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As we all sat and watched the events of Sunday night unfold on Twitter, Tennessee fans were ultimately faced with the question of — well what now? The overwhelming majority of fans defaulted to former Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin.
It seems like there’s some momentum there. John Brice had it first last night for Gridiron Now.
As Gridiron Now reported on Sunday evening, Purdue coach Jeff Brohm is gaining traction, but so, too, is a favorite son of Tennessee fans: Southern Cal offensive coordinator Tee Martin.
The former national championship-winning quarterback of the Vols’ 1998 team, Martin turned down multiple FBS head coaching opportunities a year ago including Georgia State. He’s considered a rising star and just midday Monday, a college football source presently in the SEC said, “17 (Martin’s jersey number at UT) is getting big money calls. Lots of them.”
Now Bruce Feldman of Sports Illustrated is saying the same.
Hearing that #USC OC Tee Martin, a #Vols legend who led UT to a national title, has a legit shot at the #Tennessee HC vacancy in the wake of yesterday’s mess.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 27, 2017
Martin would certainly get the backing of Tennessee fans with ease. The former Tennessee quarterback won a national title for the Vols in 1998.
He has served as an assistant at New Mexico, Kentucky and USC, primarily working with the receivers. He was hired at USC in 2012 as the receivers coach, but quickly took on passing game coordinator responsibilities. Before the start of the 2016 season, Martin was promoted to be the offensive coordinator.
USC ranked 20th in total offense in 2016. The Trojans rank 13th currently for the 2017 season.
Is he ready to run a big time program? That’s debatable. It’s admittedly early for the 39 year old Martin. He has just finished up his second season as a coordinator. However, at this point — what realistic candidate sounds better?
It’s a risk for sure, but I’d happily take that risk with Martin. He’s an ace recruiter, taking home recruiter of the year honors from 247 Sports last year. That’s half the battle. To me, surrounding Martin with a strong and experienced staff sounds like a pretty good option considering where we are at.