Sources: Jon Gruden out of UT picture | timesfreepress.com States that Gruden was confident he was going to coach here. They are doubling and tripling down that this is the fault of the UT AD for the deal falling through. So. ****ing. pissed.
I don't get this article from Hargis. He spent all day on radio shows backing his story and saying that Hyams story was crap, then all a day later he writes an article that just reiterates the Hyams story from yesterday!? Holy bloody hell.
To be positive, he's just echoing what all of the other news outlets are saying. Says courtship apparently ended quickly. He might have even been ordered to put this story out.
It seems like they added the part about him shopping around for coaches and, the kicker, expecting to be the coach. That means, to me, the lines about unreasonable demands are horseshit. Plus, it's a direct refutation of the crap they are getting from the Knoxville market over the details.
Article really makes UT look bad. Could have had him, he wanted to be here, but we weren't willing to pay enough for his assistants....hard to believe we'd let assistant salaries be a deal-breaker for something as big as Jon Gruden.
The way it's written, it feels like the option is still on the table for Gruden to be the coach here. Tennessee just needs find the money for assistants and put together a new offer. So what is Tennessee to do now? Let the public believe that Gruden wanted this job and UT was too cheap to make it happen? Maybe this was just a shrewd move from the Gruden camp to expedite the process and secure a bigger package for the coaching staff.
Hart better get this shit right....otherwise an AMF letter will be coming to his door......Adios Mother****er
What a dumpster fire. This is so freaking ridiculous. It really seems this has been booster-led...is Jimmy Haslam really that turned off by the assistant salaries? I can't imagine that. Once again, the full story just ins't clear.
I can't imagine one of the Haslams getting that hung up over something like that. Would be like me getting pissed because Taco Bell raised the price of their burritos by ten cents.
Or hell, forget the Haslam's .... Ergen has five times more money....the willingness to spend it on UT may or may not be the same, but it was suggested he was involved.
How could it be that, after two months of discussions, assistant salaries is suddenly a problem? Would it not seem that, after establishing Gruden's interest in the position, Tennessee would want to know what the ballpark financial requirements would be for Gruden and his coaching staff? I mean, this is shit that you'd think would have been discussed back in October. How are there surprises and dramatic swings on money now?
Exactly. I don't see any way this is a money issue unless Gruden is asking for something like $10mm for assistants, which isn't likely.
Seriously, is there anything a common fan can do to try and sway Hart on this? Perhaps a million fan march on the AD?
Tennessee football is now 3rd tier in the SEC and it appears it will stay that way for a while! Our big games will now be against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, the rest will be gimme losses with an upset of Missouri or a Mississippi school every now and then!!
