Tag Archives: Guru

Tennessee Vols coaching candidate Lane Kiffin

As Tennessee embarks on its fourth coaching search in ten years, here’s a quick look at Vols coaching candidate Lane Kiffin. Really? Yes, really. (Well, kind of.)

Lane Kiffin coaching experience (42 years old)

He’s been a head coach for the Oakland Raiders and then — as we all know — in 2009 with the Tennessee Vols before bolting like a thief in the night to go to USC where he failed. He resurrected his career as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa, and he’s tearing it up in his first season as Florida Atlantic’s head coach. Prior to taking over at Oakland, he was an assistant (including offensive coordinator) at USC, and also coached at Fresno State, Colorado State and with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Son of legendary defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

GRT taxonomy of college football coaches: Great Coordinator; Guru (offense); The Proven Winner, Level Four – Mid-Major Champion

Why the Tennessee Vols might want Lane Kiffin

He’s family, and you always forgive family, right? Haha. In all seriousness, though, Kiffin is an offensive genius who is good with Xs and Os, knows how to develop quarterbacks and score points. He was an immature mess the first time around with the Vols, but if he plays by the rules [huge if] and has some kind of maturity exit clause in his contract, there would be much, much worse hires. Still, there would be a lot of people — A LOT — who’d find it difficult to forgive and forget. One thing to remember is John Currie helped bring him in, though.

Why the Tennessee Vols might not want Lane Kiffin

Honestly, when it comes to Tennessee, Kiffin carries more baggage than Petrino. He left UT saddled and scrambling to avoid NCAA sanctions. He ran his mouth, recruited players who didn’t have staying power, replaced UT traditions with pictures of USC players and did a lot of immature things. Has he grown up? Can he follow the rules? Is he worth the gamble?

Tennessee Vols coaching candidate Mike Leach

As Tennessee embarks on its fourth coaching search in ten years, here’s a quick look at Vols coaching candidate Mike Leach.

Mike Leach’s coaching experience (56 years old)

Leach has experienced successful tenures as the head coach at Texas Tech and Washington State, both programs he brought from the doldrums but each teams with ceilings. It’s just hard to win a championship at either place. He was a wildly successful offensive coordinator at Valdosta State, Kentucky and Oklahoma prior to his coaching tenure. He also coached at Iowa Wesleyan, College of the Desert and Cal Poly.

GRT taxonomy of college football coaches: Guru (offense)

Why the Tennessee Vols might want Mike Leach

The Vols would put up points in bunches, and everybody would love Leach’s bluntness and quirkiness on the podium as long as he was winning. It seems his name always comes up as one of the pie-in-the-sky candidates for UT’s coaching searches, but it always seems a stretch to bring him down. It would be fun to see how his offense plays in today’s SEC. It’s said that he doesn’t get along with the Wazzu administration, and his athletic director just left for Nebraska.

Why the Tennessee Vols might not want Mike Leach

Leach isn’t exactly known for his running game acumen or defense — two things many of the old-school UT fans believe are important elements of playing “SEC football.” Plus, it’s unclear whether he could draw recruits to Knoxville. Would he be too stubborn to outfit his staff with the type of recruiters you must have at UT? Also, the first time Tennessee lost a game 50-45, the grumbles would start. This just seems like it has more chances of being a disaster than being a rousing success.

Tennessee Vols coaching candidate Bobby Petrino

As Tennessee embarks on its fourth coaching search in ten years, here’s a quick look at Vols coaching candidate Bobby Petrino.

Bobby Petrino coaching experience (56 years old)

Petrino is 73-26 (as of November 13) as the head coach at Louisville in his second stint. He’s also been a head coach at Western Kentucky and Arkansas, where he was building the Hogs into an annual contender until a scandal derailed him. He was the coach of the Atlanta Falcons for a year, and he was an NFL assistant for several years. Petrino was also a college assistant at Carroll, Weber State, Idaho, Arizona State, Utah State, Louisville, and Auburn including numerous collegiate stints as offensive coordinator.

GRT taxonomy of college football coaching: The Proven Winner, Level Three – Major Conference Contender; Guru (offense and quarterbacks); Pro

Why the Tennessee Vols might want Bobby Petrino

This hasn’t been a particularly good year for Petrino, but he is one of the foremost offensive minds in all of college football. He’s a veteran who has proven he can coach and recruit in the SEC, develop quarterbacks — pro-style and dual-threat — and is a master at tailoring his offense to match the talent on his team. He has experienced success recruiting in Florida and has won in the SEC.

Why the Tennessee Vols might not want Bobby Petrino

The Vols could probably get Petrino, but how much would he cost and how loyal would he be? He’s a job-jumper who has been at a lot of places. Also, how much of that Louisville investigation stink does he have on him? Any? When it comes to baggage, few coaches bring as much as Petrino, who lied to the Falcons before taking the job at Arkansas, was involved in the secretive Auburn Tuberville-for-Petrino swap way back when and the infamous motorcycle wreck with a woman who wasn’t his wife that ultimately led to his ouster in Fayetteville.

Tennessee Vols coaching candidate Chip Kelly

As Tennessee embarks on its fourth coaching search in ten years, here’s a quick look at Vols coaching candidate Chip Kelly.

Chip Kelly coaching experience (53years old)

He built Oregon into a powerhouse as a head coach from 2009-2012 before moving on to be the head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. Prior to becoming Oregon’s head coach, he was offensive coordinator for the Ducks. Before that, he was a prolific coordinator at New Hampshire. He’s also been an assistant at Johns Hopkins, Columbia and Nevada.

GRT taxonomy of college football coaches: The Proven Winner, Level Two – Major Conference Champion; Guru (offense); Pro; On Hiatus.

Why the Tennessee Vols might want Chip Kelly

He has coached some loaded teams, recruited incredible players and developed quarterbacks like Marcus Mariota. He’s produced some of the most prolific offenses in college football history and left what looked like it could become a dynasty in Eugene before failing in the NFL. He has experience on all levels and isn’t currently coaching.

Why the Tennessee Vols might not want Chip Kelly

Tennessee probably wouldn’t have that many reservations, but how will his brash attitude fly in Knoxville? That’s really the only worry. But Kelly has never recruited in the SEC. He’s a West Coast and Northeast guy. It seems like he’d be an ideal pick for UCLA if he wanted to come back to college ball. But does he want to get another shot at the NFL? How long would he be in Knoxville if you got him to come? How much would he cost? Yes, there’s huge upside, but there are also questions.

Tennessee Vols coaching candidate Gary Patterson

As Tennessee embarks on its fourth coaching search in ten years, here’s a quick look at Vols coaching candidate Gary Patterson.

Gary Patterson’s coaching experience (57 years old)

Patteron has been TCU’s head coach since 2000, has a statue outside the stadium and currently has the Horned Frogs at 5-2. Prior to his time at TCU, he was the defensive coordinator at the school and was New Mexico’s before that. Also was an assistant at Kansas State, Tennessee Tech, UC Davis, Cal Lutheran, Pittsburgh State, Sonoma State, Utah State and Navy prior to that.

GRT taxonomy of college football coaches: The Proven Winner, Level Two – Major Conference Champion; Guru (defense)

Why the Tennessee Vols might want Gary Patterson

He’s one of the best standing coaches in all of college football and has proven his prowess building powerhouses on both sides of the ball and turning them into national contenders. He’s only making $5.1 million, and while that’s a good bit of money, the Vols could sweeten that pot. Patterson would be an instant-impact hire with ties to Texas, and he’d be a perfect fit.

Why the Tennessee Vols might not want Gary Patterson

Tennessee shouldn’t have any. But, much like the Mike Gundy situation in 2012, if Patterson was “interested” would it only be to get a raise? TCU has deep pockets and likely could match a price to keep him. Patterson is 57, so does he really want to start over somewhere else, especially at a place that snubbed him back in 2009 when Mike Hamilton reportedly told Patterson he believed he wasn’t ready for the big stage? Would he publicly turn the Vols down? Based on what happened in 2009, you’d probably want a sure sign of interest before you went that direction.

Tennessee Vols coaching candidate Dan Mullen

As Tennessee embarks on its fourth coaching search in ten years, here’s a quick look at Vols coaching candidate Dan Mullen.

Dan Mullen’s coaching experience (45 years old)

Assistant/GA at Wagner, Columbia, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Bowling Green and Utah from 1994-2004. Rode Urban Meyer’s coattails from Utah to Florida, where he found huge success as offensive coordinator with Tim Tebow, 2005-08. He’s been Mississippi State’s head coach since then.

GRT college football coach taxonomy: The Proven Winner, Level Three – Major Conference Contender; Guru (QBs; offense)

Why the Tennessee Vols might want Dan Mullen

There’s a familiarity there, and you also like the fact that he’s proven he can develop players and generate some big offensive numbers in the conference. Mullen is sharp-tongued, quick-witted and knows how to handle media and the fan base. He also has recruited and enjoyed success in Tennessee. The man knows the SEC, and he also knows how to play the recruiting game. He’s proven his ability to develop quarterbacks and build great offenses at a dead-end spot like Starkville. Tennessee is a huge step up, even though it’s in the same conference. Still, he makes a lot of money at MSU, and is this the kind of hire you want to make without knowing if his ceiling has championship potential?

Why the Tennessee Vols might not want Dan Mullen

Will the money be there? He’s already making over $5 million in Starkville. Also, he’s already in the SEC. Would he see Knoxville as an opportunity? He’s also never won big in Starkville, though he did have MSU to No. 1 briefly when Dak Prescott was the quarterback.