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Tennessee football: 10 coaches Vols should avoid hiring

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 26, 2020; Orlando, FL, USA; Liberty Flames head coach Hugh Freeze and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers head coach Jamey Chadwell talk at mid field before the game against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2020; Orlando, FL, USA; Liberty Flames head coach Hugh Freeze and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers head coach Jamey Chadwell talk at mid field before the game against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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HOUSTON, TEXAS – JANUARY 04: Head coach Bill O’Brien of the Houston Texans looks on against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter of the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at NRG Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS – JANUARY 04: Head coach Bill O’Brien of the Houston Texans looks on against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter of the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at NRG Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

4. Bill O’Brien

Honestly, nobody is probably more qualified than Bill O’Brien to take this job. The Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator did take the Houston Texans to the NFL Playoffs four times and had a winning record five times in seven years.

Before that, O’Brien put together his most impressive coaching job. He replaced Joe Paterno the year the NCAA brought the hammer down on the Penn State Nittany Lions for the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Somehow, he managed to go 8-4 and 7-5 during those two years, probably the greatest coaching job of all time.

If he could handle Penn State at that point, he could handle what Tennessee football is going through now. However, Danny White is likely looking at a long-term hire. Sorry, but O’Brien is nowhere near that guy. He left PSU after two years because his preference was always to be in the NFL, and he’ll leave the Vols the minute a pro team comes calling as well.

It would only take a year or two for O’Brien to get another pro offer. Sure, he failed at Houston, but that was due to his issues as a general manager in 2020, not his coaching. Another NFL team will hire him specifically as a head coach and give somebody else the GM duties, and he’ll leave Rocky Top in a heartbeat.

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