The CheckerBoard

Wouldn't mind that hire at all. Would prefer Gruden, but they definitely need to kick the tires on Roman.

I think Roman and Smart have similar resumes, but Smart has deeper ties to the south in recruiting

Definitely like what's Romans done. If not gruden I hope he gets a look. He's no more of a risk than strong and the other 2nd tiers.

not sure I agree... you have to wonder how much Smart is really involved in the defense at Bama... something tells me that Saban has a pretty big hand in this. Much more that Harbaugh with Roman. jmo

I also really like how Roman wants this job bad. Need a guy that will embrace UT

I feel the same way. I really like Roman and the fact that he REALLY wants the job. They need to at least interview the guy.

Pretty sure his lineup is loaded with freshmen and sophomores too.

This has been my pick from day 1. Don't get me wrong Gruden would be a grand slam hire but I don't see that happening.

His offense is just amazing. They line it up and punch you in the mouth and throw off of play action. You think we have academic concerns? Try recruiting to Stanford.

Bring in Jim Leavitt as DC and we have a great start to a coaching staff.

I hear that! Plus the fact that he puts a great product on the field!! + 1 right back at ya.

+1 to you. I remember when you first threw out his name I didn't really see it. But now he is pretty much my top choice.

Keep Jay and Pittman, bring in Tee, and I think we would be right back on track sooner than expected.

My first choice is Patterson but I would love to get Roman. I think he is the next big deal. Be crazy not to talk to him.

Why in the world are some of you so in love with Roman? He's NEVER been a head coach, and there are PLENTY of good offenses around... so why Greg Roman and not any other OC of a good offense?

Honestly, I don't think he has the right skillset for head coaching. Just doesn't come off as a CEO and lacks the charisma to recruit well. And even if he appeared to this is an INCREDIBLY important hire for Tennessee. If our next coach underperforms it could do enough damage to our image that rather than the #1 opening we may be behind several programs next time we do a coaching search.

At least with Bob Stoops, Jimbo Fisher, Al Golden and other experienced head coaches we know that we're getting a good to great coach. There is virtually no potential for abject failure there. Greg Roman, since he's never been a head coach, could be anything from terrible to fantastic. And we won't have any idea until after we're committed to him. Let him get his head coaching feet wet in the Sun Belt or Conference USA... big time SEC schools shouldn't be doing promotion-hiring anyways. The level of risk we'd be subjecting ourselves to with this guy is just unnecessary, and quite honestly stupid.

And don't forget that he'd be the HEAD COACH, not the OC... so if you want him for his offense, you're going to be disappointed when he hires an OC who installs their offense(this is how football works). And I honestly don't get the love affair with the 49ers offense from college fans anyways. It's not ground breaking, it's just a pro-style offense. And it's way too complex to install with college practice time limits. We could easily end up with Clawfense Part 2 if he did try to install his own offense. Heck, even in the NFL his offense is just ranked 11th... passing offense is 27th. Last season the total offense ranked 26th and passing 29th. Besides, this isn't the NFL... it's college. Our "cutting edge" offense would be completely ordinary in a world of spread options and pistol formations.