We NEED a coach that A)-is a very good recruiter. It is a MUST in the SEC going up against Florida, Georgia, Auburn, A&M, SC, and of course Saban. Gotta be able to go in and poach 4* recruits outta the big dawg's territories. And B)-we gotta have a coach that knows the ropes of winning, so he can change our culture right off the bat to a team with confidence and swagger. And C)-the last recipe for success is a coach that's gonna work their butt off and not stop until we are winners. That means that if a philosophy isn't working, then change something up til you get it right. Gotta work hard and not accept 8-4 as an accomplishment. We need a coach who reacts to an 8-4 yr as a failure. Mindset of a winner.
So having said A), B), and C).....i think Pruitt and Venables and Tucker fit various parts. The whole package of ABC? Maybe Pruitt with his fiery passion, and probly sum swagger. All 3 DCs have winning pedigrees. It is an indisputable fact, that IF we are gonna go the "hot coordinator route", then these 3 DCs are the best of the best. All 3 are in the Final 4. All 3 have been part of Championship teams and played integral coaching roles. It's always been a gamble with a 1st chance on a Coordinator. But these 3 are in the Top 8 of national DCs on ANY list. It's a 50/50 shot on Coordinators. Either they "got it"....or they are just excellent at their specified skill. Out of these 3.....off the start this morning, I said "Gimme Venables, hands down. That resume is too good to not take the chance if he's finally willing to leave Clemson. He's put in the work and earned the shot". But now....i step back and examined all 3 resumes, and compared.....and all 3 are really good at what they do. If Phil can actually determine thru in-person interviews which 1 has "got it", then we gotta trust it. I still like Venables. His resume and personal accomplishments thru his career are top-notch. But Pruitt and Tucker are right up there too. All 3 have earned a shot to be a Head Coach....they'll all 3 get offers from different schools. But which one is best for us? Which one is gonna be Proud To Be A Tennessee Vol? Which one has that vision of getting fired up in Neyland with the stadium rockin, screaming Rocky Top?! I'm gonna defer to Phil and these 2 rounds of in-person interviews. Phil loves Tennessee and is a true VFL, regardless if he had to sabatoge Currie and Mike Leach to get the chance, he only did what he felt was best for Volnation. The word is that it's leaning in Pruitt's favor.....and if so, then we'll be A-OK. It may take 2-3yrs to really get rolling to 10-win seasons again, but if we get the right guy, then we will be winners again. And if we get the right guy, we won't have another coaching search for 10-12yrs. We'll be the TCU's and Oklahoma St's where teams try to come with offers to OUR stud winning coach that's been winning at UT for a decade. All it takes is 1 right hire. We've missed 3 straight times, so I'm hopeful that Phil has a better perspective on the right guy to hire from a coach's perspective instead of a penny pinching AD perspective. I know everybody is disappointed having to go for a Coordinator.....but ALL coaches started as position coaches, then moved up to Coordinator, then got their chance to shine. And these 3 options are 3 OF THE BEST in the country. I'm hopeful. Hopefully Phil looks for A), B), and C) in these guys and gets us our man! Hopefully things get back looking up starting with a good announcement tomorrow. I feel good about these 3 when looking at their proven track records. Check the stats. Hard to argue against a chance for either of the 3. Go Vols! Get us our "Decade Man" Phil!
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