Brian Kelly 'Leading Candidate' for Tennessee

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GoVolsXtra has an unnamed source inside the Tennessee football program which has indicated that Cincinnati's Brian Kelly is now the leading candidate to replace outgoing coach Phil Fulmer. Also in the mix: South Florida's Jim Leavitt.

Notably absent? Mike Leach, whose Texas Tech Red Raiders can be found sitting happily in the BCS Top 2. According to Knoxville News Sentinel's Mike Griffith:

Mike Leach still has his name thrown around, but I don't see it. No one is going to come into the SEC and win with Xs and Os - it takes talent, not gadgets.
And, I just don't see Leach (47) being able to handle the level of scrutiny that comes with the UT head football coach job. It's a regal position - hardly a post for someone with erratic and eccentric personality traits.

Erratic? Eccentric? Mike Leach? Really?

Er... yeah. And frankly, it's not a stretch to say that Leach might be a bit of a square peg in a round hole when it comes to Tennessee football. He's an offensive wizard, clearly, but he hasn't recruited at a high level nor is it easy to fathom pirate talk out of UT's press rooms.

Meanwhile, Brian Kelly is a blue-collar candidate that has done well in his coaching career, without necessarily bowling anyone over in the process. Kelly went 19-16 as Central Michigan's head coach from 2004-2006 before accepting the HBC job with the Bearcats. In his first full season there, Cincinnati enjoyed a Top 25 ranking and went 10-3, including a win in the Papajohns.com bowl. But according to our own Chas Rich, Cincinnati doesn't really care about Bearcat football, so maybe Kelly is up for a change.

It's kind of hard not to see a "Phil Fulmer Lite" in Brian Kelly. And we're not sure that's what Vol fans want or need at this point.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-19-2008 @ 2:44PM

Bobby said...

This doesn't surprise me. I don't think that the issue is Leach being eccentric, but more that there is no way he is going to leave the #2 team in the country to come try and fix this mess in Knoxville. Why would he when he's already done the heavy lifting at Tech and is seeing the fruits of his labor. It's an interesting spin, though.

11-19-2008 @ 3:18PM

Laugh said...

"but he hasn't recruited at a high level."

How high is high enough? Michael Crabtree not high enough? To be sure, there are cons to Leach, but I'm not sure recruiting is one of them. What high school quarterback doesn't want to throw the ball fifty times a game and lead the nation in passing yards (and Yarrrs)?

11-19-2008 @ 3:30PM

"but he hasn't recruited at a high level."

Really? How high is high enough? Michael Crabtree not high enough? There are cons to Leach to be sure, but this one holds no water. What high school quarterback doesn't want to throw fifty times a game and lead the nation in passing yards (and Yarrrs!)?

11-19-2008 @ 3:45PM

Scalz1 said...

eccentric = winning.

11-19-2008 @ 6:02PM

J.P. said...

UT needs to go out & get Chris Petersen from Boise State,if A.D.
Hamilton screws this pick up he's as good as gone.

11-19-2008 @ 6:25PM

T3 said...

As a Vols fan living in Cincinnati, I can tell you that Brian Kelly is a great choice for coach. He turned an overwhelming basketball school into a football school. Granted, the unfair ousting of Bobby Huggins helped but I digress.
On top of being an incredible motivator he now has ties at many Cincinnati area schools, and as many of you may know Cincinnati is a hot bed for college recruits. Just ask Ohio State. He won 2 division 2 championships at Grand Valley State and won the MAC championship in his second year at Central Michigan after they hadn't had a winning season the previous 7 years.
Coached Cincinnati to their first 10 win season in god knows how long and won Big East coach of the year honors.
He's had 3 quarterbacks ago down this season and still boasts a 8-2 record, and those losses were to Oklahoma and a tough Connecticut team.

I am saddened by Fulmer's "resignation" but excited to see who they bring in.You can probably guess who I'm pulling for.

11-20-2008 @ 11:55PM

Chris said...

As a Cincinnati fan living in Cincinnati, I can assure you that this city cares very much about our college football team. The Bearcats are a welcomed alternative to our other amateur football team, the Cincinnati Bengals. But even when the Bengals peaked in 2005, the city was still very much enthralled by the happening of the Cincinnati football team.

Don't mistake the ineptness of the local newspaper for ignorance by the fan base. A string of losing seasons and a coaching betrayal later, we have sold out Nippert Field for the Pitt game (only the fourth advance sellout in the stadium's history) and the University has promised funds to expand the stadium and build indoor practice fields for the team.

Kelly has all the tools here in Cincinnati to build a title contender; the fans, the recruiting base, the financial resources. If he leaves, Kelly won't leave because of a lack of support; he'll leave for the prestige of an established program and bigger bucks.

11-22-2008 @ 9:41PM

jack said...

I have followed Brian Kelly from Grand Valley State to Central Michigan University to Cincy and all the guy does is WIN. He rebuilds program after program and does it QUICKLY. Kelly could mean to UT Football what Bruce Pearl meant to UT Basketball...don't let the lack of a big time name get in the way of hiring a coach who has proven himself at EVERY turn.

11-23-2008 @ 1:34PM

Jack Bluebird said...

Brian Kelly might leave to Tenn and his past history certainly points to it. But I doubt it for several reasons. First, UC probably gave him penalty ridden contract if he left as they probably smartened up after Dantonio left for Mich st. Second he's been working to get additional facilities built for his team in the upcoming years. Third the Tenn job isn't that great-- sure they put 100k in the stadium but you gotta duke it every year against georgia and florida and s carolina and that's just the sec east. Sure the money is great at Tenn but considering the challenges, I think UC is a better gig because its in a major BCS conference Big East but with easier opponents than a SEC. Also look at the last big east coach to leave--Rich Rodrig from WV to a supposedly better gig at michigan and now he's struggling and will struggle next year too. He might very well get fired from michigan after next year or they might end up stuck with him like Notre Dame and that fat freak.