What's My Criteria For a New Coach?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
I've gotten emails like this one below since the news broke yesterday.
Jim writes:
Clay, what do you think we should be looking for in a new coach? Got a checklist or anything.
BGID?
I don't think anyone has a full beard that's a legit candidate. If that were the case I'd throw all of my support behind them. I'm working through this criteria as a fan. I'd like to think a somewhat intelligent fan, but a fan nonetheless. Here's my roster of things that have to be fulfilled. We'll also be talking about this tonight on the ClayNation radio show at 104.5 the Zone from 7-9 central. Feel free to call or email your additional criteria that you find important. In fact, please do call us at 615-737-1045. Or, at the very least, feel free to listen live on your computers by clicking here (that's if you're outside the Nashville region).
In no particular order.
1. He has to be in his 40's at a maximum. No one talks about Nick Saban being 57 but I think that's significant. Did you even know Saban was only one year younger than Fulmer? I bet hardly anyone did. It's significant because, for better or worse, I don't think anyone can coach well into their 60's and be successful in the SEC. I just don't. You can call this ageism if you want to, but the key point is you want someone who can go at least ten years at your school and still be in their 50's at the most. Choosing a coach is hard, I think you have to narrow the field as best you can. This would be one of my ways. So anyone 50 or older is off. This means Cutcliffe is tossed, Jim Grobe, any other guy who is over 50.
2. He has to have been a head coach at some level. Toss Muschamp, toss Doug Marrone (aka the Vols own Ron Zook), toss Gus Malzahn, toss Charlie Strong, toss Trooper Taylor (god I can't believe I have to include his name, are you really serious Jeremy?). I know coordinators have turned into successes in this league, but I think we're above that. I truly do. Georgia took a flier on Richt after a former head coach didn't pan out (Jim Donnan) and after a young internal assistant (Ray Goff) never could turn the corner. The Croom experiment at Mississipi State appears to be neutral at best. Mike Shula bombed. Name another coordinator in the past decade who has been hired in the SEC and set your world afire. Put plainly, we don't have to and shouldn't make a reach with this hire. We're conducting our first legit search since the 1960's and have had two coaches in 31 years.
3. Money can't be an option that keeps us from getting the guy we want. Why can't the University set up a website to solicit small dollar donations like Barack Obama has done to fund his presidential campaign? There are tons of Vol fans out there who don't give money to the university because they don't have lots of money to spare. Why not set up a website to solicit donations solely to fund the new coaches salary? What's more, why not limit donations from fans through this website to, say, $100? If 100,000 Vol fans donate an average of $10 through the site that's $1,000,000. Put up a ticker at the top of the screen to show the donations coming in. Are you telling me that Tennessee football fans wouldn't raise this amount of money in a month for the right coach? Probably three or four times this amount. Plus, it's a uniting and rallying event, shows the university is in touch with its suppoters, puts the average fan on somewhat equal footing with the fat cats, and gives everyone something to do while we sit around waiting for the next hire. Put up the website and I guarantee you money for the next hire would be no option.
4. He has to be a great recruiter (or convince you that he can bring in a staff of great recruiters.) Phil Fulmer is tireless with recruiting. Ten minutes after the Alabama loss Fulmer was already trying to persuade Tajh Boyd and the other visitors in the locker room to come to Tennessee. Who do we know is a great recruiter as a head coach? Tim Brewster at Minnesota (based on one class so far) and Butch Davis at North Carolina and...that's really sort of it. Mike Leach has done a hell of a job coaching but I don't recall Texas Tech regularly storming the top 25 of recruiting rankings. Same with Chris Petersen out at Boise State (and Hawkins falling flat on his face at Colorado has to make you nervous about that as well.) Maybe I'm wrong.
Lane Kiffin? He's recruited at USC. Their recruiting hasn't fallen off much since he left. Plus, he did that as an offensive coordinator. I'm leery on Kiffin because I don't think he'd be on our short list if he hadn't been named the Oakland Raiders coach. And Al Davis is batshit crazy. So why are we using that job as a filtering device? Point being if Kiffin was the OC at USC right now, would we really think it was worth firing a national championship winning coach to bring him in? Don't think so.
5. He has to be demonstrably intelligent. If I could I'd request an IQ test. Or SAT scores. Name a person who you think is dumb and has won an SEC Championship in the past decade (okay, excluding Les Miles). The point is, you have to hire a smart guy now. Brains matter in this day and age. This is almost impossible to quantify but Mike Hamilton is smart. I trust he can make this call. To me intelligence is seismic.
6. He has to strike fear into the heart of our opponents. I think this is the most important part of the list. Look, perception is reality for the first two years of any coaching situation. Point being, does Nick Saban get his guys to buy in so quickly if he's been an OC at USC prior to arriving at Alabama? I don't think so. College kids believe the hype. And believing is the first battle (of course thanks to G.I. Joe we recall that knowing is half the battle as well). More importantly, perhaps, recruits believe the hype. Who on our potential list would make other teams in the SEC give pause? I'll tell you: Jon Gruden, Butch Davis and Mike Leach. That's it, that's the list. (And of course you could throw Bill Cowher in here as well if you're willing to but I haven't heard anything at all about him from anyone. Of course this might mean nothing.) Otherwise, I don't see the point in running Fulmer out of town. The next coach has to a name hire of half the fanbase is going to want him fired before he starts. Name the wrong guy and we're staring a Ron Zook to Florida situation right in our faces. You only need to ask Alabama how long a decade of joke coaches can screw up a team.
So to reiterate, from my perspective, our next coach has to fulfill five criteria to be worthy of replacing Fulmer: in his 40's at a maximum, with head coaching experience, a great recruiter, demonstrably smart, and striking fear into the heart of our opponent. Fulfill those five and money won't be an option. Guaranteed. Just get up the website. Pronto. I've got my contribution ready to submit.
By the way, the above picture is me at the Nashville sports picnic meeting Johnny Majors. Hopefully, if we nail the above criteria, our next coach will be around when my 9 month old son Fox is old enough to get his own picture autographed. Labels: coaching checklist tennessee claynation
Posted by Clay Travis at 1:45 PM
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