By Jimmy Hyams
Tennessee athletic director John Currie
hurt after the Vols’ last-play loss at Florida.
But if he has any intention of conducting a coaching search at the end of
the season, he has given no indication.
He has said all along he likes the direction of the football program.
He saw many bright spots in the gut-wrenching loss in The Swamp.
He sees no reason to examine his coaches’ buyout.
That could change in six or seven weeks. It might change sooner, depending
on how Tennessee
performs in the next two games and how fans respond at the turnstile.
What does Currie see now when he looks at his football program?
“I see a football program that is one play away from a miraculous 10-point
comeback in the fourth quarter (at Florida) and being 3-0,’’ Currie said this
week. “The margin of victory in this league is really, really small. Almost
like the NFL.’’
Currie raved about the play UT cornerback Justin Martin made the fourth
quarter, chasing down Florida running back Malik
Davis from behind, making up about 5-6 yards to cause a fumble just before Davis crossed the goal line.
The result was a touchback and Tennessee
marched downfield to score to cut the gap to 13-10.
A Florida touchdown there would have spelled doom for the Vols.
“To me (that play) epitomizes this team,’’ Currie said.
Still, it was a seventh consecutive loss at Florida and put the Vols behind the
eight-ball in the SEC East Division race.
“It’s a long season,’’ Currie said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,
obviously. But I appreciate the effort and work that all of our coaches and
student-athletes are putting into it.’’
Some Vols fans have thrown in the towel on Jones, even some who supported
him before the Florida game. They argue he seldom wins close games. They argue he doesn’t manage a game well. They argue he can’t get UT where it wants to go – which is an East
title and eventually an SEC championship.
You can’t argue that Jones has done a very good job building UT into being
relevant in the East after the Vols had back-to-back 1-7 SEC records before
Jones arrived.
Jones has upgraded the won-loss record, the talent, the academic
achievements, the community service hours, the off-the-field behavior.
But he has yet to win the East Division.
It doesn’t help that Florida’s
Jim McElwain, with a subpar offense the past two years, has captured two East
titles in his first two seasons.
For the record, Jones’ buyout is $2 million per year for every year left on
his contract, plus prorated pay for any months before Feb. 28. Jones has three
years left after this season.
Also, UT’s defensive coordinator makes over $1.1 million a year. And the
other nine assistants combine to make about $4 million. Total buyout for the nine
assistants and the strength and conditioning coach: $5 million
Purging the entire staff would run the bill up to over $11 million.
Then there is the issue of trying to hire a big-name coach ($5 million?),
paying his buyout ($3 million-plus?), hiring a new staff ($5-6 million?).
The price tag for firing your current coach and hiring a new one and his
staff with potential buyouts could exceed $25 million.
I’m convinced Currie doesn’t want that to happen.
I don’t think Currie is fond of the idea of pursuing a football coach nine
months after taking over as UT’s athletic director.
For one, he would have the unenviable task of trying to hire a football
coach.
Secondly, if Currie fires his football coach, the clock starts ticking on
Currie, because, right or wrong, his tenure would then be judged on how his
football hire performs.
As we’ve seen at a variety of high profile programs (re: LSU, Oregon, Florida)
it’s not as easy as many think to hire a can’t-miss coach, or even a proven
coach.
And while you’re giving Alabama
credit for hiring Nick Saban, remember, the Tide had hired Rich Rodriguez, who
then turned it down, opening the door for Saban.
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee takes on UMass 
