The CheckerBoard

I am not one of Doom and Gloom, but the Tennessee football program is in shambles. I for one am going to be along for the long ride no matter what, but I realize the trip back to the top could be a long one. Although I am not very excited to think about what could be a long trip back to be relevant on the college football landscape, I am still very excited about who could be our next head football coach. It became very obvious, through reading the board after the Gruden crazy, that one of the most popular guys on the board for the job would be Charlie Strong. Charlie unfortunately decided to stay in Louisville with his Big East championship winning Cardinals and try to knock off the mighty Gators in the Sugar Bowl. This decision by Strong was immediately met here on the board with venom. Most people including myself were at least somewhat disappointed that Charlie Strong, a so called "SEC" guy, could ever turn down the Tennessee job and stay at Louisville instead. I think it was fair to feel that way at first because we all hold this job in such high regard. Might I add as we should. We are of course Tennessee fans, Fans of any institution would do the same. Most of the administrative speculation is piling up towards Dave Hart. That is probably fair considering he, in public, took full command of this search during the opening press conference, but I do wonder why the SI report about Strong said that the only contact with them was done through Jimmy Cheek. At this moment we have no answer to that question, but it seems to me that Cheek being involved with strong could be the answer we are looking for. Maybe Hart just does not have the power we thought he had, or maybe Cheek is just a guy meddling in stuff he should not be in. None of it can be proven, but it is some food for thought.

With all of this said, and now that I have had my meltdown over Charlie Strong. We do actually still have some pretty good candidates left for the Opening at Tennessee. My favorite right now after some research is Butch Jones at Cincinnati. He is 50-27 overall and seems to be thought of highly by other coaches around the country. Topping Tennessee's list seems to be first year UNC coach Larry Fedora. Fedora has never had a losing season as a Head Coach. Is an offensive guru, and lead Southern Miss to a 12-2 season last year. Again Fedora is thought of as a Star is most coaching circles, and certainly would be a good option. Finally I would be remiss in not at least mentioning Butch Davis in this list. Butch has been the head coach in many different places including the NFL. He has been fairly successful in all of those stops. His best success was while he was the HC with the U down in Miami. One of the most successful periods in Hurricane football history. Some think that Butch Davis may be in trouble with the NCAA, but most reports I have read claim that Davis is telling everybody that the NCAA is going to clear him of any more charges from his stint at UNC. If this is true then Davis would be as close to a home run as you could get right now with the situation we are in. All of these options would be good in my eyes.

Guys please try to keep it together for a few more days, or for how ever much longer this search goes on. All of the perennial powers in NCAA history at one point or another have been though a tough time. We are in the middle of a large storm. I promise it will pass. Patience is a virtue. GO