What are the options...

I would find Tony Basilio and beat him over the head.

 

Dance, 10 years ago. Now, I don't know

 

20 years removed from an sec championship feels pretty done to me as it is.

 

And I'd guess - although the possibility is very remote - that if Butch found a better job, he'd be gone in a heartbeat.

 

You're probably right. I think we are still relevant enough to hire a decent coach and get back to championship form, but it might just be wishful thinking.

 

Yes. If you didn't, you may already be too far behind those who did, and are allegedly still doing.

 

I think that this is exactly how Tennessee would fear that it could be seen by some, and how they'd handle it.

And that's also exactly why the program is in the pitifully inept shape that it now finds itself in.

 

I've never understood the "you can't fire the coach because it will make it harder to get a new coach" argument. every perceived assholish fire by a team has been followed up by someone decent taking the job,.

 

I would hope so.

 

Are we capable? Yes.

Are we willing? Not only no, but clearly not.

It is purely wishful thinking that they might make a quality hire - or even care to know what that is - because they haven't thus far, and won't. The last accomplished football coach that we hired was Majors - nearly 1/2 a century ago.

But, in our defense, when your search begins by eliminating any coach who won't agree to laugh at your stupid jokes and tell you how "big" of a guy you are while giving you a reach around and as you sniff his jock 5 nights a week...the list of "Great, Proven and Accomplished Coaches" becomes a blank sheet within the first 30 seconds. So, you just go straight and quickly to the ol' reliable list of "Unproven, Unaccomplished, Unknown, Maybe Up and Coming, Never Has Been, Never Will Be, and Who May Be Stupid Enough to Fall for This Silly Shit?", instead.

Source: History

 

I would argue the Kiffin hire, especially his staff, was a homerun hire full of accomplished, proven coaches.

Lane, former NFL HC and national title winning OC

Monte Kiffin, Super Bowl winner and well respected

Ed O, best recruiter around at the time and a guy who could coach anywhere

Frank Wilson, stud recruiter and damn good coach (he's now a HC and getting talked up as the next big thing)

Eddie Gran, great recruiter and RB coach who could go anywhere

Willie Mack Garza was considered a young up and comer but he's in NCAA hell now

Lance Thompson was a stud recruiter that could name his price at the time

James Cregg is now an NFL O line coach

Jim Chaney is a good QB coach

That's a 10 million dollar staff in 2009. That was swinging for the fences.

Now, because of that, Tennessee is scared of it.

 

$10mill staff with a box of Krispy Kremes buyout.

 

Unreal that him leaving didn't make UT pave streets with gold. How do you let a first year coach get bought out at UT without making a campus-changing amount of money?

 

Why would you do that when you can make it really expensive to get rid of failures

 

I forgot David Reaves from Kiffin's staff. He was Lane's brother in law at the time

 

Did I miss something? When did Kelly to UF become a lock or even a thing at all?

Edit: Ah, Tenny's thread.

 

He might as well just go ahead and start officially coaching there. He's already got game plans worked up for 2018.

 

I would put money on it.

 

Florida has a history of hiring big. Muschamp was actually a big deal when they landed him. Zoom and McElwain are the odd men out.

 

Foley has hired 4 football coaches. 2 were sexy and 2 were not.