On Monday, we learned that Tennessee offensive coordinator Tyson Helton was expected to accept the head coaching position at Western Kentucky, leaving the Vols in need of a new coach to lead its offense.
While there hasn’t been much concrete news to leak out thus far, here’s everything you may have missed yesterday regarding the Vols search for a new offensive coordinator.
- Tyson Helton was officially announced as the head coach at Western Kentucky.
- If Tennessee were to land Dan Enos from Alabama, quarterback Jalen Hurts could be a candidate to follow him to Knoxville as a graduate transfer, according to Michael Bratton, and would be eligible to play immediately in 2019. Enos could, however, be in play for the offensive coordinator position at Alabama should Mike Locksley leave for another job. Locksley has been mentioned as a serious candidate for the head coaching position at Maryland. Another interesting note on Enos, while his currently salary is only $200,000, that gets bumped to $250,000 in 2019 and then skyrockets to $850,000 in 2020, according to his current three-year contract.
- While many people believe that Pruitt may take his time in finding Tyson Helton‘s replacement, Brian Rice said on The Erik Ainge Show on Monday that he believes Tennessee could name a new offensive coordinator as early as Friday.
- Hugh Freeze is still a possibility, according to Chris Low, despite an earlier report from Bruce Feldman that Freeze “is not in the mix for the offensive coordinator job at Tennessee.” Low also mentioned Dan Enos and South Carolina’s Bryan McClendon as other potential candidates for the job.
- Former Vol quarterback Tee Martin was fired by USC on Tuesday.
- Tennessee offensive line coach Will Friend can be found on most coaching hot boards, but Jimmy Hyams said on Sports Talk on Tuesday that he does not expect Jeremy Pruitt to promote from within to replace Helton. Hyams also said he expects Pruitt to stay in his comfort zone and hire someone he knows or has ties to.
- Per John Brice late last night: “Continue to be told that Auburn’s Chip Lindsey is strongly in the mix for #Vols OC. Was told this a.m. Freeze remains “possible.” Top names I’ve heard throughout the day from multiple folks.” —An interesting note on Lindsey, he’s set to earn a $100,000 retention bonus if he’s employed at Auburn beyond Saturday. Dan Harrelson wrote earlier, “Chip is very interested in the Tennessee job, but wants to see what transpires at Auburn.”
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