All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football: 5 people who should NOT replace Vols coach Butch Jones

By Caleb Calhoun

COLLEGE STATION, TX - OCTOBER 08: Former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning walks across the field prior to the start of their game against the Texas A
COLLEGE STATION, TX - OCTOBER 08: Former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning walks across the field prior to the start of their game against the Texas A /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images /

This happens every single time Tennessee football is about to have a coaching opening. The Vols want their own version of Nick Saban to come to Knoxville, and for many of them, that guy is Jon Gruden.

Live Feed

UTSA vs. Tennessee Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 4
UTSA vs. Tennessee Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 4 /

Betsided

  • 2023 Week 4 AP Poll Top 25: Every SEC team’s highest, lowest spot on ballot South Bound & Down
  • SEC Standings: What does upset do for Florida football? FanSided
  • Three reasons that Florida was able to beat top-ranked Tennessee FanSided
  • 5 College Football Playoff contenders who haven’t played like it yet FanSided
  • SEC Football: Florida, LSU rise in Week 4 2023 power rankings South Bound & Down

    • Gruden won a Super Bowl as an NFL coach, he got his career started as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee, and his wife is a former UT cheerleader. When you take all of that into account, it seems like an awesome fit.

    However, there are simply too many issues.

    Remember, Gruden has rejected previous offers to coach the Vols. Why would he change his mind now? And even if he did change his mind, why the heck would Tennessee football leverage its future on a guy who hasn’t been interested in the position in the past?

    That just suggests that his heart won’t be in it.

    On top of that, Gruden hasn’t coached in college football since he coached at Pacific in 1989. He has no experience in recent history with the sport, and given all the changes that the game has undergone since then, it’s hard to believe he could keep up.

    There is nothing about Gruden to suggest he’s a good recruiter. In fact, Gruden strikes me as a guy who has no desire to recruit. He is so knee deep into the X’s and O’s that getting the talent would just go right above him.

    Given all of these facts, Tennessee football does not need to spend one second trying to lure Gruden to Knoxville. It simply won’t happen.

    Home/Vols Football