If Dave Hart has contacted no one he should have fired himself at the press conference today too. He should have done everything but interview any current coaches.

I disagree.  It's like he said, he has a list, but most if not all of those coaches will not accept any contact yet anyway.  They want to finish their seasons.  If he starts now, how has he lost any real time?  I haven't seen any of the coaches mentioned as possibilities take anything else yet, so they are all still in play (assuming they are on his list).  How is contacting them now a negative compared to contacting them a couple weeks ago?  I think he is doing things right if he is being honest about how he is handling it.  I have much more confidence in his search after seeing the press conference.

[I have not begun that and I will begin that in earnest now. I think there is a right and wrong way to do everything in life. This is how I have always done it. I have contacted no one, back channeled no one. I think that is fair to the current head coach. Do I have a plan? I do. Those conversations have not begun]

...about contacts already having been made in the coaching search, do you believe them or Hart's assertions?  Since he mentioned "back channeling," that would seem to suggest that to date there have been no contacts, even through intermediaries.  I still think a lot of the rumors were nothing more than wishful thinking.  I also believe that even if he has not been contacted, Gruden will seriously consider all of his options, to include the possibility of contacting or being contacted by UT about the job.

"I think when you have done it several times you know how to do it and how to go about that process.  I think every athletics director in America and every one that I know, you have a list of people.  That list changes because you don't know when you will be in a coaching search.  Heaven forbid, it could be a tragedy.  You don't know what could happen.  How many of those names at the end of the day will get traction, that remains to be seen.  I have not begun that and I will begin that in earnest now.  I think there is a right and wrong way to do everything in life.  This is how I have always done it.  I have contacted no one, back channeled no one.  I think that is fair to the current head coach.  Do I have a plan?  I do.  Those conversations have not begun."

LOL- I hated the troughs.  They just felt so...unsanitary.

They are still there in the upper decks location where my seats are (QQ).

Hart's comments on the coaching search timing:

"I wouldn't put a time frame on it, because of variables I mentioned earlier.  I think it is more important to get right, the best person that we can possibly attract.  I don't think the landscape plays into that in every case."

"I think a lot of in the past, a lot of hires of this nature occur sometime in the month of December.  Very candidly, a lot of those coaches will be in New York City for the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame.  Some will continue to play into deep into the postseason.  December [is the] critical month."

[at that moment it will be the nicest in America]

Hart's comments (my bold):

"As nice as the football training center is, if Derek Dooley had not come when he did that design would not be what it is. His fingerprints are all over that building and he deserves a lot of credit for that. Everybody is building football training centers now.  Tickled to death that we have it.  It is fantastic and when we finish moving in at that moment it will be the nicest in America.  Look around our conference and see the multi-million dollars being invested, whether it is the two new schools, Missouri and Texas A&M or South Carolina.  Every place we went this year I talked to my peers about, what are they building and what are the projects they have on the table.  You would be stunned.  You would be stunned at the investments going around in this conference relative to facilities."

..and how we're lagging so far behind in that area.  I'd like to know specifically what he's talking about.  Because when I look at the page linked below and compare it to the equivalent page on other schools' websites (yes, I've actually done this), we're clearly tops in the SEC overall, and among the top 3-4 in America- especially taking our new football building into account.  So what the public can see is tip-top, IMO.  Are there other behind the scenes areas where our facilities can be improved?

http://www.utsports.com/facilities/index.html

I think he has said that the current facilities, especially when the new football facility is ready, are at or near the top.  I think he even said that during his press conference today.  He also stated, however, that he has spoken to his counterparts about efforts underway or planned at other SEC schools that would put UT behind.  I doubt UT is lagging behind currently, but may be lagging behind soon if the issue is not considered and addressed on a continous and consistent basis.

can I find it on the net somewhere? Didn't get to see it live.

A link is in the "News" section at the top of the board.  

I hope Tennessee hires someone fairly quickly so that He can go out and recruit!

Like Hart, I am not concerned about quick.  I am concerned about right.  Unless something totally unexpected occurs, the new coach should have plenty of time to pick up the recruiting.  Anything in December should be fine, and that's Hart's admitted critical timeframe.

That's interesting

That fits with his comments about his experience in this area and his network of people he trusts who are in the know and connected.  I'd be willing to bet a search firm would get him the same names as his existing networking contacts.  For some reason I find the lack of a search firm reassuring.

sounds like that would leave guys like Smart out

That was the one thing he said that I disagreed with, but if that's a prime criterion for him, then so be it.  He sure seems to know what he's talking about, and he sure doesn't lack canfidence.

...that there is no way the big-dollar donors will be running this search or even have much of a hand in it.  It's his job and he seems extremely confident in his ability to do it the right way.  I sure get a better feeling going into this search than I did the previous two.  Very good press conference IMO.

[GO IRISH!]

I would root for the University of Tehran Iran against Lame Kiffin's USC team!

GO IRISH!   

Clearly, he's squandered any chance of a big payday this April.  So I think he's forced to return to school.  The only problem is, I'm not sure he'd be very welcome back in Knoxville.  If I were a betting man, I'd say we'll see him suiting up in FCS next year.  

Like Nuke Laloosh, Bray has a million-dollar arm and a ten-cent head, but I'm not sure anyone would be "Crash Davis" enough for him to change that.  Admittedly, I have never been a Bray fan, and I have consistently said that he has been overrated as a QB.  He has all the physical skills, and he can put up great numbers, but he needs a true QB mentor to get it through his head that having the skills is not enough.  The football history books are full of players like him who go nowhere.  I hope he can change that, come back next season, and help the new head coach get off to a good start (assuming the new offense uses the style Bray fits).  I would like to see both Bray and the Vols succeed, but UT comes first, so I'm fine with whatever the new coach deems best.

The way the team is playing now,I wouldn't drive 20 miles to see them

I'll be there, and I'll be driving 1,000 miles round trip to do it.  TRObh, TROlo and T-Quad will be there too (at least at the tailgate, assuming the weather is decent).  Luckily, Thanksgiving makes this one a long weekend. 

...to take over a UT sports message board.      

Wait you and I are both control freaks??? WHO KNEW??? 

I like to think of it as positive results freaks, but "po-tay-to," "po-tah-to." 

[My weakness is a natural inclination against delegation]

I laughed.

To answer the OP... It's a dumb question that nobody should ever have to answer. But if you have to answer it, tell the truth but tell how you are fixing it or plan on fixing it. My weakness is a natural inclination against delegation.

That (bolded) was my response the last time I was asked that quesiton in an interivew (for a supervisory/management position).

Who's recruiting?

They'll bring Fulmer back for that, as long as he guarantees his early effort rather than later effort.  

I'm not sure why I can't make you see that I'm not saying that the negotiators and a decision makers have a losers mentality. They have a responsibility to make the right hire for the right money and right terms, as you did when you negotiated contracts.

Past that, I'm bored with the discussion and realize that this is why I wanted to step away from the board in the first place.

Nah, we're just off sync with our reponses.  I think we agree more than disagree, which is one reason for my confusion.    I think I get it now.

I guess that I'm really arguing more with Bandit's point than yours. I think it's OK to want them to be responsible. As a fan, I don't want them to do anything stupid. It's the action of nitpicking specific (rumored) salary terms because the fan thinks that they aren't financially responsible is what I'm talking about. The time to nitpick about it and be mad about it is when the coach fails.

Ok.  I don't particularly care about the rumored salary and contract terms, since none speak to buyouts, what portion of the salary is TV/radio, what part would be contingent on success, etc.  Heck, pay the next coach $715,000 per win, per season.  That way going 14-0 would mean being paid $10 million.  It would also likely mean winning the BCS Championship, so....    It looks like a bargain compared to what is being paid for the possibility of 6 wins.   

I see where people are coming from with their stance, but I see it as a loser's mentality. I don't mean to offend TRO, Pirate, Bandit or anyone else with that judgment, but for fans to worry about fiscal responsibility means they expect failure. The administrators and boosters are there to make that judgment. Hell UT underpaid relative to Saban etc for both Dooley and Kiffin and it still cost them dearly.

As I just posted, I cannot understand that sentiment in the least.  And, anyone who donates is a booster, so I guess we are allowed to care about fiscal responsibility ("make that jusgment").    I'd be willing to bet that no one on this board wants the Vols to win more than I do.  In fact, I bet I care a lot more than most.  How caring about how the UTAD spends the money of all donors, who are the lifeblood of the department, can be equated to having a loser's mentality totally escapes me.  I have negotiated a lot of contract terms in my day, and I never thought going into the process intending to get the best value for the best cost, while mitigating potential losses, meant I was going in with a loser's mentality.   

But that's why those people are paid... to consider those possibilities. As a fan I'm saying I don't care. That doesn't mean I dont' think they should be responsible. I'm just not sure why fans (or alumni) have a losers mentality on the front end and worry about what will happen when the coach fails. That's why the administrators are there.

I just don't see how caring about the fiscal wellbeing of the UTAD and university is the same (even remotely) as having a loser's mentality on the front end.  And, if you think they should be responsible, then where is the disagreement?  Administrators can be responsible but fans who urge that responsibility somehow have a loser's mentality?  Does that not mean, by definition, that the UTAD has a loser's mentality unless they are willing to be irresponsible?  If they don't consider what might happen if a coach fails, then that is by definition irresponsible, IMO.  And, as a donor, I care about them having fiscal responsibility.  Maybe I am just missing the point.  It may not matter anyway, since this may have been my last season attending games.  That is still TBD.   

...is not in the NFL Hall of Fame.     I just assumed he was already in.  I have never liked the Raiders, and I rooted against him all the time ("Come on, shank it!"), but he was easily the very best at what he did and he obviously changed games with his leg to help the Raiders succeed.  What a freakin' travesty!

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--legendary-punter-ray-guy-frustrated--but-resigned-that-he-s-not-in-hall-of-fame.html

Is that like saying that wanting continuity is a "losing" or "pussy" attitude?  Cause I have heard that also.   

Well, truth is an absolute defense in defamation cases, so....    Let's just keep it as friendly as possible under the circumstances, since I can't read all of this s.......stuff.   

What about when another poster implies that someone lacks common or business sense because they don't share their opinion, boss?   

Hey, I still see your name at the top of the board as a moderator, so.....