From a fan perspective, it does indeed feel good to look forward. There hasn’t been real doubt the Vols would have a new coach since the end of the Kentucky game three weeks ago, and I do think John Currie made the decision he felt was best for the program in waiting to fire Butch Jones. But there is freedom in both being able to look forward officially, and staying in the present with this team the last two weeks of the season. The Vols are heavy underdogs against LSU, but change at the top helps one be invested in not just player development but the actual outcome these last two weeks.

Here’s everything we’ve done in the first 48 hours of this search:

One way we’ve found interesting to take the temperature of the fanbase and power rank this search:  which of those 22 coaching profiles are generating the most traffic?

  1. Jon Gruden. Obviously. The white whale remains at large, and reports of him contacting former UT players to fill out his staff will do nothing to slow the frenzy. Gruden is the quickest way to get a percentage of the fanbase to pretend they really loved Randy Sanders all along. He’s an Assistant Coach Al Wilson short of an idiot optimist coaching staff.
  2. Scott Frost. Yeah baby. Check out the podcast above to hear Brad and I compete to see who loves Frost more. It’s clearly an opinion held by more than just us; as discussed in the advanced statistical analysis post, Frost has Central Florida fifth nationally in S&P+. This is far more than the mid-major flavor of the month, and Frost isn’t just the most popular name on our site beyond Gruden. He might legitimately be the first choice of Tennessee and a number of others, and I would argue he should be.
  3. Greg Schiano. Ohio State’s defensive coordinator went 3-20 the first two years at Rutgers, then 65-47 after that before heading to the NFL for two years. His name hasn’t been the first one or two out of anyone’s mouth in this search, but he’s a bigger name than many of those seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order and would check a lot of boxes between Rutgers and Ohio State. Would he be a good fit in Knoxville?
  4. Dan Mullen. If Gruden is the clubhouse leader in dreams and Frost among up-and-comers, it seems to me Mullen is an early leader if we ask who is most likely to actually be coming to the podium in a few weeks. We covered Mullen’s strengths in the advanced statistical analysis post; I’m a big fan of his and think he would be an excellent fit here.
  5. Gary Patterson. Don’t think anyone would be disappointed here. Patterson floated his involvement in Tennessee’s 2008 search last week. He’s been at TCU since 2000 with six Top 10 finishes since 2005, by far the most proven winner in college football on this list. If he did finally make a move from Fort Worth, I’m sure Tennessee fans would be thrilled to have him. If he truly is a realistic option, where would he rank on your list?

These are the names generating the most interest on our site. How do these and others stack up for you?

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Andrew Cooper
Andrew Cooper
6 years ago

Frost and Patterson would be my two favorites and I might actually lean towards Frost, assuming he isn’t looking to jump to the NFL down the road. It’d be nice to have someone for the long term. The problem with both my favorites is that neither one is going to be available before the December signing period. That’s the cost of having teams that are playing meaningful snaps in December.

Joel Hollingsworth
Admin
Joel Hollingsworth
6 years ago
Reply to  Andrew Cooper

I’d push hard for Frost regardless of any concern about the NFL. That should be something you could get some leverage out of during the negotiations. Offer a buyout on our end and one on his end, meaning he’d have to pay to leave early, too, and make it a good one. When his agent objects, trade some of that for some annual compensation or the buyout on our end.

Even if he does leave for the NFL at some point, I’d take that right now rather than having coaches leave the way they’ve been leaving. 🙂

Evan
Evan
6 years ago

What’s better in December than a little Frost?
Don’t hire scared! 🙂

Brenna Russell
Brenna Russell
6 years ago

Frost is my favorite, for what it’s worth, with Mullen a close second. Wouldn’t sneeze at Patterson, but I’m not hot on Gruden.

Gavin Driskill
Gavin Driskill
6 years ago

In this age of #content, it’s hard to tell what information is coming from which source, but…

247 reporting this afternoon that FootballScoop.com says there’s no smoke, much less any fire to Gruden and that we should all move on. Take that for what it’s worth during this silly season.

Joel Hollingsworth
Admin
Joel Hollingsworth
6 years ago
Reply to  Gavin Driskill

The first part of that could actually be true without the second part being true at all. I hope they’re not just crossing people off the list when they say no the first time, you know?

Isaac Bishop
Isaac Bishop
6 years ago

Frost might be a better possibility now. It looks like Chip Kelly to Florida is getting more plausible with the SEC clearing him to coach. Nebraska would be the team to worry about since it’s Frost alma mater.

Drew
Drew
6 years ago
Reply to  Isaac Bishop

My assumption has been that Frost would go to either Nebraska or Florida, with Tennessee third on that list.

Drew
Drew
6 years ago

Of these, I think that the only real possibility on this list is Greg Schiano. Scott Frost seems likely to go to Florida (easier job), or Nebraska (alma mater) than Tennessee. I’m not sure how much we’d have to pay Mullen to get him to leave Mississippi St., but I’m not sure anyone has the stomach to throw tons of money at someone who has been consistently good, but never great. And if you read that article on Gary Patterson, when they ask if he wishes he’d gotten the Tennessee job, he says “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers.”… Read more »

Evan
Evan
6 years ago
Reply to  Will Shelton

eh, I’m still Mullen’ it over….
(couldn’t resist)

Joel Hollingsworth
Admin
Joel Hollingsworth
6 years ago
Reply to  Evan

You know what we need? We need a Boo button.

🙂

Evan
Evan
6 years ago

Interesting analysis from the folks over at Florida’s SEC Nation podcast (boo florida).
https://www.seccountry.com/florida/florida-podcast-chip-kelly-scott-frost
Short version: UF fans want either Chip Kelly or Scott Frost. They prefer Kelly because he’s the Meyer and Frost is the Mullen. He’s the proven commodity, Frost is the newcomer.

I think this is silliness, since there’s more to all this than Jedi/Padawan. So many more variables. But I would be perfectly happy with Kelly going to UF and UT getting Frost. 🙂

daetilus
daetilus
6 years ago

I’m a bit torn between Gruden and Frost. I really think Gruden could do it pretty easily, especially with a good recruiting staff around him. They set em up, and Gruden finishes em off flashing that Super Bowl ring. I don’t think he’d have the issues that some think he’d have. That said, I’d really happy with Frost too. He has such a high upside, and looks to be more legit than some of the recent mid-major flash in the pans. Patterson would be cool, but as others have said, I think he’s fully against UT and seems to pouring… Read more »