Tennessee head coach Butch Jones had a busy day. Sources say he met with University president Joe DiPietro (which he has been doing regularly), announced the hiring of Charlton Warren, interviewed quarterbacks coach Mike Canalas for a second time, before leaving for New Jersey with running backs coach Robert Gillespie for an in-home visit with running back John Lovett.
Warren's hiring was a surprise as it was not a name that had surfaced and he doesn't have a tie to Butch Jones or to Bob Shoop. We had been told that there was a candidate that Jones liked who wasn't Terry Fair or George Barlow, the two names most often mentioned. That name was Warren however it's not a name we could pin down. Clearly, Warren was Jones' first choice for the position.
As for Jones' visit in New Jersey, Lovett is one of two running backs scheduled to see the Vols. The other is Florida's Tim Jordan, who was at North Carolina this past weekend. Of course, Travis Etienne was in this past weekend and had good things to say about Tennessee. Etienne is scheduled to see Clemson next weekend and LSU the last weekend.
Tennessee certainly wants another running back in this class and the first one out of those three that the Vols can get a commitment from will take that spot.
While Jones and Gillespie went to New Jersey, new secondary coach Charlton Warren was in Knoxville getting some Tennessee gear, meeting his new staff teammates and watching tape. Warren will hit the road running on Tuesday as he will start a tour of seeing Tennessee's defensive back commitments. That means visits to Georgia and Louisiana.
As Warren gets caught up to speed, Zach Azzanni has been in Florida recruiting. Don Mahoney is in Georgia. Both are getting into schools on Tuesday to see 2018 prospects.
Walt Wells will be doing some work in the state of Alabama and is set to work the LaBryan Ray road with the Vols making a solid move for the perceived Alabama lean.
Interesting that Warren's Twitter bio says he's the secondary coach and the special teams coordinator. The coordinator title is the one that Larry Scott held this past season. Scott is the leading candidate and could be announced as Tennessee's new offensive coordinator in the coming days. Scott has been very involved in every interview that Butch Jones has conducted with the four candidates vying for the quarterback coaching job. One source told us that "Larry Scott has been running the show."
The top two candidates for that post appear to be Matt Canalas and Kevin O'Connell. There's a real thought that O'Connell would prefer to stay in the NFL if the right opportunity came along. O'Connell has been linked to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. But McDaniels does not appear that he will get/take a head job this off-season. O'Connell spent this season working with Chip Kelly and the 49ers. Kelly is a possible candidate to be the offensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars where he would be allowed to hire his own offensive staff according to NFL people. One wonders if O'Connell could be in play in Jacksonville.
It was indicated to us that Canalas' second interview on Monday went well. We expect that Tennessee could host as many as 10-12 official visitors this weekend.
On Sunday night, Jones had his in-home with Matthew Butler along with Bob Shoop, Steve Stripling, and Tommy Thigpen. Butler said the visit was great and he's looking forward to being in Knoxville this weekend for an official visit.
Now, to the athletic director search. As we noted in Monday morning's note, Fulmer is very, very much in play. As Monday progressed and we spoke with more and more people it became very clear that Fulmer stands a very real shot at getting the job. In fact, some feel he is the leading candidate. Fulmer was at the Lady Vol basketball Monday night as was new the new chancellor, Dr. Davenport and University president Dr. Joe DiPietro.
It was reiterated to us on Monday as we were told on Sunday that DiPietro and Fulmer have developed a really good rapport with each other as they have traveled around the state working together for the University of Tennessee.
Now as for timeline, that remains a mystery. Some say if it is indeed Fulmer, it could be the next 10 days or so. Others say the committee will be involved and that it will take longer. But clearly the Fulmer camp has confidence that the Hall of Famer becoming the next AD is a very real option. Something they didn't think a few weeks ago.
Warren's hiring was a surprise as it was not a name that had surfaced and he doesn't have a tie to Butch Jones or to Bob Shoop. We had been told that there was a candidate that Jones liked who wasn't Terry Fair or George Barlow, the two names most often mentioned. That name was Warren however it's not a name we could pin down. Clearly, Warren was Jones' first choice for the position.
As for Jones' visit in New Jersey, Lovett is one of two running backs scheduled to see the Vols. The other is Florida's Tim Jordan, who was at North Carolina this past weekend. Of course, Travis Etienne was in this past weekend and had good things to say about Tennessee. Etienne is scheduled to see Clemson next weekend and LSU the last weekend.
Tennessee certainly wants another running back in this class and the first one out of those three that the Vols can get a commitment from will take that spot.
While Jones and Gillespie went to New Jersey, new secondary coach Charlton Warren was in Knoxville getting some Tennessee gear, meeting his new staff teammates and watching tape. Warren will hit the road running on Tuesday as he will start a tour of seeing Tennessee's defensive back commitments. That means visits to Georgia and Louisiana.
As Warren gets caught up to speed, Zach Azzanni has been in Florida recruiting. Don Mahoney is in Georgia. Both are getting into schools on Tuesday to see 2018 prospects.
Walt Wells will be doing some work in the state of Alabama and is set to work the LaBryan Ray road with the Vols making a solid move for the perceived Alabama lean.
Interesting that Warren's Twitter bio says he's the secondary coach and the special teams coordinator. The coordinator title is the one that Larry Scott held this past season. Scott is the leading candidate and could be announced as Tennessee's new offensive coordinator in the coming days. Scott has been very involved in every interview that Butch Jones has conducted with the four candidates vying for the quarterback coaching job. One source told us that "Larry Scott has been running the show."
The top two candidates for that post appear to be Matt Canalas and Kevin O'Connell. There's a real thought that O'Connell would prefer to stay in the NFL if the right opportunity came along. O'Connell has been linked to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. But McDaniels does not appear that he will get/take a head job this off-season. O'Connell spent this season working with Chip Kelly and the 49ers. Kelly is a possible candidate to be the offensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars where he would be allowed to hire his own offensive staff according to NFL people. One wonders if O'Connell could be in play in Jacksonville.
It was indicated to us that Canalas' second interview on Monday went well. We expect that Tennessee could host as many as 10-12 official visitors this weekend.
On Sunday night, Jones had his in-home with Matthew Butler along with Bob Shoop, Steve Stripling, and Tommy Thigpen. Butler said the visit was great and he's looking forward to being in Knoxville this weekend for an official visit.
Now, to the athletic director search. As we noted in Monday morning's note, Fulmer is very, very much in play. As Monday progressed and we spoke with more and more people it became very clear that Fulmer stands a very real shot at getting the job. In fact, some feel he is the leading candidate. Fulmer was at the Lady Vol basketball Monday night as was new the new chancellor, Dr. Davenport and University president Dr. Joe DiPietro.
It was reiterated to us on Monday as we were told on Sunday that DiPietro and Fulmer have developed a really good rapport with each other as they have traveled around the state working together for the University of Tennessee.
Now as for timeline, that remains a mystery. Some say if it is indeed Fulmer, it could be the next 10 days or so. Others say the committee will be involved and that it will take longer. But clearly the Fulmer camp has confidence that the Hall of Famer becoming the next AD is a very real option. Something they didn't think a few weeks ago.
