5 dumbest coaching decisions in Tennessee football’s loss to Florida

1. Tennessee football passes on the half-yard line

The setup of all the stupidity surrounding the Tennessee football coaching staff came on this drive. The Vols had forced a turnover on defense. Then on a third and long play, they hit Marquez Callaway for a great pass and catch that he took to the half-yard line.

Callaway actually got in the end zone right there, and the refs missed it. But no matter. Any halfway decent play-calling would still get Tennessee a touchdown right there.

And down 6-3, the score would put them in control of the game in the third quarter.

However, if you’re Butch Jones and Larry Scott, it’s a different story. Scott decided to get cute on first and goal from the half-yard line. He called for a fade that was almost intercepted.

Then, there was a penalty, and Dormady got hurt. Jarrett Guarantano came in and caused a false start.

But that didn’t end with the dumbness on that drive. Jones and Scott called three straight pass plays. The first two were incomplete. The final one was intercepted.

So their decision to get cute on the half-yard line cost the Vols a chance at any points on this drive. And it was the defining moment of the game. Tennessee football’s players could not get that out of their head, and that’s why they continued to screw up down the stretch.

But it all came down to this horrendous coaching series on the half-yard line. And, as Clay Travis once said, it was the equivalent of coaching malpractice.