RTT Tennessee Volunteers Head Football Coach Search, Round 1

by David Hooper on Nov 5, 2008 12:00 PM EST in Tennessee Volunteer Football

Here is the second group of candidates to be the next head coach at the University of Tennessee. (Voting is still open for the first group until 7 AM Thursday, so you can still vote for both if you haven't voted already.) Again, the concept is to vote for your preference among the listed candidates. Winners will be advanced into the next round until we decide who is the most preferred coaching candidate among Vols fans.

You know what to do, so...

Battle of the Mid-Majors

(Wiki Links: Skip Holtz, Brian Kelly, Gary Patterson and Chris Petersen)

Poll

Between these candidates, who would you prefer to be the next head coach at the University of Tennessee?

Skip Holtz - Head Coach, East Carolina

46 votes

Brian Kelly - Head Coach, Cincinnati

77 votes

Gary Patterson - Head Coach, TCU

57 votes

Chris Petersen - Head Coach, Boise State

143 votes

323 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 19 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Is everyone voting for Chris Peterson because Boise State has orange in their logo?

I mean, Brian Kelly is right there and everything…. :)

by Chris Pendley on Nov 5, 2008 12:22 PM EST reply actions

Can't wait for the blue turf at Neyland

by wvvol on Nov 5, 2008 9:50 PM EST up reply actions

I witnessed

What Gary Patterson’s defense did to BYU’s offense that dropped 70 or whatever on UCLA. This guy had his players ready to go.

by rblakeh on Nov 5, 2008 12:24 PM EST reply actions

jeez

Wish you hadn’t put Brian Kelly and Gary Patterson in the same poll. Those are probably my subject-to-change top two at the moment.

"Florida didnt win their first SEC title until 1991 and now they think they invented football."
-Ron Zook

by rustytanton on Nov 5, 2008 12:38 PM EST reply actions

No worries. It's not like Mike Hamilton is waiting for the final results of this.

…right?

by David Hooper on Nov 5, 2008 12:42 PM EST up reply actions

Hamilton doesn't go to the bathroom without consulting me first

"Florida didnt win their first SEC title until 1991 and now they think they invented football."
-Ron Zook

by rustytanton on Nov 5, 2008 12:47 PM EST up reply actions

I picture Forrest Gump

in the White House. “Rusty, I gotta pee….”

by wvvol on Nov 5, 2008 9:51 PM EST up reply actions

Actually,

I tried to lump coaches together by some convenient-yet-irrelevant commonality. That’s also the reason Muschamp and Leach wound up together so early.

by David Hooper on Nov 5, 2008 12:43 PM EST up reply actions

Also

They’re listed in alphabetical order of last name. Seemed the fairest way of doing it.

by David Hooper on Nov 5, 2008 1:02 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, this is a tough one

Somebody make a case for Kelly, though, because I’m not sure I’m seeing it. Both Patterson and Peterson seem to have had longer, more consistent success. I went with Patterson for the record and then immediately thought I should have went with Peterson.

Peterson, Patterson, tomayto, tomahto?

Go Vols!

by Joel Hollingsworth on Nov 5, 2008 12:54 PM EST reply actions

The Wikipedia entry for Kelly is useful (as it is for most other coaches)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Kelly_(coach)

He’s been a winner at every stop, and this year is no different.

WVU-Cincinatti will be on ESPNU if you have access to that.

"Florida didnt win their first SEC title until 1991 and now they think they invented football."
-Ron Zook

by rustytanton on Nov 5, 2008 1:09 PM EST up reply actions

Clearly you didn't read my entry over on the other thread :)

It’s pretty simple. Kelly’s been a head coach for about 17 years now, so he has the experience. He took Grand Valley State to back-to-back DII titles before moving onto Central Michigan. In three years there, he took them from not having even four wins in a season from the beginning of the century to MAC champions (plus he got some guy named LeFevour to show up on campus there, which isn’t half bad). In a season-plus with Cincy, he’s taken them to their highest ranking in the AP poll, their first 10 win season in the last 50 years, and won the Big East Coach of the Year award on his first try. Plus, he’s 2-0 in bowl games so far.

He’s taken programs going nowhere and turned them into something – arguably his tenures were the periods of greatest success for …well, all the teams he’s coached. What else would you want in a coach?

by Chris Pendley on Nov 5, 2008 1:39 PM EST up reply actions

not on your list

inside people have told me we made an offer to Bill Cowher already

by Vol on Nov 5, 2008 1:30 PM EST reply actions

Thanks for signing up and commenting.

There are more coaches to come; we’re just getting started.

As far as the “inside people”; at this point, we’re getting inside sources referencing everybody from Cowher to Gruden to Leach to Kelly to etc. But given that Hamilton appears to be using outside firms to help with the search, it’s likely that any info at this stage is premature at best. I wouldn’t expect any insiders to have any reliable information for at least 3 more weeks (and probably longer than that).

After all, fairly reliable inside sources had Miles going to Michigan last year when Miles hadn’t even been personally contacted. (Maybe his agent was, but his agent doesn’t have the authority to sign the contract.)

by David Hooper on Nov 5, 2008 1:49 PM EST up reply actions