a kook. Dooley had a resume some high school coaches could best while Jones had some success he also followed winning coaches. No, money is not a fantasy if it were we wouldn't get crapped on nearly every coaching search for just about every major sport at UT.

 

[Orange&White]

Anyways, do we have a timeframe on when we expect Blackburn to be announced?

 

[Vercingetorix]

Georgia hired an ex player whom they were infatuated with for some odd reason, he was always their number one choice from the beginning but was probably the biggest name coordinator in the NCAA. Texas hired Strong who at the time had come off of a BCS birth at Louisville which was pretty impressive even if he did fail at Texas but replaced him with quite possibly the most sought after coach not named Saban or Meyer. Mcelwain had resurrected a terrible Colorado State team before coming to UF. Pat Haden is an idiot but it has paid off for USC however Kiffin and Sarkisian did not. Muschamp must give one heck of an interview but give UF credit he was a very sought after coordinator and was the coach in waiting at Texas.

The point is that if the "wave enough money around and you can hire a slam dunk coach" theory is true, then surely one of those five programs could have done it. Even at the best jobs in the country when money is not an issue, it's hard to go in and take somebody else's championship-level coach. No matter who you are, most of the time you're either going to end up with a hotshot coordinator who's never been a head coach before or a guy from the minor leagues. And then when it doesn't work out -- as it probably won't, because most coaching hires at this level are failures -- then the guys up in the cheap seats yell at you because you settled for a risky hire. When almost everyone has to settle for a risky hire.

No, money is not a fantasy if it were we wouldn't get crapped on nearly every coaching search for just about every major sport at UT.

Florida has one of the top jobs in the country, all the money in the world, and a guy universally regarded as one of the best ADs in the business. And three out of their last four football hires have made the Gator fans I know want to throw up.

I am not arguing that we've done a decent job at hiring. I am arguing that A) almost everyone else sucks at it too, and therefore B) our alleged cheapness is probably not the problem.

If we hired Butch Jones because we're cheap then we sure as hell wouldn't have turned around and paid him almost $4 million a year.