Tennessee football offensive coordinator Tyson Helton will become the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers head coach. Here are five Volunteers replacement options.
Just two days after the season and one year to the day after the fan revolt against Greg Schiano, Tennessee football is involved in another coaching search. However, to be fair, this one is just to find a new offensive coordinator.
Jeremy Pruitt just lost Tyson Helton to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Helton accepted the head coaching job there, where he spent 2014 and 2015 as an offensive coordinator under Jeff Brohm and helped the program put up historic numbers.
As a result, Tennessee football is now looking for a replacement. And quite honestly, this isn’t the worst thing. The Vols had some big moments under Helton’s pro-style offense this year, but it was far too often very bland.
That cost them excitement from the fans and quite a few bad outings in their blowout losses on the year. The question going forward, though, is if Jeremy Pruitt wants to keep continuity in the offense or if he wants to change things up.
Either way, Nick Saban has already proven that the head coach, not the offense, is what makes a program tick. So while it’s important for Pruitt to bring in the right guy, he’s not off the hook if he makes a bad hire here.
Staff hires reflect the head coach. Just ask Phillip Fulmer with Dave Clawson or Derek Dooley with Sal Sunseri. Pruitt now has to make sure he avoids such a situation. But the exciting thing about this is there’s a chance for some new blood. And remember, Saban lost his offensive coordinator, Major Applewhite, after his first year with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
So let’s go ahead and bring up another hot board that we didn’t expect to do so early. These are the five best candidates for Tennessee football to replace Tyson Helton with as the Vols next offensive coordinator.