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Tennessee Vols: 5 Best Coaches To Replace Butch Jones 4.0

By Zach Ragan

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Butch Jones of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts during the second half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Butch Jones of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts during the second half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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CLEMSON, SC – OCTOBER 10: Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables of the Clemson Tigers calls out a play during the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Memorial Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Tyler Smith/Getty Images)
CLEMSON, SC – OCTOBER 10: Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables of the Clemson Tigers calls out a play during the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Memorial Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Tyler Smith/Getty Images) /

Brent Venables — Clemson Defensive Coordiantor

Anytime you hire a first time head coach it’s a huge gamble.

But it’s gamble that has paid off for a lot of programs — including Tennessee.

Coaches like Phillip Fulmer, Bob Stoops, Jimbo Fisher, Dabo Swinney, and most recently Kirby Smart all started as first time head coaches at a major program. Four of the names on that list won national championships, and the other name looks capable of doing the same.

Of course there’s no way to know if Venables will find that same success as a head coach, but he certainly has the credentials to suggest he might.

Venables has been the defensive coordinator on two national championship winning teams (Oklahoma 2000 and Clemson 2016) and he’s never been part of a team that didn’t go to a bowl game.

If Tennessee strikes out on some of their top candidates, I think Venables is a guy they can get that can deliver results. It might be a little rough the first season, but as we’ve seen with Kirby Smart at Georgia, I think by year two he would have the Volunteers in a nice groove.

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