2013 College Football coaching carousel

I wouldn't expect anything less.

Such a charming bunch.

 

It would be a disaster. One of the great things about Tennessee is that it's one of just a few schools that, up until recently, was as stable a job in college football as you get. I'm sure I'll be corrected if the dates are off, but they had two head coaches from 1977 until 2008, that's amazing, especially in the SEC.

Tennessee needs someone who is going to be there for the next decade plus, not just the next 3-5 years.

Strong would be a great hire. Gundy would at least be an interesting hire. Fulmer, even if he's successful, would be gone in a few years.

 

Darrell Hazell to Purdue.

 

Pretty damn good third or fourth choice... That's going to be a really good hire for them.

 

Other than under Fulmer, Tennessee football has been pretty up and down, with things pointed resolutely at the down arrow, with expectations pointed due north. Not a slam-dunk job.

 

Look up Robert Neyland.

 

I guess in the same way that Hurry-Up Yost's record at Michigan would be something for a coaching candidate of today to consider.

 

Johnny Majors was more up than down, though he was less consistent than Phillip Fulmer. Those two combined to coach 31 of the past 35 seasons of Tennessee football and totaled five losing seasons. Derek Dooley managed to go 3-for-3 on losing seasons, but I don't think that hurts the long-term potential much more than Mike Shula's tenure hurt Alabama. Sometimes, these bad-coach aberrations can reinvigorate boosters.

 

The difference between Majors and Fulmer (besides the national championship) was that Fulmer could beat Alabama.

 

Most interesting to me is how the national college football folks so completely whiffed on Bielema.

Here's a young guy, not making that much money in a power conference, at a major school and who has been hugely successful in his time there and has a relatively small buyout.

If my job was to follow college football, why wouldn't Bielema be on my list for making a move?

Plus, compared to the rest of the SEC, he still isn't making huge money, even though he got almost a million more a year and if he hits incentives, that about doubles.

The real winners will be the assistants that follow him to Arkansas. They'll all be getting six-figure raises.

 

Did any Arkansas or Wisconsin reporters think he was moving on before maybe two days ago? A national reporter still ended up with the scoop.

 

Apparently, Gundy is staying at Oklahoma State and Strong is staying at Louisville....

Who's next at Tennessee? Kirby Smart? Petrino?