List of Coaching Candidates for Vols Basketball

Mar 12, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Butler head coach Chris Holtmann watches action against Xavier during second half of quarterfinal game at Madison Square Garden. Xavier won 67-61. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Holtmann, Butler Bulldogs

Record: 67-65 overall in 4 seasons, 23-11 in 1 season at Butler

Conference Titles: None

NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1

Salary: N/A

One of the youngest coaches on the list, Chris Holtmann, 43, wasn’t even officially a head coach when the 2014-15 season began. He was the interim head coach for the first 14 games of the season before former head coach Brandon Miller officially stepped down due to health concerns.

Holtmann was a head coach at Gardner-Webb for 3 seasons, where he had losing seasons in his first 2 years before leading the team to 21-13 record and CIT Tournament berth his 3rd season. He then left the Runnin’ Bulldogs to become an assistant for another team of Bulldogs, this time at Butler.

Holtmann was an assistant for one season before being promoted to interim head coach before this previous season. He helped lead the Bulldogs to a 23-11 season and a NCAA Tournament victory over Texas in the 1st round.

While an intriguing option, Holtmann may still be too young and inexperienced to be a viable candidate for what the Vols are looking for right now. Still, his name has surfaced in rumors for Tennessee’s open position, but those may be nothing more than rumors intended to earn him a pay raise at Butler.