VTTW Board Index

a single name dropped, and I guess I'm in need of a fresh hit of crack to make it through the day

Kevin Steele seems to be the name du jour. Pete Thamel reported yesterday that Les Miles is not a candidate. That's hard for me to believe, but Thamel is typically accurate and Fulmer seems to be favoring a coordinator. Of the leading names that keep being bandied about, most are coordinators.

My fear is that Fulmer's stubbornness and penchant for old-school football will cause us to end up with a coach who cannot and will not succeed. Let me preface this by saying that no one hated Butch Jones' offense as much as I did, but if Doug Matthews is correct about what Fulmer told him (and there's no reason to think he wouldn't be), Fulmer is going to purposely search for a coach who prefers the old-school thought process WRT offense. My thoughts are you want a coach who knows how to utilize traditional sets when situations dictate (no going in shotgun when you're a foot away from the goal line, for pete's sake!) but in this day and age of CFB you almost have to have some spread elements to your offensive approach. Fulmer was fired in large part because the game was passing him by and he couldn't adapt, which is also what prevented him from being hired by another school. If he is approaching this coaching search the same way, I fear the worst.

Steele seems like a disaster as a head coach. I'm thinking Miles or Venables. If Miles has a very good OC he'll be fine.

I'm glad Fulmer is in charge, but I'm not sure we'll get a coach better than Leach. 

Conjecture is age and level of drive for Miles, plus his meddling in OC duties - L$U

He has formally interview five or so: Steele, Tucker, Pruitt, Morris and a "mystery" candidate
Is the Klempson DC in play?
Seems like if you are a defensive mind guy then you have a shot
According to most Wed/Thurs white smoke should appear

And yet Miles is only five years older than Steele. I just don't understand the pursuit of Steele. At. All. Not even as a last resort.

Multiple sources say a 2nd interview with Tucker on tap today
Tucker has a pretty good background IMO

Plus another interview

who is Tucker? I've never heard of him before

DC at UGA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Tucker

oh, duh. I'd rather have him over steele

In a heartbeat over Steele. Maybe a half a beat.

Meh. If Tucker is the best we can do, we have major issues that we don't want to admit.

Tucker and Venables have potential. They could also be total duds. I'm with Pirate on Miles' drive. I think he's got three years tops. Long-term thinking with coaches is overrated,  but that's too short.

Yes....and yes.

Venables would be much better than Tucker. I think Smart is running the uga D.

Leach near the top of my list of potential hires, but hard to see Fulmer hiring him

Multiple sources says that is NOT true

Agree. He has tons of experience and like-minded with Smart when it comes to D. Sure they may jointly discuss strategy and changes, but Kirby sure doesn't have to micromanage Mel Tucker.

BG

If he hires Leach it would really surprise me. I certainly could be wrong, but got a feeling he looks at this UT team and believes the first thing they need is toughness, and Leach's teams don't necessarily fit that description.

Surprised Venables' name hasn't been brought up much  in these recent coaching searches. I have no idea how he would interview but he certainly has an impressive record as a coordinator.

BG

Riiggghhhtt.  And we should believe everything we read.   :dielaughing:

Seriously though...the same was "widely reported" of Bob Shoop.  It doesn't matter if Tucker is doing the day to day, which I am sure he is, Smart is still looking over his shoulder, offering advice, making decisions, etc.  The background of the HC absolutely affects the success of the coordinators IMO.  No matter where Saban and Muschamp have been, the defenses are excellent.  And it's "widely reported" that Saban delegates to his DC, but there has yet to be any drop off no matter who the DC is.  But when the various DCs have left the performance at the next school has adhered to the  "your mileage may vary" rule.

As far as Saban is concerned, those assistants are running what Nick wants and expects, but it doesn't mean that during a game his DC isn't the one making the calls on D. If Saban disagrees, both the assistant and the viewing audience at home will clearly know.

BG

How do you reconcile this statement with his hiring of Dave Clawson in 2008?  Just curious.

Jeremy Pruitt rumors everywhere. He was also given a second interview this morning, and posters are saying he will get the job. Again, just rumors at this point but I did read last night that one source reported he "killed" the first interview. The rumors are Tee Martin would be the OC and Bama's Tosh Lupoi would be the DC. Note all three are excellent recruiters with Lupoi being Bama's current best.


BG

BTW, these rumors are coming from UT sites and of course reported secondhand on our Tide sites.

On the surface, I find it hard to believe Tee Martin and Tosh Lupoi would be part of the staff as these would be lateral moves but we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. Perhaps Martin just want to get back to UT, and for Lupoi perhaps he would rather work for Pruitt than Saban who demands much.

Again, at this point these are just the current rumors.

BG

FWIW, if Pruitt gets a head coaching job, many expect he will bring Jody Wright Alabama's director of player personal with him. I got this from a post from a very knowledgeable source on our Rivals Tide site.

BG

Lupoi would not be a lateral move if he gets a promotion to DC

He is titled as co-defensive coordinator and was expected to take over at DC at Bama. So, yes, it would be a lateral move.

BG