The CheckerBoard

I completely agree.... Strong is only in his third year as a HC...hardly a proven entity. He is only been playing in the Big East...hardly any real competition.... and he lost two really bad games at the end to unranked and losing record Uconn and Syracuse...
so... Gundy has done much more at OSU... however his defenses still need work... Butch Davis is proven... he just has this NCAA cloud following him like Calipari does for Uk basketball.... if he's been absolved of all wrong doing..he is clearly proven at winning, recruiting and rebuilding!! Should be #1 on our list! either jim or Petrino.
so what if he had an affair.... put some clauses in his contract to cover the moral ground and move on... both guys are far more proven than our current top 2.

If Butch is cleared (or at least not found to have done anything serious) by the NCAA regarding UNC, he is the best coach on the list (or not on it).

After hearing Coach Strongs pressers the past few days the more I like him .

Gundy apparently headed to Arkansas, its everywhere. Looks like Fedora or Strong. If Strong was waiting for the UT offer, with Smart to Auburn and Gundy to Arkansas, this could end very badly for him. May depend on how interview goes with Fedora and maybe Golden.

Petersen is Scientologist. I doubt that would play in Knoxville.

I've been on the Butch Davis train since it appeared Gruden was a pipe dream. Here's why. we need someone who has coaching chops to restore relevancy to our program. Gundy, Fisher, and I believe Strong, will all play us for raises at their respective institutions, or play us against Auburn and/or Arkansas. We run the risk of being right where we were with Kiffin four years ago, because we weren't successful in getting someone to take our offer, and where we were three years ago because Kiffin quit and left us in the lurch with little to choose from at a piss poor time to be looking for a coach. We need to hire someone of whom we can say with a straight face, "He's the guy we wanted all along" and feel good about it. Butch Davis is the only guy that fits that description unless Hart has Sean Peyton, Bill Cowher or someone like that in the works. I am seriously in doubt of that. Butch would likely accept, could probably build a good staff (his coaching tree contains Pagano, Coker and Schiano among others) is a proven recruiter, established a winner at Miami WITHOUT getting the institution in trouble,(who else can say that that coached at Miami since Schnellenberger?) and as of yet, has no NCAA allegations against him for the shenanigans at UNC. Or we can get turned down by Fisher, Gundy and Strong and wind up with Larry Fedora or Al Golden. Hard to be able to say either was the one we wanted all along. The clock is ticking and the college football world is watching.

Every hire you make has its potential for problems. Look at the one we just suffered through. Put some tight controls and oversight in place, put some conditions in a contract and get rolling. If Davis did not get in any hot water at Miami (look at what he did there with scholarship restrictions because of Dennis Erickson's laxity. Look at his graduation rate there and everybody knows what a minefield of a program South Beach High is) then he can run a clean program in Knoxville. Sorry but we aren't in a position where we can't make a risk free hire. See Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley, and IMO Al Golden and Larry Fedora)

I really appreciate the professional manner that this search has been both conducted in and reported on. The UT Athletic Dept. has kept the info close to their vest, and W/R/K have done their best to only report credible information. I am so glad that the UT search has not become a laughing stock like the Arkansas search has. Thanks guys.

That being said, I think Strong is the best option out of the three, but I've wondered why Butch Davis and Dabo Sweeney aren't higher on the list.

Looks like Arkansas will sign Bielema from Wisconsin. The list is getting shorter.