In the wake of Saturday's debacle for the Volunteers of Tennessee against the Gators of Florida, I was nudged firmly into the Fire-Phil-Fulmer camp. I wrote a letter to Florida coach Urban Meyer thanking him for exposing the antiquated practices of the Volunteers' coaching staff, as that game put an exclamation point on what was already obvious to some of us: that the staff hasn't changed with the times, and is now unable to compete at a level that Tennessee fans expect.

Soon after, Corn From a Jar made the fair point that if some of us are ready to throw Phil Fulmer and his staff under the bus, that we should be able to suggest replacements. So that's what I'm going to do here.

Here are the first ten choices to take over coaching the Tennessee football program that come to mind, in no particular order. Some of them are more realistic options than others. This list isn't comprehensive, and isn't meant to be "top choices" so much as "some good choices." I haven't vetted it much for feasibility. But I do think there's at least an ever-so-slight chance of landing each of these coaches.

I am sure that I'm missing some good names from mid-major conferences here, and would love for you to suggest some in the comments. And if any of these choices are stupid, I'd love to hear why.

Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt

Pros:

• Knows SEC East opponents and played them close with inferior talent, even pulled out some upsets (including Georgia and Tennessee)
• Prior to coaching at Vanderbilt, led Furman University to the Division I-AA nation championship game

Cons:

• Still an unknown how he would fare with better talent, since at Vanderbilt it's easy to make excuses for going 4-8

Chris Petersen, Boise State

Pros:

• Only coach since 1900 to win 13 games his first season
• Upset Oklahoma in last year's Fiesta Bowl to cap off an undefeated season
• Second-highest scoring offense in the nation

Cons:

• Only one year head-coaching experience
• Went undefeated with Dan Hawkins' players, so he is unproven as a recruiter

Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia

Pros:

• Led West Virginia to four straight winning seasons
• Prolific offense has proven it can score against SEC-caliber defenses

Cons:

• Unlikely to be interested in the job, as he's already spurned Alabama

Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL)

Pros:

• Won a Super Bowl
• Got his start coaching as a graduate assistant at Tennessee in 1986 and 1987

Cons:

• Has had three losing seasons since the Super Bowl win (with one winning season), opening him to criticism that he was just winning with the fired Tony Dungy's players

Norm Chow, offensive coordinator, Tennessee Titans (NFL)

Pros:

• Was offensive coordinator for USC during its two recent national title runs
• Is interested in a head coaching job at the college level

Cons:

• No head-coaching experience
• Was passed over by Stanford for a head coaching job. (Stanford!)

Bobby Petrino, Atlanta Falcons (NFL)

Pros:

• A proven winner at the college level, put Louisville on the map with a creative, explosive offense when he coached there
• May be looking to GTFO of Atlanta with all the turmoil surrounding the team due to Vick's dogfighting

Cons:

• Could just as easily not be interested in leaving Atlanta

Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville

Pros:

• Coached Tulsa, the school with the smallest student enrollment among bowl division programs, to winning seasons and bowl games in three of four seasons
• Despite loss to Kentucky, offense appears not to have missed a beat after Bobby Petrino left

Cons:

• Still somewhat unproven against top 25 competition

Greg Schiano, Rutgers

Pros:

• Turned Rutgers from an embarrassment into a top 15 program in a short period of time

Cons:

• Has already spurned offers to lure him away from larger schools, would probably take a fat chunk of change

Trooper Taylor, wide receivers coach, Tennessee

Pros:

• Knows the school, the players, and the SEC East
• High energy level, seems to be the only coach on the staff that players still respond to

Cons:

• No head-coaching or coordinator experience (called some of the plays in 2005 after Randy Sanders was fired as OC)
• Fans, alumni and donors may not be satisfied with any change without a wholesale house-cleaning of staff

Steve Spurrier, South Carolina

Florida tried to make Steve Spurrier submit a resume when he thought he might want his old job back after a stint in the NFL. I won't be so bold as to ask for one for this list. I do think it bears mentioning that the Ol' Ball Coach has abandoned the Fun n' Gun that made him famous for a conservative, ball-control, let's-hope-Blake-Mitchell-doesn't-screw-up style of offense at South Carolina. We should ask whether he's lost confidence in the Fun n' Gun or whether he's just adapting to the players he has to work with.

Duly noted

I considered these coaches, but intentionally left them off this list:

John Chavis, defensive coordinator, Tennessee
If a change is to be made at all, house needs to be cleaned.

David Cutcliffe, offensive coordinator, Tennessee
See John Chavis.

Jimbo Fisher, offensive coordinator, Florida State
His stock was high going into this season, but has tanked with the Seminoles' woes on offense continuing.