The "Home Run" Hire

Just what do Volunteer fans want out of their new football coach?

Many of the Volunteer faithful thought that their soon to be ex-coach was the answer, until they finally took off their blindfolds and realized that they had been duped by a circus hypnotist posing as a coach. Many of the Orange and White faithful thought that they had been lusting after the coaching version of Farrah Fawcet, only to have snapped out of the trance and saw that they actually had been ogling Rosie O'Donnell.

Okay......what is it that Vols fans want and need in its next coach?

Most UT fans feel that whomever Mike Hamilton hires, he had better step to the plate like Hammering Hank Aaron himself and hit a "home run" or else. The University of Fulmer fans will tell you that he had better hit a "home run" with this hire because he Hamilton fired their object of worship. The rest of Big Orange Country just wants to start competing for Championships as we did throughout the much of the 1990's.

So, what do fans mean when they demand that Mike Hamilton make a "home run" hire? Does it mean that Mike Hamilton must hire a marquee name such as Butch Davis or Bob Stoops? Could it mean that whomever Mike Hamilton hires brings the offensive system flavor of the day? Does it mean that the hire should be someone who will change the current team culture and forge a new culture on "The Hill"?

Before fans create their expectations and perceptions of Volunteer football program's future, they need to pull out their road atlas and look at just where on the "roadmap of collegiate football" the UT football program is at. The Vols program was busted flat and relocated to "Rock Bottom" by outgoing coach, Phil Fulmer. Whomever takes the reigns of the program, had better be able to come in and immediately change the culture. He will have to have a plan that he can instill in the players and the players must buy into the philosophy. The UT football program will not be about conducting business as usual, but rather it will conducted in the ways seen fit by the new coach. Some of the old University of Fulmer cadre will not like much of the change one bit, but it is the best thing that could ever happen to the Volunteer football program.

The new coach, in all honesty, will be expected to turn the UT program around and rightfully so. However, to expect the new coach to win SEC Championships right out of the gate, with the half-bare cupboard that Fulmer has left, would be delusional. The soon to be hired UT coach will need to be a gung-ho recruiter who is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and engage himself in the recruiting battles for the top prep players in the nation. A strong "identity" will go a long way in helping to secure the services of these future student-athletes. That source of this "identity" could be a well known name, a effective offensive system, or a combination of the two. No matter what, the Vols need an infusion of top talent badly. Losing to the Wyoming Cowboys on your home field is not something the Volunteer faithful should have to get used to doing.

"But Brother Bluto! We can't have a coach who would use Tennessee as a stepping stone....." Don't get caught up in this self-imposed trap. As mentioned earlier, we afforded Phil Fulmer that opportunity and he looked upon our offerings as his entitlement and kingdom, while he sank the program into the depths of despair. Hopefully a new coach will be able to turn this ship around sooner than later. We would not expect him to stay any longer than 7-8 years-ten at the most. Most coaches lose their vigor by that time and lose their fire to be the best. If he wants to leave UT after rebuilding the program, then so be it and lets move on.

Whatever Mike Hamilton does or whomever he chooses, lets hold hope that hires a strong person, who will stress discipline, carry himself with dignity, and who will change much of the culture of arrogance that has rotted away the core of the University of Tennessee football program. In doing so, we can count on some new traditions being established, added to existing traditions, and enjoyed by University of Tennessee Volunteer fans for years to come.