Tennessee ‘closing in’ on Purdue’s Jeff Brohm, per report

The flavor of the day in the Tennessee coaching search seems to be Purdue’s Jeff Brohm. Chris Low has the story for ESPN.

Depending on which report you believe, Tennessee has been either in contact or interested in Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and SMU head coach Chad Morris.

A large segment of the fanbase has locked in on Tee Martin — some have even locked on to Lane Kiffin. Those two don’t seem to be generating too much traction at this point. However, Brohm seems to be.

Jimmy Hyams is reporting that Tennessee is now “closing in” on Brohm.

Brohm was a guy that we initially pointed to early in this process. Things cooled down after the Boilermakers cooled down on the field, finishing 6-6 after a really solid start. Brohm’s Purdue team nearly knocked off Louisville to start the season. The Boilermakers then beat Missouri 35-3, before cooling off.

Losses to Rutgers and Nebraska didn’t help Brohm’s stock. However, a strong finish — including wins over Iowa and Indiana got Purdue bowl eligible, just one year removed from a 3-9 season. The progress is obvious.

Chris Low reports that his buyout is five million.

If he were to leave the Boilermakers before Dec. 5, Brohm would owe $5 million to the university. The buyout would drop to $4 million if he leaves after Dec. 5.

Although Brohm holds a power five job, he’s still viewed as an up and comer. We haven’t really seen the end result of a program that he’s built to this point. He followed Willie Taggart and Bobby Petrino at Western Kentucky, winning with the players that he inherited.

If there’s one thing that we don’t know about Brohm, it would be his ability to recruit. Purdue currently holds the 46th ranked class in the country, per 247 Sports. Tennessee would clearly offer him advantages that Purdue can’t, but still — it’s a valid concern and an unknown at this point.

For what it’s worth, who wouldn’t run through a wall for this guy?

We’ll keep you updated.