A fun article I thought
When Tennessee released the treasure trove of emails, texts and phone records surrounding its recent football coaching search last week, it included 2,200 pages of messages sent to now-former athletic director John Currie’s work email address. As expected, most of them came from furious fans hoping to stop the Greg Schiano hire.
Did Currie read all of those emails? Probably not. Well, let’s hope not, because a lot of them were nasty. But I did. Took me almost three hours, but I read ‘em all. Because I wanted to know: Who did these angry, passionate Tennessee fans want as their new head coach? So many of their outraged emails to Currie included their suggestions. Some just yelled who he should hire in the subject line. Others laid out detailed lists of preferences and advice.
Among all those emails sent in late November, only eight encouraged Currie to consider Jeremy Pruitt, the man who eventually took the job. And 77 emailers informed Currie he could not hire N.C. State’s Dave Doeren. So what did the rest have to say? Which coaches received the most recommendations from the fan base? After digging through all those emails, here are the results. Lots of sensible candidates on this list. Lots of truly baffling ones, too.
160 votes: Florida Atlantic HC Lane Kiffin
Fan takes: “Could you please go get crazy Lane back? I know it sounds bizarre but he's the man who has the most experience who would come.” … “Lane Kiffin is actually interested in UT and you won’t talk to him?! Yes he left abruptly but it’s Tennessee’s fault for negotiating a crap contract!” … “You might as well bring Kiffin back as you have alienated the entire fan base, at least he can coach and he's not afraid of Saban.” … “With Lane we would be conference champs inside 5 years. Save face, save your job, save our program, call Kiffin!!” … “Hire Kiffin! He could be our Spurrier! Swallow your pride and be the HERO!”
111: USC OC Tee Martin
“A home run hire would be Tee Martin. In my opinion he's the only one left that would unite the fan base.” … “We love Tee! The fans will be behind him 10000%. He is an excellent leader and would recruit with unprecedented success.” … “He knows offense. He knows how to win championships. Bring him home!” … “PLEASE GO GET TEE MARTIN. HE WILL WORK HARDER FOR UT THAN ANY OF THE OTHER PEOPLE YOU'RE CALLING.” … “Go hire Tee Martin and end this damn circus you have caused.”
84: Former LSU HC Les Miles
“Hire Les Miles! This is your opportunity to save face and end this wild week on a high note! He'll probably take it!” … “It makes the most sense. He has the big name, the experience, and the résumé. Most of all, he wants the job. Hire him already.” … “For the love of the football please someone tell John Currie that Les Miles is unemployed and doesn’t have a buyout and he’s interested he also won a national championship in the West!!” … “WHY HAVE YOU NOT CONTACTED LES MILES? IS HIS RECORD TOO GOOD? ARE YOU JUST TRYING TO SABOTAGE OUR PROGRAM ON YOUR WAY OUT THE DOOR?”
30: Former Texas A&M HC Kevin Sumlin (now at Arizona)
“He was let go this season, but I'm here to tell you he is a winning coach, and would fit in nicely in Knoxville. Give him two or three years. and I would bet the farm that he would own the SEC East.” … “Despite his release from A&M, Sumlin will do well at Tennessee. Kids love him and will bring recruits.” … “I believe with the talent we have he is the coach to take us to the next level.” … “Hire Sumlin 2nite.”
23: Oakland Raiders HC Jon Gruden
“Pay the man.” … “Take some of the money for ‘renovations’ and pay Gruden or there is no reason to make any renovations.” … “Like the old saying ‘MONEY TALKS, BULLSHIT WALKS.’ Throw the house at Gruden and who knows.” … “The sad thing about this whole ordeal is that me, a random student, has probably had more conversations with Jon Gruden this year than you have. Seriously, did you say a word to him? My sources, his son, said that you did not reach out to him, and that is a crime against humanity.”
23: Washington State HC Mike Leach
“Bring the pirate flags to UT!!!!” … “Please get coach Leach. Would make us relevant again.” … “Social media is already exploding with excitement over Leach. Don't mess this up anymore than you already have.”
19: Memphis HC Mike Norvell
“Norvell is young! If you're looking for a coach that could have long tenure at Tennessee, consider Norvell.” … “Have you thought of Memphis State’s coach or are you too? proud to ask a Memphis man?”
17: Washington HC Chris Petersen
“No, he may not leave Washington, but has he been seriously approached? Have you offered every possible thing he could want, including a ton of cash?”
15: Louisville HC Bobby Petrino
“Go get Petrino if we're down to Greg Schiano. All he did is ride around on his motorcycle with a mistress.”
15: Clemson DC Brent Venables
“Coach Venables has all the qualities and characteristics to be a great head football coach. Mr. Venables reminds me a lot of Kirby Smart. His drive and energy are almost parallel.”
13
Auburn DC Kevin Steele
12
Purdue HC Jeff Brohm, Tennessee AD Phillip Fulmer
11
Duke HC David Cutcliffe
10
Fans who asked to be considered for the job
“I would gladly take the vacant head coaching position at Tennessee. I am flexible on salary and buyout numbers.” … “John, you offered 7 million dollars to a man with a mullet in 2017. I will work for half that, and I can promise you that I won’t back out. Twitter would love me. I have the memes to get this job done. They may be skeptical at first, but my #hashtags will win out in the end.” … “I've not played a down of organized football in my life, but I used to beat my brother so badly in NFL Blitz that he would start crying and telling my mom I was cheating when I wasn't. I always ran a clean program there in my childhood bedroom and would continue to do so at the university I grew up loving and going to games from the age of six.”
8
Alabama DC Jeremy Pruitt (now Tennessee HC), Nebraska HC Scott Frost
“Mr. Currie, I'm asking that you do whatever it takes to hire Jeremy Pruitt for our head coaching job. He has 3 National Championships to his name. If anyone can figure out how to beat Alabama it would be Coach Pruitt.”
6
Former Los Angeles Rams HC Jeff Fisher
5
Mississippi State HC Dan Mullen (now at Florida)
4
Virginia Tech HC Justin Fuente, former Tennessee interim HC Brady Hoke
“Keep Brady Hoke if you're not actually trying to win! He is a lot nicer!”
3
Iowa State HC Matt Campbell, James Madison HC Mike Houston, former Tennessee HC Butch Jones, TCU HC Gary Patterson
“I feel like we should have kept Butch Jones.” … “Why the hell didn't you keep Butch Jones because no one else wants to come.” … “Heck hire Butch back.”
2
LSU DC Dave Aranda, former Arkansas HC Bret Bielema, former Pittsburgh Steelers HC Bill Cowher, N.C. State HC Dave Doeren, Florida State HC Jimbo Fisher (now at Texas A&M), Oklahoma State HC Mike Gundy, former Tennessee QB Peyton Manning, former Florida coach Jim McElwain (now at Michigan), Appalachian State HC Scott Satterfield, Philadelphia Eagles DC Jim Schwartz, former Oklahoma HC Bob Stoops, Furman OC George Quarles
1
Former Baylor HC Art Briles, former Tennessee assistant Kippy Brown, Troy HC Neal Brown, Toledo HC Jason Candle, Georgia OC Jim Chaney, Arkansas DC John Chavis, Florida International HC Butch Davis, Maryland HC D.J. Durkin, high school coach Charles Fant, Minnesota HC P.J. Fleck, former Ole Miss HC Hugh Freeze, HS coach Kwayu Graham, Baltimore Ravens HC John Harbaugh, Austin Peay HC Will Healy, Richmond HC Russ Huesman, Appalachian State ILB coach Dale Jones, New England Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, Harvard HC Tim Murphy, former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, Philadelphia Eagles HC Doug Pederson, middle school coach Brent Peel, Green Bay Packers assistant David Raih, former Arizona HC Rich Rodriguez, Ohio State DC Greg Schiano, Stanford HC David Shaw, former South Carolina HC Steve Spurrier, Oregon HC Willie Taggart (now at Florida State), Youngstown State president Jim Tressel, Utah HC Kyle Whittingham, Cal HC Justin Wilcox, high school coach Ricky WoodsWe
When Tennessee released the treasure trove of emails, texts and phone records surrounding its recent football coaching search last week, it included 2,200 pages of messages sent to now-former athletic director John Currie’s work email address. As expected, most of them came from furious fans hoping to stop the Greg Schiano hire.
Did Currie read all of those emails? Probably not. Well, let’s hope not, because a lot of them were nasty. But I did. Took me almost three hours, but I read ‘em all. Because I wanted to know: Who did these angry, passionate Tennessee fans want as their new head coach? So many of their outraged emails to Currie included their suggestions. Some just yelled who he should hire in the subject line. Others laid out detailed lists of preferences and advice.
Among all those emails sent in late November, only eight encouraged Currie to consider Jeremy Pruitt, the man who eventually took the job. And 77 emailers informed Currie he could not hire N.C. State’s Dave Doeren. So what did the rest have to say? Which coaches received the most recommendations from the fan base? After digging through all those emails, here are the results. Lots of sensible candidates on this list. Lots of truly baffling ones, too.
160 votes: Florida Atlantic HC Lane Kiffin
Fan takes: “Could you please go get crazy Lane back? I know it sounds bizarre but he's the man who has the most experience who would come.” … “Lane Kiffin is actually interested in UT and you won’t talk to him?! Yes he left abruptly but it’s Tennessee’s fault for negotiating a crap contract!” … “You might as well bring Kiffin back as you have alienated the entire fan base, at least he can coach and he's not afraid of Saban.” … “With Lane we would be conference champs inside 5 years. Save face, save your job, save our program, call Kiffin!!” … “Hire Kiffin! He could be our Spurrier! Swallow your pride and be the HERO!”
111: USC OC Tee Martin
“A home run hire would be Tee Martin. In my opinion he's the only one left that would unite the fan base.” … “We love Tee! The fans will be behind him 10000%. He is an excellent leader and would recruit with unprecedented success.” … “He knows offense. He knows how to win championships. Bring him home!” … “PLEASE GO GET TEE MARTIN. HE WILL WORK HARDER FOR UT THAN ANY OF THE OTHER PEOPLE YOU'RE CALLING.” … “Go hire Tee Martin and end this damn circus you have caused.”
84: Former LSU HC Les Miles
“Hire Les Miles! This is your opportunity to save face and end this wild week on a high note! He'll probably take it!” … “It makes the most sense. He has the big name, the experience, and the résumé. Most of all, he wants the job. Hire him already.” … “For the love of the football please someone tell John Currie that Les Miles is unemployed and doesn’t have a buyout and he’s interested he also won a national championship in the West!!” … “WHY HAVE YOU NOT CONTACTED LES MILES? IS HIS RECORD TOO GOOD? ARE YOU JUST TRYING TO SABOTAGE OUR PROGRAM ON YOUR WAY OUT THE DOOR?”
30: Former Texas A&M HC Kevin Sumlin (now at Arizona)
“He was let go this season, but I'm here to tell you he is a winning coach, and would fit in nicely in Knoxville. Give him two or three years. and I would bet the farm that he would own the SEC East.” … “Despite his release from A&M, Sumlin will do well at Tennessee. Kids love him and will bring recruits.” … “I believe with the talent we have he is the coach to take us to the next level.” … “Hire Sumlin 2nite.”
23: Oakland Raiders HC Jon Gruden
“Pay the man.” … “Take some of the money for ‘renovations’ and pay Gruden or there is no reason to make any renovations.” … “Like the old saying ‘MONEY TALKS, BULLSHIT WALKS.’ Throw the house at Gruden and who knows.” … “The sad thing about this whole ordeal is that me, a random student, has probably had more conversations with Jon Gruden this year than you have. Seriously, did you say a word to him? My sources, his son, said that you did not reach out to him, and that is a crime against humanity.”
23: Washington State HC Mike Leach
“Bring the pirate flags to UT!!!!” … “Please get coach Leach. Would make us relevant again.” … “Social media is already exploding with excitement over Leach. Don't mess this up anymore than you already have.”
19: Memphis HC Mike Norvell
“Norvell is young! If you're looking for a coach that could have long tenure at Tennessee, consider Norvell.” … “Have you thought of Memphis State’s coach or are you too? proud to ask a Memphis man?”
17: Washington HC Chris Petersen
“No, he may not leave Washington, but has he been seriously approached? Have you offered every possible thing he could want, including a ton of cash?”
15: Louisville HC Bobby Petrino
“Go get Petrino if we're down to Greg Schiano. All he did is ride around on his motorcycle with a mistress.”
15: Clemson DC Brent Venables
“Coach Venables has all the qualities and characteristics to be a great head football coach. Mr. Venables reminds me a lot of Kirby Smart. His drive and energy are almost parallel.”
13
Auburn DC Kevin Steele
12
Purdue HC Jeff Brohm, Tennessee AD Phillip Fulmer
11
Duke HC David Cutcliffe
10
Fans who asked to be considered for the job
“I would gladly take the vacant head coaching position at Tennessee. I am flexible on salary and buyout numbers.” … “John, you offered 7 million dollars to a man with a mullet in 2017. I will work for half that, and I can promise you that I won’t back out. Twitter would love me. I have the memes to get this job done. They may be skeptical at first, but my #hashtags will win out in the end.” … “I've not played a down of organized football in my life, but I used to beat my brother so badly in NFL Blitz that he would start crying and telling my mom I was cheating when I wasn't. I always ran a clean program there in my childhood bedroom and would continue to do so at the university I grew up loving and going to games from the age of six.”
8
Alabama DC Jeremy Pruitt (now Tennessee HC), Nebraska HC Scott Frost
“Mr. Currie, I'm asking that you do whatever it takes to hire Jeremy Pruitt for our head coaching job. He has 3 National Championships to his name. If anyone can figure out how to beat Alabama it would be Coach Pruitt.”
6
Former Los Angeles Rams HC Jeff Fisher
5
Mississippi State HC Dan Mullen (now at Florida)
4
Virginia Tech HC Justin Fuente, former Tennessee interim HC Brady Hoke
“Keep Brady Hoke if you're not actually trying to win! He is a lot nicer!”
3
Iowa State HC Matt Campbell, James Madison HC Mike Houston, former Tennessee HC Butch Jones, TCU HC Gary Patterson
“I feel like we should have kept Butch Jones.” … “Why the hell didn't you keep Butch Jones because no one else wants to come.” … “Heck hire Butch back.”
2
LSU DC Dave Aranda, former Arkansas HC Bret Bielema, former Pittsburgh Steelers HC Bill Cowher, N.C. State HC Dave Doeren, Florida State HC Jimbo Fisher (now at Texas A&M), Oklahoma State HC Mike Gundy, former Tennessee QB Peyton Manning, former Florida coach Jim McElwain (now at Michigan), Appalachian State HC Scott Satterfield, Philadelphia Eagles DC Jim Schwartz, former Oklahoma HC Bob Stoops, Furman OC George Quarles
1
Former Baylor HC Art Briles, former Tennessee assistant Kippy Brown, Troy HC Neal Brown, Toledo HC Jason Candle, Georgia OC Jim Chaney, Arkansas DC John Chavis, Florida International HC Butch Davis, Maryland HC D.J. Durkin, high school coach Charles Fant, Minnesota HC P.J. Fleck, former Ole Miss HC Hugh Freeze, HS coach Kwayu Graham, Baltimore Ravens HC John Harbaugh, Austin Peay HC Will Healy, Richmond HC Russ Huesman, Appalachian State ILB coach Dale Jones, New England Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, Harvard HC Tim Murphy, former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, Philadelphia Eagles HC Doug Pederson, middle school coach Brent Peel, Green Bay Packers assistant David Raih, former Arizona HC Rich Rodriguez, Ohio State DC Greg Schiano, Stanford HC David Shaw, former South Carolina HC Steve Spurrier, Oregon HC Willie Taggart (now at Florida State), Youngstown State president Jim Tressel, Utah HC Kyle Whittingham, Cal HC Justin Wilcox, high school coach Ricky WoodsWe
