Tennessee football: 5 coaching replacements for Jeremy Pruitt
By Mike Luciano
2. Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina
A Cure Bowl loss against Liberty ruined what was a perfect season from Chadwell and the Chanticleers. Despite starting a freshman in Grayson McCall at quarterback for most of the season, Coastal ran through their division, even managing to take down much-hyped NFL quarterback prospect Zach Wilson and BYU. While going 11-1 at a school like Coastal Carolina will draw the eye of bigger programs looking to poach him, Chadwell will have to answer some questions about his readiness for a job like this.
Like Leipold, Chadwell has had a limited amount of time in FBS, as he parlayed his success at Charleston Southern into the CCU job just as they were making the transition to FBS football. However, following a medical leave, Chadwell turned a 5-7 team with limited resources into an 11-1 team ranked 14th in the country in just two years.
Chadwell’s expertise is in building up struggling programs, and it’s hard to find a blue blood in more dire straits right now than Tennessee. If the athletic department is willing to support Chadwell and endure what could be a very challenging start to life in Knoxville, history suggests that he could have Tennessee back to their old ways in no time at all.