After Tennessee tried to hire Greg Schiano only to see that agreed upon deal fall apart after a backlash from fans and boosters, Tennessee is looking at a pair of their own to appease the fans and get the program back on track.
Tennessee needs a football coach. They thought they had their guy on Sunday and were prepared to introduce former Rutgers and Tampa Bay head coach Greg Schiano as the successor to Butch Jones who was fired earlier in November. That deal fell through after the Tennessee fans were vocally opposed to the hire on social media and boosters and Tennessee politicians joined in the protest amid third-party hearsay that Schiano was part covering up Jerry Sandusky’s crimes at Penn State. In any event, Schiano will not be Tennessee’s coach and the Vols need to find someone to fill the job.
It remains to be seen if athletic director John Currie will be a part of the group to target the next wave of targets or if he’ll be forced out after leading this national embarrassment. Nevertheless, according to multiple reports, Tennessee is a pair of their own to save the program in the wake of this giant mess that Currie created.
Football Scoop reports Tennessee could replace John Currie with former Tennessee head coach Philip Fulmer who would then hire his former offensive coordinator and current Duke head coach David Cutcliffe to be the head coach. Cutcliffe would then hire former Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin who won the 1998 National Championship for the Vols after succeeding Peyton Manning to serve as Cutcliffe’s offensive coordinator. Martin is currently the offensive coordinator at USC.
The other angle of this is Martin may just jump to the top of the line and be the Tennessee head coach, according to Sports Illustrated’s Bruce Feldman. Martin doesn’t have any head coaching experience, but that doesn’t seem to be a turn-off for Tennessee fans who want to get a coach who will represent the university with the character and values they need in the wake of this debacle.
Hearing that #USC OC Tee Martin, a #Vols legend who led UT to a national title, has a legit shot at the #Tennessee HC vacancy in the wake of yesterday’s mess.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 27, 2017
It also bears repeating that Jon Gruden, who many Tennessee fans wanted all along, is not a candidate for the job, and never was an option to take the job. The reality is the job may not be as glamorous as Vols fans want to believe, but the one thing that is clear is the fans will stand up and let their voice be heard if they don’t approve.
You can guarantee bringing back Martin to campus would certainly be a home run hire because he gave his all for Tennessee and would represent the program with the class need after the Butch Jones tenure. Now, would Martin want to leave USC to be the one responsible for saving his alma mater for his first coaching job? That may be a situation where he’s in a bit over his head considering his work as the play-caller for USC has come under fire by USC fans.
Next: Hot Seat Watch: Winners and losers from Rivalry Week
It’s certainly going to qualify as his dream job so if the job is offered, it would be difficult for him to turn down. Of the scenarios presented above, I think the most realistic of the two is the one with Martin taking the head coaching job, but the Fulmer-Cutcliffe-Martin triumvirate sounds like it’s asking for too much.
I’d just name Fulmer the interim head coach and AD and let him coach this season and get the team back on track and have him be a big part of the decision to name the Vols head coach for 2018. I just can’t imagine many attractive candidates without Tennessee connections wanting to set foot in this fire.