Tennessee Vols Football: Potential Replacements For Butch Jones 3.0

A coaching search will soon be happening for the Tennessee Vols.

Shockingly, Butch Jones is still the head coach of the Tennessee Vols, despite his team’s embarrassing 41-0 loss at home on Saturday to the Georgia Bulldogs.

But we can only assume that he won’t be around for much longer.

Which means the Volunteers will be embarking on a coaching search soon.

We’ve already put out several coaching search lists, but as you know, those lists are constantly evolving.

Before we get to version three of our list, let’s address a few names.

Coaches who aren’t coming to Tennessee

Folks love to throw names out there that aren’t realistic. While I think the Vols need to target a top tier head coach, we also have to be realistic. You can forget names like David Shaw and Mike Gundy. Those guys aren’t leaving their alma mater to come to a rebuild at Tennessee. I love the idea of Gary Patterson at Tennessee as well, but he’s not leaving TCU. He’d be crazy to do that.

I also don’t think Dan Mullen is leaving Mississippi State. He has a secure job at Mississippi State, and I’m not sure what kind of success he’d have at Tennessee.

Bob Stoops is another name you can forget about. There’s just no way he retires from a great situation at Oklahoma and takes a year off and then goes to Tennessee. That just doesn’t make much sense.

Coaches that Tennessee shouldn’t hire

As I said, I think Tennessee needs to aim high with their next coaching hire. The program is in much better shape than it was in 2012, so I think they can attract a better coach than a Butch Jones or Derek Dooley.

That’s why I think the Vols should pass on names like Purdue’s Jeff Brohm or Minnesota’s PJ Fleck. I haven’t been all that impressed by either of those coaches. Fleck seems like Butch Jones 2.0. He runs a similar offense and he uses the same absurd catchphrases. He also benefited at Western Michigan from having one of the best college wide receivers ever.

I think the Vols also need to pass on Jim Bob Cooter and Tee Martin. The only reason they’re even mentioned is because they’re former Vols. Cooter is a pro coach, plain and simple.

Martin might be a good coach one day, but I don’t think he’s ready quite yet.

Les Miles is someone else the Vols need to take a pass on. He’s past his prime, and he isn’t a long term solution.