It's Officially a Dumpster Fire.

The great University of Tennessee's coaching search has now turned into an embarrassment for the fans and players. Turned down by Strong, Gundy, and Gruden, it is officially a dumpster fire. The Vol message boards and radio show callers are calling for AD Hart's head. Last night the hashtag #turneddowntennessee was trending worldwide on Twitter. UT is being left behind again, just like the Dooley hire. The University of Tennessee has rich tradition, excellent facilities, a huge stadium, and passionate fans. The only thing that can be happening is the administration is botching it, and that's sad. UT is going down the toilet, a once great program on the verge of being destroyed by people with absolutely no ties to UT. It's now time to salvage the situation and go get someone quick. Another gamble hire, just like Dooley was, but this hire could be the end of big time football at UT. UT is the laughingstock of the nation, and deserves it. This administration has problems, some fans have unrealistic expectations, but if UT can't hire a coach from a lesser school in a lesser conference, that's terrible. It's time for the AD to get someone in here, and can't afford to be hung up on getting perfection. UT has to put this fire out now, Petrino is available, Butch Davis is available, Jim Tressel is available, all winners who can be hired. UT has to get back to winning, this list is the easiest way. They might not be the most popular hires, but can UT afford to be picky at this point? No they cannot.

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Offers Reportedly Made

I'm not gonna go deep into this because it hasn't been confirmed, but it is being reported that Charlie Strong of Louisville and Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State have been offered the job as the University of Tennessee head coach. In my opinion, AD Hart's guy is Gundy and Strong is the safety net. I am satisfied that Strong is the guy at this point, Gundy just wants a raise. Vol message boards are going stupid about this whole thing, mostly because its about 99.999999% chance that the coaches name won't be Gruden. It's pathetic and embarrassing for fans who are actually living in the real world. UT fans have to get behind their guy and support him!

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Bret Bielema to Arkansas

It appears the Arkansas Razorbacks have hired Wisconsin Badger coach Bret Bielema. It's quite shocking actually, this is the same coach who was quoted as saying he would never come to the SEC. Not to mention the totally different styles of play he has compared to Razorback former coach John L. Smith. Bielema is a run first, big lineman, pound the rock kind of coach, Arkansas has come to be known for their high flying pass game.
A few things about him:

• 68-24 overall record
• Kansas State-Co-Defensive Coordinator from 2002-03
• Defensive Coordinator-University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2004
• Replaced Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin in 2005
• Has been to a bowl game every year since he took over at Wisconsin
• Scheduled to play in the Rose Bowl this season

It appears to be a good hire on paper, but his name came way out of left field. This is just one of the many coaches rumored to be hired by Arkansas, this does appear to be confirmed though. In the SEC, Tennessee has still not named a coach but the list has been thinned down to Charlie Strong and Mike Gundy. The Auburn Tigers are still looking also, although they are rumored to be close to hiring Gus Malzahn, head coach of Arkansas State.

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Charlie Strong

Louisville's head coach Charlie Strong is one of the final candidates for Tennessee's open head coaching position. He is a defensive minded coach with experience in the SEC. Charlie Strong was born in Batesville, Arkansas. After lettering for four years (1980–1983) at the University of Central Arkansas, Strong joined the Gators coaching staff as a graduate assistant in 1984. He later served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M in 1985. His first full-time coaching job was at Southern Illinois in 1986, where he coached wide receivers. He later assumed defensive coaching duties at Florida, Ole Miss, and Notre Dame. He also received a master's degree and education specialist degree from the University of Florida. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.
In 1999, Strong joined the South Carolina Gamecocks as defensive coordinator, becoming the first African American coordinator in Southeastern Conference (SEC) history. His stifling defenses and charismatic personality created buzz that he would be possibly the first black head coach in the SEC, but job offers were slim. Sylvester Croom eventually broke the color barrier in the SEC coaching ranks.
Strong was hired as defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators before the 2003 season. Florida head coach Ron Zook was fired midway through the Gators' 2004 season, but continued to coach until the bowl game; Strong served as interim coach of the Gators for one game, the December 2004 Peach Bowl. Florida lost the game, 27–10, to the Miami Hurricanes. Florida credits the regular season to Zook and the Peach Bowl to Strong. When Urban Meyer was hired as Florida's head coach, Strong was the only assistant coach retained from Zook's staff.
In a January 2009 interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Strong expressed his belief that race played a large part in the reason that he hadn't been offered a head coaching job at that point. Strong, whose wife is white, especially cited prospective employers' discomfort with his interracial relationship.
He became the 21st head football coach at the University of Louisville on December 9, 2009^[2]. In a telephone interview that day with ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde, former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, himself African American, said of Strong, "When they see what he can do, you're probably going to have a lot of people disappointed they didn't hire him sooner."
I'm not necessarily sold on this guy yet, he's only been a head coach for 3 years in a weak conference. He's also choked a couple of games away against inferior opponents this year. The UT fan base is sold on him already, most everyone wants him to be UT's next coach. I could support him, but he is coming into a bad situation for a new coach. UT isn't Louisville and things are 100 times more difficult in the SEC. He does have the Cardinals playing in a good bowl against his former Florida Gators team, and he has built Louisville into somewhat of a contender. For UT his experience and inability to put inferior teams away should be an issue, on the other hand he has a great defensive mind, something UT has lacked in the last half decade.

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