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Tennessee Football: Top 5 Candidates Who Should Replace Mike DeBord as Vols Offensive Coordinator

By Caleb Calhoun

Oct 15, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones runs on to the field before the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones runs on to the field before the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 12, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans receivers coach Tee Martin during the game against the Idaho Vandals at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans receivers coach Tee Martin during the game against the Idaho Vandals at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Tee Martin

Well, the upsides are beyond obvious here. You can’t find a more beloved former Tennessee football player than Tee Martin with very few exceptions. After all, he won the Vols a national championship in 1998.

Martin is also one of the most proven recruiters in the sport. So getting him to Knoxville would be a huge boost in that regard as well.

Then there’s his success. In his first year as offensive coordinator, Martin oversaw a USC Trojans offense that was in the Top 20 nationally in yards gained and in the Top 40 in points per game. That all came with a freshman quarterback starting nine of the games.

In fact, with that freshman, Sam Darnold, the numbers went up, so they are actually skewed against him.

Martin’s ability to maximize Darnold’s talent down the stretch counts for a lot, and he’s already one of the hottest coaching prospects out there.

However, there are some downsides.

For starters, he has already turned down the Vols under Butch Jones to stay at USC once. Why would he not do it again, especially when there’s no promotion involved and he’s got Darnold coming back?

It wouldn’t be the smart career move yet.

At the same time, Martin is still a bit unproven. He’s only been coaching as an offensive coordinator for a year, and while he employs elements of the spread, it’s not a full-blown spread.

That could create issues in Butch Jones’s offense, and it’s why he’s No. 4.

But despite that, he has so many upsides. A final upside is Martin’s ability to call close games. He showed that with USC’s epic comeback win over the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl shootout.

And speaking of Penn State, they have a guy on our list as well.

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