Tennessee football: Ranking Vols last 10 seasons with first-year coordinator

10. 2017

4-8 (0-8)

Larry Scott (OC)

Yes, the most recent Tennessee football season in which they hired a first-year coordinator also just happens to be the worst in school history. To be fair to the hire, though, this was really about Butch Jones’s stubbornness.

The red flags began before the hire, though. Mike DeBord, who had been the Vols’ offensive coordinator in 2015 and 2016, led record-setting offenses behind Joshua Dobbs. However, he bailed after 2016 to head back to Indiana and lead the Hoosiers in the same role. Something was clearly up.

After that, Jones had a chance to bring in Mark Helfrich. It was a perfect fit. Helfrich proved himself to be an offensive genius with the Oregon Ducks, he was on the open market, and he could implement his spread with the system going on Rocky Top.

Instead, though, Jones wanted more control over what was run. So he promoted Larry Scott, the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator. Scott had been an interim head coach with the Miami Hurricanes and was a coordinator in high school. But he had never been a coordinator on offense or defense in college.

Well, he bears some responsibility for what happened that year. A historically bad offense behind Quinten Dormady ,Jarrett Guarantano and Will McBride was made worse by numerous injuries. Scott’s horrific play-calling against the Florida Gators really sent the team on a downward spiral.

In the process, the Vols stumbled to their first eight-loss season in school history and their first winless SEC season. Jones was fired with two games left, and Brady Hoke lost the last two with Scott still calling the plays. So needless to say, this move didn’t work out