The latest in the Tennessee coaching search see the Vols looking to a former SEC coach who was fired a week ago.
As the Tennessee coaching search turns, the soap opera surrounding the Vols search for Butch Jones’ successor has turned to former Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, according to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.
Tennessee was talking about the opening with NC State head coach Dave Doeren who turned down the job and will remain with the Wolfpack and sign an extension and get a raise. Doeren joins Jeff Brohm, Mike Gundy and David Cutcliffe who turned down an opportunity for the job. This all comes after Greg Schiano was all set to be introduced on Sunday before a fan revolt led to the deal falling through in the eleventh hour.
While Tennessee fans clamor for Tee Martin to return home or Lane Kiffin to have his second chance at the Vols job, the focus shifts to Sumlin who was fired by Texas A&M after going 7-5 with the Aggies and his third straight 4-4 season in the SEC. Sumlin spent six seasons in College Station where he compiled a 51-26 record and went 3-2 in bowl games. It’s been downhill for Sumlin since Johnny Manziel left school for the NFL in 2013 however for Sumlin. In the post-Manziel era, Sumlin was 31-20 after going 20-6 with the former Heisman Trophy winner.
Sumlin’s teams would get off to hot starts only to fall apart at the end of the season, so that’s not exactly a glowing endorsement for him to get the Tennessee job. Having said that, the SEC East schedule would be a tad more manageable than the West. However, going to Tennessee wouldn’t drop Alabama from the schedule as that’s one of the permanent rivalry crossover games.
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I think Sumlin would be able to recruit well and doesn’t have any off-the-field skeletons in his closet that would result in another fan revolt like it did Schiano and Doeren to a lesser extent, but it wouldn’t be their ideal hire. So if athletic director John Currie is looking for a hire to win over the fan base, Sumlin won’t satisfy them. Any hire that’s not Kiffin or Martin at this point will be viewed as a disappointment and fans will be calling for his head before his introductory press conference in Knoxville.
Sumlin is a fine coach, he just may not be a fine coach for Tennessee. Sumlin reportedly is also a potential candidate for the Florida State job that’s expected to become vacant with Jimbo Fisher taking Sumlin’s old job at Texas A&M. So if you’re Sumlin and you have interest from Tennessee and Florida State, it’s setting up for the Vols to be rejected by another candidate.
I suppose another rejection will only bring them closer to seriously considering Kiffin and Martin who are the perceived to be the only saviors of the Tennessee program at this point.