The CheckerBoard

It will definitely give Louisville a bump, but it is still the SEC > ACC. Now if he was the basketball coach, it may be a different story, but with football, other than 3 or 4 schools, who cares that much about football in the ACC?

On the flip side . . . I bet Butch Jones is seriously wishing he had taken the Kentucky job about now (if he was truly the first choice there).

I see it as a basketball upgrade not a football upgrade.

Upgrades are choice schools in the SEC, Big Ten, PAC 12 and Big 12. Everything else is just fodder.

I don't see Strong lasting two more years either. Everything W/K/R has reported points to him being interested in UT. If he has interest in us he'll have more interest on other schools. He's got the itch to move on.

Yes, but the impact will be marginal in the grand scheme of things. Should UT get to the point where they actually extend an offer to Coach Strong, I am still of the opinion that $$$ will be Tennessee's biggest hurdle—not divisional cachet. It is no secret that the Louisville AD will 'see and raise' any UT offer to the point of making him the highest paid coach in the nation. Ultimately, a bidding war does not favor TN for the simple fact that Strong is worth more to Louisville than TN. With this in mind, the only way Strong leaves Louisville is if he is willing to turn down an opportunity to make more money at a place that adores him in exchange for the more prestigious—and more stressful—TN job where he is almost certain to be considered a consolation prize by majority of the fan base.