Helton Joining Baseball Staff

He and Dooley are easily the two most dispised I know of here taking coaching abilities aside.

 

I resemble that remark.

 

Not that I've heard. Heckuva Coach. Not sure though he could have a ton of success recruiting the southeast in a way that's comparable to the rest of the league.

 

I wish Monte hadn't gone to Clemson last year. Though he would likely go whenever that job came open.

Who's your shortlist?

 

No particular order....

Chris Burke
Brad Bohannon
Ash Lawson
Bradley Lecroy

 

Most likely, 1-4?

 

Ash Lawson.

 

Burke would be a fantastic hire.

 

Honest question, but why is everyone in love with Burke? Unless I'm missing something, he's never coached. Are we just assuming that he has the ability to effectively run a program and coach at a high level? Admittedly, I don't follow baseball as much as other sports, but on the surface hiring Burke would appear to be the most Tennessee thing ever.

 

Strong ties to pro game. Electric personality. Very well respected all across the nation. He also has some strong ties to the amateur side of the game as well. But most importantly he cares about UT and he knows the barriers you would face here. I advocated for him when they hired Serrano. Still rings true what I said then. Bring some strong assistants on board and he would excel here.

 

All that sounds great, but should an SEC baseball program be hiring a guy with zero coaching experience? That wouldn't fly in football or basketball, so why here? Is baseball that different from the other two sports in regards to coaching?

 

It's a completely different animal. You're not gonna get a head coach at a big power 5 school to come to UT. Their path to Omaha would be easier elsewhere. You're gonna have to think outside the box with a hire here to get to level we want to get to. The two things that are a must are having ties to the pro game and a foot in the door with amateur baseball in some capacity. Burke has both.

 

Fair enough. My knowledge of anything beyond the obvious when it comes to baseball is nonexistent.

 

Currently in 12th by a game in the SEC baseball standing after splitting a 2 game rained out series over the weekend.

And John Adams has taken aim - http://www.knoxnews.com/story/sport...no-should-next-curries-firing-line/101336328/

 

He's a dead man walking.

 

This is still the most surprising bust I've seen at UT

 

He's in the last year of his contract and he's been bad on the field and a complete [penis] off of it. Anyone with any sense knows he's heading to the unemployment line

 

Lucky for him, he works for Tennessee. I'm sure his inevitable contract extension and raise will show him how much we value him in Knoxville.

 

I'm sure we'll somehow screw up the termination and end up owing him at least a couple million.

 

Baseball RPI is 37. I mean, it's a long shot, but NCAA isn't out of reach with a strong close to season.

Am I expecting it? No.