PJ Fleck front runner for Tennessee job?

[SECyclone]

So the one in khakis?

 

[AuH2O]

Despite Tennessee people trying to spin the 2017 hire as if they backed off Campbell because of the buyout, everybody in the know said they reached out and Campbell said thanks but no thanks. The ISU position has become FAR better since that time, and UTs situation is FAR worse. There’s a reason UT got Pruitt and it wasn’t because he was sought after.

Tennessee before, FSU, Mizzou, Michigan St, Jets and other NFL team have reportedly all reached out. The farthest anything ever has been reported by anything respectable is that these teams spoke with Campbell and he wasn’t interested. Most of those coming when ISU was going to be Maybe a top 25 team.

So people can use common sense and say there’s no way he’s even considering a dumpster fire that is UT football now that he has a preseason top 10 team when he turned down better opportunities before.

UT is going to get either a G5 guy in the rise or a P5 guy on the rebound if they are locked in to someone that’s a head coach.

 

[motorcy90]

First off....thanks to the mods for approving me here since, based on my username, I’m a UT grad.
To respond to a lot of the comments here, I agree, UT is somewhat of a dumpster fire right now. But they do have one of the top 10 winningest programs in NCAA history with 6 nattys. That being said, I still think it’s a plum job. Few places can compete with the tradition, fanbase, recruiting ability (distance to Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, etc), stadium, overall facilities, campus, community (Knoxville is exploding and a fun place to live) etc. In other words, it isn’t Nebraska. They don’t have the money, community or the recruiting base to compete and never will again.
All that being said, Campbell is one of the top targets for UT I would guess, however, it sounds like he has a pretty sweet gig in Ames that will keep him there. You all should enjoy that. A program with a great coach is something that not everyone can have. All good and great programs go through stretches like that. Bama, Michigan, Texas, USC, Miami and of course UT.

welcome to the fun here, I had a detachment comander while overseas who is from Tenn. and is a Vols fan obviously, so it's not like I don't want you guys to not succeed, now how do you go about getting posting privileges over there on VolNation?
but part of the fun to us here any more when ever Campbells name is mentioned as going to (insert school here/he's gone) is the exact thing we see from your fan base saying oh why would he stay at ISU when we could double his salary schtick as every other team that has come sniffing around, with out them even understanding why he came here and the relationships he has with the Athletic Director and his assistant coaches.
but yes optics wise you and Nebraska really are the same, they claim 5 title (9 unclaimed) and are #8 in wins overall (Tennessee is #13), they have a decently large stadium. but what has that gotten them in the last 20 years? basically nothing and why we have been saying that, the past is the only thing you have going as far as recognition currently and into the foreseeable future.

 

[VeloClone]

I must really be getting old. Sure the first thing I looked at in this pic was the bleach blonde in the short dress but I quickly said to myself, "Hey, that grey haired woman with her back to the camera looks a lot like my mom did a few years ago. I will have to ask her why she was at a Tennessee tailgate wearing Creamsicle colors."

Go ahead and put me in a pine box.

 

[AlaCyclone]

First off....thanks to the mods for approving me here since, based on my username, I’m a UT grad.

To respond to a lot of the comments here, I agree, UT is somewhat of a dumpster fire right now. But they do have one of the top 10 winningest programs in NCAA history with 6 nattys. That being said, I still think it’s a plum job. Few places can compete with the tradition, fanbase, recruiting ability (distance to Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, etc), stadium, overall facilities, campus, community (Knoxville is exploding and a fun place to live) etc. In other words, it isn’t Nebraska. They don’t have the money, community or the recruiting base to compete and never will again.

Fortunately, we finally have a chancellor, president, boosters and AD all on the same page for the first time in a long, long time. At least since I was a student in the 90’s and witnessed a great run that should have produced several nattys instead of just one. Fulmer couldn’t get past Florida for some reason and it killed our programs chances more than once. Fulmer also didn’t get along with some of the biggest boosters at UT, which made it hard when he had a rough stretch to stick around....along with the incompetence of a horrid AD.

As for Pruitt and where he has taken UT....I won’t comment other than to say he’s a total prick in every regard.

All that being said, Campbell is one of the top targets for UT I would guess, however, it sounds like he has a pretty sweet gig in Ames that will keep him there. You all should enjoy that. A program with a great coach is something that not everyone can have. All good and great programs go through stretches like that. Bama, Michigan, Texas, USC, Miami and of course UT.

Anyway, wish you guys luck with Campbell as I don’t see him leaving except for the NFL and I guess us Vols will just have to see what happens in the coming days.

Be safe!

Welcome to the board! I have enjoyed reading VolNation posts for the past few days. That is an awesome board with an excellent collection of characters!

Tennessee definitely should NOT go the Coordinator route EVER. Tennessee is the wrong place for OJT. Same for Iowa State. I have always been a fan of finding a good young MAC HC that has already cut his teeth and isn't weird. Last go around, I was 100% on #TeamCampbell, and it worked out well.

I think a MAC HC would work for Tennessee, as Ohio is a fertile recruiting ground, not far from Tennessee, and the Vols have pulled good recruits from there in the past. However, a quality Sun Belt / C-USA, etc. HC would also work.

Tennessee will get out of this mess, but it will take a steady hand and some time. It can be done though. I think Bill Clark at UAB would be a good choice (if he is interested). Chadwell and Napier are good choices too (if they are interested). Just find a guy who wants to be at UT and will work his butt off.

We were all sad to hear the passing of Coach Majors. He was beloved here and came back from time to time to visit. As a matter of fact, he took ISU to their first two Bowl Games (1971 Sun and 1972 Liberty). When ISU played in the 2012 Liberty Bowl, it was awesome to have him back for the 40th Anniversary of the 1972 Liberty Bowl (ISU vs. GT).

When Johnny was still coaching at UT, Iowa State played @ Neyland to open the 1982 season. ISU lost a close game to the Vols (21-23) that I listened to on the radio on the Vol Radio Network via the "Pick a Dixie Game"! Would love to see a future home and home series between the two teams.

Cheers and good luck with the HC search!

P.S. Not a Vol fan, but I have seen Tennessee at their best in person. I saw Peyton and the Vols win @ Georgia in 1996 and win the 1997 SEC Championship and Tee Martin and the Vols win both the 1998 SEC Championship Game and win the Jan. 1999 Fiesta Bowl BCS Championship Game over Florida State.

 

[JP4CY]

I must really be getting old. Sure the first thing I looked at in this pic was the bleach blonde in the short dress but I quickly said to myself, "Hey, that grey haired woman with her back to the camera looks a lot like my mom did a few years ago. I will have to ask her why she was at a Tennessee tailgate wearing Creamsicle colors."

Go ahead and put me in a pine box.

The blonde was Kiffins wife/Spurriers daughter

 

[VeloClone]

The blonde was Kiffins wife/Spurriers daughter

You used the CW emoji and for a split second I thought CW was filling me in on the platinum Barbie.

Need moar coffee.

 

[BCClone]

First off....thanks to the mods for approving me here since, based on my username, I’m a UT grad.

To respond to a lot of the comments here, I agree, UT is somewhat of a dumpster fire right now. But they do have one of the top 10 winningest programs in NCAA history with 6 nattys. That being said, I still think it’s a plum job. Few places can compete with the tradition, fanbase, recruiting ability (distance to Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, etc), stadium, overall facilities, campus, community (Knoxville is exploding and a fun place to live) etc. In other words, it isn’t Nebraska. They don’t have the money, community or the recruiting base to compete and never will again.

Fortunately, we finally have a chancellor, president, boosters and AD all on the same page for the first time in a long, long time. At least since I was a student in the 90’s and witnessed a great run that should have produced several nattys instead of just one. Fulmer couldn’t get past Florida for some reason and it killed our programs chances more than once. Fulmer also didn’t get along with some of the biggest boosters at UT, which made it hard when he had a rough stretch to stick around....along with the incompetence of a horrid AD.

As for Pruitt and where he has taken UT....I won’t comment other than to say he’s a total prick in every regard.

All that being said, Campbell is one of the top targets for UT I would guess, however, it sounds like he has a pretty sweet gig in Ames that will keep him there. You all should enjoy that. A program with a great coach is something that not everyone can have. All good and great programs go through stretches like that. Bama, Michigan, Texas, USC, Miami and of course UT.

Anyway, wish you guys luck with Campbell as I don’t see him leaving except for the NFL and I guess us Vols will just have to see what happens in the coming days.

Be safe!

Thanks for stopping by. Most of us enjoy interacting with other teams fans. You will at first laugh but upon further analysis it should make sense is this: with Campbell, our history actually is more advantageous to us than yours is. Campbell wants a challenge and wants to build something. We had some basic tools, but basically had only gotten the basement hole dug and some footings put in when he showed up. He wants to build a program out of nothing. That is what motivates him. A school that has history (outside of a couple) is not as attractive to him.

He is a culture guy. He loved that fans showed up to watch poor teams and when he was looking around was offered food and drink even though he was from the other team. He loved that we had an AD that would give him time to build. In fact, if our AD leaves, Campbells buyout is cut in half (his want), that is how tight he is with our AD. Our AD released a donor video saying Campbell is back next year yesterday. So that really shoots any chance you guys had.

In regards to nebraska, your budget and their budget are fairly similar so money is equal. Recruiting bases are basically national now so the advantage is only slight. Community is two things, town the school is in and the school community. The state of Nebraska is very tight with the huskers (no prob team do that is their baby) and it’s big red football 365 days a year in that whole entire state. Sure Knoxville is larger and probably more stray than Lincoln but Omaha is 30 miles away also. History, I would place nebraska history above yours right now. Nobody considers Minnesota to have a great history now and they have more nattys than either UT or Nebraska. Only one of your titles was won while Campbell was alive (or even me for that fact and I have 10 years or more on him).

This is what we know about our situation and why we think UT is the Nebraska of the SEC.

 

[VeloClone]

...

We were all sad to hear the passing of Coach Majors. He was beloved here and came back from time to time to visit. As a matter of fact, he took ISU to their first two Bowl Games (1971 Sun and 1972 Liberty). When ISU played in the 2012 Liberty Bowl, it was awesome to have him back for the 40th Anniversary of the 1972 Liberty Bowl (ISU vs. GT).

...

Our Vols guest might also be interested to know that the complex comprised of ISU's indoor turf practice facility and outdoor grass practice field is named after Johnny.

@MattatUT

 

[Die4Cy]

This is what we know about our situation and why we think UT is the Nebraska of the SEC.

I think we can all say quite fairly that Tennessee is a better job than Nebraska. They really only compare in that some fans inflated view of 25+ year old championships hamper the program's ability to move forward in the present.

 

[BCClone]

The blonde was Kiffins wife/Spurriers daughter

WAS his wife???? So your saying I’ve got a chance?

 

[VeloClone]

Thanks for stopping by. Most of us enjoy interacting with other teams fans. You will at first laugh but upon further analysis it should make sense is this: with Campbell, our history actually is more advantageous to us than yours is. Campbell wants a challenge and wants to build something. We had some basic tools, but basically had only gotten the basement hole dug and some footings put in when he showed up. He wants to build a program out of nothing. That is what motivates him. A school that has history (outside of a couple) is not as attractive to him.

He is a culture guy. He loved that fans showed up to watch poor teams and when he was looking around was offered food and drink even though he was from the other team. He loved that we had an AD that would give him time to build. In fact, if our AD leaves, Campbells buyout is cut in half (his want), that is how tight he is with our AD. Our AD released a donor video saying Campbell is back next year yesterday. So that really shoots any chance you guys had.

In regards to nebraska, your budget and their budget are fairly similar so money is equal. Recruiting bases are basically national now so the advantage is only slight. Community is two things, town the school is in and the school community. The state of Nebraska is very tight with the huskers (no prob team do that is their baby) and it’s big red football 365 days a year in that whole entire state. Sure Knoxville is larger and probably more stray than Lincoln but Omaha is 30 miles away also. History, I would place nebraska history above yours right now. Nobody considers Minnesota to have a great history now and they have more nattys than either UT or Nebraska. Only one of your titles was won while Campbell was alive (or even me for that fact and I have 10 years or more on him).

This is what we know about our situation and why we think UT is the Nebraska of the SEC.

One thing that tips the scales in UT's favor in my opinion is recruiting. Nebraska has recruited nationally, but they used the Big 8 connection to Oklahoma to get visibility and their foot in the door in the fertile Texas recruiting ground. Oklahoma has always been very relevant in Texas. This was strengthened in the Big 12 when they could count on a couple of games against Texas teams every year including at least one in the republic. Now that they are in the big 10 they have lost any and all connection to Texas. If they were still nationally relevant they might have maintained the connection without the presence but since they have been so down for so long they might as well be Indiana or Illinois trying to get Texas recruits.

Obviously Tennessee hasn't changed their recruiting base or their connections.

 

[CycloneDaddy]

Pics? either from the 90's or current, I'm not finicky.

Name? For reference purposes.

India Summer, be careful on what links you click in when searching.

 

[BCClone]

One thing that tips the scales in UT's favor in my opinion is recruiting. Nebraska has recruited nationally, but they used the Big 8 connection to Oklahoma to get visibility and their foot in the door in the fertile Texas recruiting ground. Oklahoma has always been very relevant in Texas. This was strengthened in the Big 12 when they could count on a couple of games against Texas teams every year including at least one in the republic. Now that they are in the big 10 they have lost any and all connection to Texas. If they were still nationally relevant they might have maintained the connection without the presence but since they have been so down for so long they might as well be Indiana or Illinois trying to get Texas recruits.

Obviously Tennessee hasn't changed their recruiting base or their connections.

I agree with that, the jump to the big ten hurt them for recruiting, but the four and five stars that frost is pulling is crazy. The big recruits still seem to listen to him.

 

[MattatUT]

The rub that I got was the posters on your site assuming he would leave when in reality knowing what we know about Matt is that I would have been absolutely shocked if he even returned a phone call from Tenn.

I think the posters who are thinking it through don’t think Campbell is in play, but I will say what he’s done has been amazing and he’s a top tier coach. We’d love to get him, but based on what I’ve heard and even things read here, I don’t see him leaving for anything short of the NFL. And you all may get lucky he loves it so much in Ames he never leaves.

 

[MattatUT]

We've been through many a coaching search around here. We know it gets a little crazy. It isn't meant as a slam on UT, we all realize CMC is probably the hottest name in college football and any school looking is going to want him coaching on their side line. But when we say you have zero chance, it's because it's true.

You'd have to really know the guy, how important the culture he's built and his relationship to the athletic department is, and the commitment ISU has made to him to understand. There is a $90 million dollar performance center going up right now next to the football stadium that was essentially designed by him, that they are just getting ready to move into. He has a preseason top ten team going into next year that is returning nearly everyone and the CFP is absolutely in play right where he's at.

I stand a better shot at being your next football coach. I say that because I know the man and the situation. And while UT will always be a historically important job, at the moment it just is not in the position to draw a top P5 coach away from a school they are not already looking to jump away from.

If what you say is true, and everyone at UT is finally on the same page, you stand a good shot of giving someone the kind of time they need to clear things up in Knoxville and move forward. There are good program builders who would chomp at the bit for an opportunity like that, but you will have to take a chance on one. That is hard to manage when dealing with lofty expectations. I wish you good luck in your search.

Excellent post and I agree with everything you said 100%. I think our fanbase is so frustrated and knowing we will pay pretty well whatever it takes is ratcheting up the expectations. I would say some will end up disappointed in the final hire, but who will truly know if they were good until we know the extent of Pruitt’s damage and also a few years down the road.

 

[MattatUT]

Tennessee fans look at ISU history on paper and see what everyone else does that hasn’t been here. But Campbell came in as coach of Toledo and saw the culture that put 60000 butts in seats for years on end to watch what was essentially losing football. He knew, and if you’ve been to Trice you know it too. There are teams with more history, wins, money, recruiting, location, etc. but passion? I think not.

I don’t disagree. I’ve watched several ISU games the last few years and been very impressed.

 

[MattatUT]

oh, you mean the year Florida went on the the NT game and got annihilated by Nebraska? Are saying Tennessee would have beat those Nebraska teams? Not a chance. Heck the one chance Tennessee got to play Nebraska, they were absolutely killed. Oh, and everyone in the SEC cheats. I wonder how good of a league it would be if so many programs were not cheating?

2 things. Everyone cheats a little, except in my opinion Bama and Auburn. I think they cheat a lot. Second, Tennessee was one game away from playing in the title game in 96, 99 and 2001 as well as winning it in 1998. They had a chance to pull a couple of nattys and blew it. We weren’t always fans of Fulmer back then. Expectations and talent were very high. At that time we had more players in the NFL than any other school. At one point, Tennessee had 5 running backs on the team at one time that ALL became starters in the NFL.

 

[JP4CY]

I think the posters who are thinking it through don’t think Campbell is in play, but I will say what he’s done has been amazing and he’s a top tier coach. We’d love to get him, but based on what I’ve heard and even things read here, I don’t see him leaving for anything short of the NFL. And you all may get lucky he loves it so much in Ames he never leaves.

I think we are realists and know he would take other college jobs but there was even "real" talk if Michigan moved on, would CMC take it if offered? The opinions were pretty split and maybe even favored stating put.
I think we know he could/would leave for Notre Dame, tOSU, and maybe PSU.

 

[MattatUT]

Despite Tennessee people trying to spin the 2017 hire as if they backed off Campbell because of the buyout, everybody in the know said they reached out and Campbell said thanks but no thanks. The ISU position has become FAR better since that time, and UTs situation is FAR worse. There’s a reason UT got Pruitt and it wasn’t because he was sought after.

Tennessee before, FSU, Mizzou, Michigan St, Jets and other NFL team have reportedly all reached out. The farthest anything ever has been reported by anything respectable is that these teams spoke with Campbell and he wasn’t interested. Most of those coming when ISU was going to be Maybe a top 25 team.

So people can use common sense and say there’s no way he’s even considering a dumpster fire that is UT football now that he has a preseason top 10 team when he turned down better opportunities before.

UT is going to get either a G5 guy in the rise or a P5 guy on the rebound if they are locked in to someone that’s a head coach.

I think most Tennessee fans thought there was a chance, but like you said, he didn’t want to leave.UT’s AD screwed the pooch and started this downward spiral when they could have had Brian Kelly or Gary Patterson, but chose Kiffin. That was the beginning of this mess. Then they just exacerbated it with 3 other bad hires. Jones was the best of the three but was toxic and dishonest with players.