Tennessee is closing in on Purdue’s Jeff Brohm to be its next head football coach.
After what seems like an eternity, it seems as if the Tennessee Volunteers have found their guy. Following the Greg Schiano debacle and Mike Gundy staying put at Oklahoma State, Purdue’s Jeff Brohm looks to be the guy for Tennessee after an interview earlier in the week. Tennessee interviewed SMU’s Chad Morris, but ultimately decided to pursue Brohm according to a report from Jimmy Hyams.
While the Vols’ coaching search has seemed to drag on, Brohm’s career at Purdue has been short-lived. Brohm has yet to complete his first season after leaving Western Kentucky. Purdue is set to play in a bowl game, which represents a big turnaround in short order for a team that struggled to even win two-three games under the previous regime.
Even though a one-year stay may seem a bit short, few expected Brohm to remain in West Lafayette for the long=term. Brohm was a hot commodity last season on the coaching market and although he may not have landed a massive power-five job, Purdue is still a big name that would launch him into his next job, which appears to be his for the taking at Tennessee.
However, it remains to be seen if Brohm is interested in leaving Purdue for the Vols, or any other program right now. Dan Harralson, from Saturday Down South tweets Brohm has been out recruiting for Purdue and not been in touch with Tennessee.
So this could be a case of Tennessee wanting Brohm but Brohm not wanting Tennessee, so he’d join the list of Gundy and Duke’s David Cutcliffe who have publicly denied interest in the job.
To take it one step further, Sports Illustrated’s Bruce Feldman reports there is no deal imminent with Brohm to Tennessee.
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Although on the surface the hiring of any Purdue coach may not seem ideal, Brohm is a darn good coach. In one short season, he turned Purdue from a 3-9 team to a bowl-eligible one. Furthermore, his success at Western Kentucky speaks for itself where he led the team to three straight bowl games and was the Conference USA champion. Further, his brand of offense was among the best in the nation with quarterback Brandon Doughty.
Overall, he accumulated a 30-10 record at WKU and has a 36-16 record in four seasons as a head coach. All in all, Vols fans should be excited with the potential hire. He may not be Jon Gruden or Tee Martin, who fans clamored for but Brohm is a brilliant offensive mind and will be given the time and resources necessary to build Tennessee back to the powerhouse it once was. The margin for error is slim, but there’s no reason Brohm can’t thrive in Knoxville.