Editors Note: This the first in a series of random Rants that will occur on Footballtime.com because it’s the off-season and all of our minds wander. We hope you enjoy it.

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It is impossible and fruitless to judge yourself based on the past. Tennessee’s current Quarterbacks would do themselves a disservice if they spent their time comparing themselves to Peyton Manning for a multitude of reasons, not least of which because NCAA Football, The University of Tennessee and The State of Tennessee were all very different back then. That is also true of writers. The economics of 90 years ago were such that people with talent, like Hemingway or Fitzgerald, could subsidize entire lives of alcoholism with a few short stories and novels. Even now, with the written word triumphant due to the internet, no one has that sort of power. Not even the truly gifted.

But as I look across the current landscape, there are voices that many of us turn to almost as a reflex when BIG TIME SPORTS and HOT TAKES are required. The point of this column is to pay tribute to two of the best.

These are two writers I read compulsively, as do many of you, and then I feel bad about myself and my meager attempts to write anything. There is a craft to this and I know I’m only average at it. These two are masters. It’s like watching someone dunk when you can only hope to have a decent looking layup. Which is also a good way of describing my high school varsity basketball career.

This column is an unabashed praising of their frustrating brilliance and how it impacts my own scribbling. Yes, it would be healthier if I took the advise I’ve given to Tennessee’s current QB crop.

But I’m an idiot.

Onward.

On Will Leitch

The founding editor of Deadspin has many strengths yet the chief brilliance that Mr. Leitch brings is simply because after reading one sentence of his work, you like him. Compulsively. Read this, where he actually took over the format of Drew Magary, and enjoy a genius at work.

You read that and thought that your best friend Will was telling you a secret at your lunch table in High School and you loved him for it. It was conversational, observational and brilliant.

I want to write like that.

But I’m not as good.

Mr. Leitch, and I will always refer to him as Mr. Leitch for reasons that shall be self-evident later in this column, has frustrating brilliance.

Mr. Leitch is intelligent and so ahead of the curve on the market of writing, you wish he’d focus his brilliance on giving you stock advice. Based on interviews, he and I write in a very similar manor, but were I actually to punish myself intellectually by comparing Will Leitch to my writing, I’d probably just get drunk and think dark thoughts. What’s important to note, thus why I’m writing this, is that those of us that consume online Sports Writing (Also known as Internet, The according to the dictionary) all owe Mr. Leitch a profound debt. As the founding editor of Deadspin he is already on the Mount Rushmore of writers, but he’s actually more important than that. He wrote about sports, yes, but he also wrote about his life and about his family and a ton of other things that paved the way of any scribbler from the future.

Here is the best compliment I could possibly give to Mr. Leitch about how good he is: I never got mad at him for it.

Jealousy is a permanent fixture of life. We all feel it acutely in a variety of ways be they professional or personal. But Mr. Leitch, as a writer, is so damn likeable you never get mad about how good he is. I’ve had the pleasure of talking to Mr. Leitch in private and he is just as if not more pleasant than in the columns he writes. To be that talented and still nice is an amazing trait. I will relay now a story, told, for the purposes of those looking to sue me for libel, at a gym, so the veracity is really questionable, but it’s too good not to share. It’s also about writers.

Here we go:

Paris 1920s in a pub: Two writers are talking amongst a crowd. Unsurprisingly, a large amount of booze is consumed. Thus, one, an insecure pale man, is now at the point of babbling incoherently about his insecurities. Another writer carries him back to the hotel. He has also had more than enough to drink, but he handles it in his own way, quietly. They arrive back at the hotel. The frail drunk asks his more secure friend to read over the submission that the frail has just sent in. The frail isn’t sure it’s any good. The masculine man of the town says he will, but likely only to get this drunk to bed. Then the caretaker reads.

It’s morning.

The frail drunk awakes in an embarrassed state when he sees his more established friend at the table reading his work. He calls out in a chastened state, appropriate for someone who blacked out and had to be taken care of; the answer he receives is very different:

“Good morning, Mr. Fitzgerald.”

The drunk was F. Scott Fitzgerald and the man who took him home and read his work was Ernest Hemingway. The work was The Great Gatsby. After reading it that night, Hemingway always referred to F. Scott as Mr. Fitzgerald.

I don’t care if that’s true, I’m running with it. My source is a man who knew Hemingway at the end of his life when the great man was frequently bombed out of his mind and acting like a jerk on a yacht. But the dude telling the story had pictures. Does that mean this story is true? No and I still don’t care. I love that story too much to let it go. The point of sharing it in this column is to highlight how jealous writers are of good work.

I am often tempted to be jealous of how good Mr. Will F. Leitch is, but his brilliance is making a reader feel like a co-conspirator. You can’t be jealous of someone who you feel is letting you in on the joke. It’s an amazing talent. I marvel at it and am taken by it at the same time. Every day, Mr. Leitch writes a column that is better than what I can muster in double the time. Yet I enjoy it while ignoring the buzzing sensation of envy that inevitably rings in the back of my head.

It’s a talent that transcends.

The next man I’m going to highlight is so good it makes me acutely angry.

On Drew Magary

I will probably never meet Drew Magary. If I ever do our conversation will be forced and awkward and both of us will run back to a laptop to write about how awkward it was. But that bastard is brilliant. I understand Mr. Leitch and his brilliance, which occasionally makes it frustrating for me while I’m writing because I want to be better, more specifically, I want to have the same sort of transcendent brilliance that Mr. Leitch has, but the best I’ll do is on par with if Will got drunk and had a deadline of about five minutes. I recognize that and am sort of at peace with it, because I think that maybe, one day, Will Leitch will get drunk and have a deadline that sneaks up on him.

Drew Magary is so damn brilliant that he hits me like a shot. There is no five minute deadline scenario in my head. Even in that scenario, Magary will put something together that’s unbelievably good. Yes, he’ll rely on some poop jokes that I’ll skip over because they don’t do anything for me, but the rest of the column will be amazing and I’ll need to go for a walk so that I don’t cut myself just to feel something.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s Frank DeFord was the writer everyone needed to read. He specialized in long, detailed features wherein he had effective analysis of his subject and oh by the way his writing was so amazing you could read it while drinking Merlot and trying the cheese from your disgusting monthly magazine suggestion.

Drew Magary is that, Now.

He’s so disgustingly good that it makes me angry.

The amount of talent that he has that he casually throws away in “Dadspin” columns and for GQ which are incredibly amusing is just frustrating for me as a writer because he’s so damn good. He could have texted a sentence to GQ while dealing with one of his kids and half paying attention and that sentence will be more entertaining than anything I write for a month. But that’s ok because HE’S A GAMER NOT A GLORY BOY.

Drew Magary, as a writer to mimic, is something you aim at if you are a totally insane individual. The old methods of analyzing writers is truly broken. But if you were attached to the idea of shooting at the best and dissecting their work, as Drew and many at KSK made a living off of, famously mocking some famous columnists, and thought “I’ll make myself feel better by attacking Magary. That’ll work!” You’ll be so profoundly disappointed that you’ll drink yourself to death. Other than an occasional typo that someone unimportant like me should have caught, Drew Magary is safe as a writer and a commentator. His angle is always original, smart and hard to deny.

He’s a genius and it is annoying.

I’ve been reading “The Postmortal” Drew Magary’s BRILLIANT novel that all of you should buy and read and my hope is that it is tremendously successful as a movie. It is my partial hope that he stops shoving my face in how good he is like I’m a pledge and he’s the fratmaster and retires to be a WASP someplace else the way Harper Lee did. I say partial because if he didn’t have a column out one week I’d think “YES! People might actually read ME!” Then, after about five minutes I’d think: “Where is Magary’s column this week, dammit! I need to know what he thinks!”

That’s my relationship with Drew Magary’s talent.

Drew’s brilliance is aggressive, assertive and annoying. Drew Magary is not annoyingly good. That’s Mr. Leitch, but you don’t get annoyed because Mr. Leitch is awesome and you want to hang out with him. Drew Magary is *Slaps pornographic size junk on the table* good. I admire the talent but don’t want to be in the same room with it because I feel awful when compared. I know that every editor that deals with me would secretly like to be dealing with Drew Magary and is probably fantasizing about it while editing my best efforts. Then, when I leave, they read Drew Magary and dream about working with a real writer.

I’ve yet to drink with either of these writers, but in my head – which is probably not the safest place to bet on these things – I’ve thought through the Hemingway story I relayed as it pertains to these two writers. Mr. Leitch is F. Scott Fitzgerald and Drew Magary is Ernest Hemingway. Not because I think either would need to be taken care of during a night at the pub in the 1920s but because of how their brilliance has manifested itself.

Drew Magary writes in a style of your frat brother who you’ll listen to regardless of what he’s saying, even if it is brilliant, because of the chicks he brings around. He doesn’t need your damn approval. His style is brilliant and it’s gonna sit there with its beard and gun and you’re going to appreciate it you half-breed! Even if there is an occasional self-deprecating point in HIS FRESH HOT TAKE it is understood that the take is there and it is final and it is to be appreciated or you should die. Like mayo. That’s Hemingway. Hemingway lived his life and had his shotgun and didn’t care at all what you thought. As often as Magary reveals a degree of vulnerability, it still isn’t his style. Magary has organized the world around his creative instincts. He isn’t befuddled, merely reacting to the latest circumstance.

Fitzgerald was profoundly impressed by the world around him.

Mr. Leitch writes in a style that your most verbose friend sends in a text. He convinces you, even if you were dead against that opinion before the text and especially when you weren’t sure, what to think. Yet at the same time, no matter how seriously you take his opinion, he is unfailingly self-deprecating and likeable. His FRESH HOT TAKE is subversive to any other FRESH HOT TAKE and that’s why you enjoy it.

They are both so brilliant it’s filthy.

Their brilliance is intimidating, frustrating and enjoyable. If you’re not a regular reader of both, you should be. But there is another fundamental difference. Following Will Leitch is like being a fan of a baseball team. He’s out there every day and as a consequence, there is brilliance in accomplishing that feat. If you’re me, and I’d advise against that, you’re curious about what Mr. Leitch is tackling lately and if what you most recently wrote is similar and you’re hoping he doesn’t put you to shame with his brilliance on the same topic. You are rarely disappointed yet frequently depressed, because he always does.

Following Drew Magary is like following a football team. The frequency of his posts are more predictable and you find yourself itching for them, particularly during NFL season on a Thursday around noon when you know it’ll hit in a few hours. If you’re me, and I’d advise against that, you’re looking at what he wrote and cursing your limited skills and jokes and internally questioning your prohibition on poop jokes. You read several thousand words of raw genius, then look at the column you wrote and hate yourself.

But that can make you better as a writer. Sometimes, it’s an important learning tool. That’s not true of an athlete. So to bring things back full circle, a warning to Tennessee’s QB class: Don’t go down this rabbit hole. Watch the film that’s relevant, deal with your current teammates and your current opponents, always. Because if you actually analyze the predecessors you most admire, then spend too much time in their shoes rather than your own, you can limit yourself from making a play to win today.

It’s good advice for all of us, if we can take it.

The post Rant Time In Tennessee: Fitzgerald and Hemingway to Leitch and Magary appeared first on FootballTime.com.

Exactly one year ago today, I finalized a feature on new Tennessee Volunteers head football coach Butch Jones. I contacted dozens of sources–directly quoting several–in an effort to paint a picture of what Jones was accomplishing on the recruiting trail. Over 3,000 words later, the conclusion was simple:

Butch Jones gets it.

A year later, Jones is still erasing perceptions of Tennessee football built in the last decade (more aggressively in the past five years, specifically), perceptions that seem to contradict the reality that the University of Tennessee is historically one of the greatest college football programs in the country.

Skeptics are still plentiful in light of a 5-7 campaign in his first year at the helm, but what Butch Jones has managed to accomplish on the recruiting trail has led to reasonable optimism.

My profile of Jones took an expanded look at how the new head coach at Tennessee was attacking the Class of 2014, his first full class in Knoxville.

At the time of publication, Butch Jones had 15 commitments and the class was ranked second nationally. On the whole, Jones would add an astonishing 19 more pledges that gave Tennessee a consensus Top 10 recruiting class, one that many Tennessee fans expect to lay the foundation for his revitalization of this program.

Now, as he addresses the Class of 2015, Butch Jones is proving that his ability to attract talent despite an inferior product on the field wasn’t a one-off. The Vols currently have 12 commitments in this class and hover around 10th nationally in most team recruiting rankings.

Late last night, Butch Jones added a commitment from Quinten Dormady, a Texas quarterback who 247Sports rates the fifth-best pro-style quarterback and the 174th-best player in the country.

Dormady has exploded recently on the recruiting trail, receiving nine offers from the likes of TCU, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and–the big one–Alabama. All this came after missing the entirety of his junior season with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.

However, Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian went to evaluate Dormady on May 23. Five days later he had an offer, and a week later Dormady’s rising stock was nationally validated when the Crimson Tide extended a commitable offer following a stellar performance at a camp on Alabama’s campus.

Yet, after making a return visit to Tennessee this weekend, Dormady decided to commit to Butch Jones and the Tennessee Volunteers late last night via Twitter. It was an incredible get for Jones, not only because he beat out Almighty Alabama, but because he failed to sign a quarterback in 2014.

Whether Dormady blossoms into the next great Volunteer quarterback or not, securing a commitment from a kid in a small town north of San Antonio with an offer from THE national powerhouse in collegiate football signifies something for Jones. For a year and a half now, Butch has been out there planting these sort of flags.

The ability to sell prospective student-athletes based on a vision isn’t easy. Derek Dooley certainly couldn’t do it, and hundreds of coaches before him have seen solid recruiting classes dismantled by 5-7 seasons. Yet, Butch Jones was able to hold together an incredible haul in 2014, and he looks poised to do the same in 2015, despite the continuing growing pains that seem likely for Tennessee.

That’s because people trust Butch.

What people, you might ask.

The overwhelming majority.

Jones’ success as a recruiter is built completely on establishing personal relationships. Yes, he’s got a great university to sell with incredible facilities and an unquestionable history of greatness, but all the recruits and high school coaches I spoke with last year for my story were clear that their relationships with Jones were valued.

John Hart sent five of his players to Butch Jones at Cincinnati when he was the head coach of Indianapolis powerhouse Warren Central. He’s since moved on to a high school about an hour north of where I live here in Illinois, but when asked if he would send one of his athletes at Huntley to Butch Jones and Tennessee (600 miles away, mind you), he didn’t hesitate:

“I’ve known Coach Jones since he was at Central Michigan, and I think the key about him and the guys that he has around him, is that they’re men of character,” Hart said. “When he says he’s going to do something, he follows through with it.

“I always felt like my job as a head football coach was to make sure I protected my players when they go into the recruiting process, and Coach Jones did an outstanding job … there’s not anybody that I could recommend (to a prospect) more strongly than himself and the coaches he surrounds himself with.”

John Hart trusts Butch Jones and he’s done so for nearly a decade. That’s because he trusts Butch.

Quinten Dormady’s relationship with Tennessee is likely built on a similar trust. Dormady trusts Butch Jones and he trusts Mike Bajakian. He trusts that they’ll put him on a path to success on the football field and in life.

That trust, as idealistic as it seems, is absolutely everything in a business where everybody is told not to trust anybody.

The post Butch Jones Still Building Valuable Recruiting Relationships appeared first on FootballTime.com.

As Tennessee was in the midst of its search for the next Head Basketball Coach, a search that — in Dave Hart style — was filled with twists and turns and ultimately landed the right person for the job, I wrote this column about the criteria for The Four Things A Tennessee Basketball Coach Has To Be.

In that column, I asserted that the Head Basketball Coach was more important to the daily mood of the average Tennessean than either of their U.S. Senators. Which got me thinking: What are the rankings of the most important people in Tennessee to the daily lives of a state that loves sports but also has concerns about quality of life and equal opportunity?

The internet likes lists. So I made a list. It includes people only, because if I were to include WiFi it would be number 1 and I wouldn’t have to make a list.

A few other brief rules: Memphis is a cultural hub that has tentacles that reach into a variety of other states and, paradoxically, doesn’t always reach the rest of Tennessee. Upon weighing that, and liking Memphis, no Tigers appear on this list. And, obviously your family members are exempt as they have more impact on your day to day life than any of this.

Also, the President of the United States isn’t on this list because if we’re going to WWIII, this list has all the relevancy of a Tweet by Justin Bieber. By the way, maybe this is just me getting old, but I don’t get the hate for any singer anymore. We have iPods and Sirius Satellite Radio now. You really don’t have to hear any music that you’re not interested in. Even if you’re at a political convention, you can pretty much shrug off the fifth time you’ve heard “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, particularly if you’re like me and hadn’t heard it before. But I digress.

The point of this list is to target the most amount of impact per person in Tennessee. All told, these people, in this order, have more to do with your mood and the direction of the great State of Tennessee than any others.

Onward.

1) The Governor — The party the Governor belongs to matters in the sense that your own prism determines it matters, but the inherent power of the office remains the same. The Governor of the State of Tennessee manages a great many things that matter to you in your day to day life. Education. Economic development. Security. Social policy. Not to make this some dramatic Schoolhouse Rock column  nor do I want to do a dissertation on the Tennessee Constitution but just know that, whether it’s through inherent executive power, budgeting power, media leverage or through appointments, the person in this job impacts your day more than you probably know. Governors and Mayors aren’t like other politicians. They actually have to govern. While others can just fire off an opinion and then head to the next event,  even if you don’t like a particular Governor or Mayor, just know that they and their staff are working a lot harder and dealing with actual issues. These people actually have jobs. It’s different than the person you hate that appears frequently on Cable News.

2) The Head Football Coach of The University of Tennessee — The mood of an entire State, for months on end, is determined by the game decisions and recruiting prowess of this individual and those he empowers around him. The Governor of the State of Tennessee has the ability to charge you fees, create, sign and enforce laws that can put you in jail and controls how much of your tax dollars is spent on issues you agree with. But for sheer emotional control, Coach of the Vols has more ownership of the attention of the average Tennessean than a Governor could ever dream of attaining. This isn’t the hyperbole of a sports driven website. This is fact. Just ask Governor Bill Haslam here or here  (at the very end). Powerful people recognize other powerful forces.

3) The Men’s Basketball Coach of The University of Tennessee — This is a commentary on the ability of the Coach to produce things that will provoke joy in the daily lives of Tennessee fans. Politicians can’t do that. They can only “Do their job!” or “Oppose/Support that thing I feel strongly about!” But nothing a U.S. Senator can do will produce the joy of a victory over Florida or Kentucky. Can they write a law that helps you? Yes they can. The odds that it actually happens? Frankly it depends on the issue and for every one person who loves that law there is someone who hates that law. No one hates a win over Kentucky. A U.S. Senator/their staff can help you if you have a problem or they can wave at you when they march in a parade, but that’s about it. Part of the power is calendar related. It’s cold and miserable and the only thing that makes you happy is a Tennessee Basketball victory in middle February. Preparing for that, by keeping up with recruiting or camps or media interviews is both easier and more enjoyable than reading an email from your local congressperson. Also, more gratifying and more entertaining.

4) United States Senator from the State of Tennessee — They have the ability to procure huge amounts of money and to block appointments to major offices. By the nature of those two things, as residents of the United States of America where the money and those offices reside, they are noteworthy. They also can get things they’ve funded named after them in Tennessee and are statewide figures and answer to the voice of all Tennesseans when they’re up for re-election. Are they more noteworthy than any of the above mentioned folks?

No.

Why? Because they get six year contracts and get to serve them out. Can you imagine a Football or Men’s Basketball coach getting six years regardless of success? No. No you can’t. Most coaches get 4 years and if they’re doing poorly after three, they’re gone. The Governor only gets 4 years and if he/she is doing a terrible job will be pressured to announce that they’re not going to seek a second term after year three. That’s a signal that Tennesseans view it as more important to be able to remove and replace The Big Three than they do their Ambassador’s to the U.S. Senate. Also, it’s more important that The Big Three be engaging and funny. Senators aren’t required to do that. If you don’t believe me, look at the Senate.

5) The Women’s Basketball Coach of The University of Tennessee — This might be controversial, particularly in light of the appointments above, but as of this moment, this is appropriate. The legacy of Pat Summitt stands tall here. The excellence of her accomplishments mandates this spot for her successor Holly Warlick and the program. This is a part of the 2014 sports trinity at Tennessee. It is the last sport. That could change. But as of this moment, it is accurate.

6) Local Weather Person — At the most dire moments, this person predicts hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, or the pure hell of something they can’t properly explain that is on the way to your county. In 2011 in Knoxville, I spent a night in a bathtub with a dog and a cat that did not like each other watching the local news on my phone because we were having a “Weather Event.” Said weather event was near tornado style crazy winds and hail so vicious that it broke a window in my apartment and totaled my car. Seriously, I got over $2,000 for my beloved red Hyundai Tiburon after the weather got done pistol whipping her. All the while, it was the local weather people who let me know when it was safe to come out from the tub. So I will argue their importance. With the weather getting more and more dangerous, their importance to your day will only increase.

7) Local Mayor/County Executive — This person is responsible for fixing your potholes, managing your parks, making your area business friendly and dealing with the crazy people who flock to government buildings like moths to flame. This is different than a Governor, who gets the luxury of being remote in most instances. A local pol is local. A local pol has to be sure to keep up the: “I’ve seen you at the bar/post office/local reception/cub scout event/local tradition/parade and that means you’re one of us!” deal that local politicians sign up for. There are benefits to it, of course. Good mayors, like good coaches, get statues and/or portraits. Let’s be honest, having a statue built or a portrait painted in your honor is awesome. So much so that it’s worth dealing with Mr. & Mrs. Can’tBeHappy’s constant demands and lawsuits involving trees. But whether it’s event coordination, construction projects or worrying about crime, this person is a major figure in your life. But it’s limited to you. Where you live. This person is a random name to the rest of Tennessee. Which is why this person sits here, behind the weather. TV broadcasting being what it is, weather people cover larger areas than local politicians, as does weather. Which is why Mayor Quimby sits right here on this list.

8) Local Bartender — Finally! Someone who consistently induces happiness. Is that happiness potentially dangerous? All happiness is! Even the really awesome kind that you dream about. But the local barkeep can make sure the folks are happy often. They are also in charge of keeping the social order in line. This is a vital job, in actuality. Unlike those above, the Local Bartender rarely has to announce major news that will make you sad. They do have to announce “Closing Time” which is often quite sad, but doesn’t have to be.  They also get to be the first bit of happiness some have that day. This is a position of serious honor. Take it seriously. These people are vital in every town. Particularly when there is a dry county next door.

9) Local Member of Congress — This person is in charge of getting money from the federal government to spend in your area whilst simultaneously complaining about how much money the federal government spends. So this person is important and also a hypocrite. But they’re your hypocrite. They also may get to write laws, but probably not. They can vote on laws, but most of what gets voted on doesn’t really become laws these days. Also, depending on the district, they may be in charge of saying crazy things in order to let people know that they’re “On Our Side” whatever that means. Seriously the job interview for this position is something like this:

“Do you like saying things that cable news says you should say? You do? AWESOME! Do you like calling people for money? Really? Okay, that’s good but creepy. Do you like large portions of America hating your guts? Good, that’s…useful. You’re really okay with that? Huh. Well, congrats, you’re going to be in Congress. Bring back the big bucks.”

10) Local State Legislator — Also in charge of bringing money back to your area but, because of balanced budget rules, in charge of complaining that your area isn’t getting enough money. Of all the gigs on this list, this is probably the best one. No, it isn’t that much money. No, it isn’t that much attention. But most aren’t out to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Most are looking to have a comfortable life. This is a comfortable life. Yes, there are constituent issues involved, but most people aren’t going to bother you. You get to spend plenty of time in Nashville, which is awesome, and you can have another job at the same time. If you’re smart, you’ll also be involved in drawing your own district, so huzzah no worry about losing an election! No, really that’s how it works! Because it’s a part time job, despite the fact that it’s pretty sweet, it rounds out our list. Please keep me in mind for this gig in the coming years.

Honorable Mention: Police Officers, Lawyers & Judges — If you can help it, avoid needing to deal with these folks in any context that isn’t social. If you’re dealing with them, it’s because something bad has likely happened: an arrest, a real estate transaction, a marriage, etc. Once that bad thing has happened, these folks shoot to number 1 in your life fairly quickly. But hopefully that’s a very brief stay.

Other Honorable Mention: Local Religious Figures — I don’t have a joke for this, because I’m not insane.

Last Honorable Mention: Bruce Pearl — Because some will never get over him.

Dishonorable Mention: John Calipari & Nick Saban — HE GOT ANOTHER 5 STAR RECRUIT?!?!? OH FOR #%@!’s SAKE!!!!!

So there you have it, Vol Nation, your definitive rankings on what outside forces impact your lives the most. I look forward to your critiques in the comments section below. Troll responsibly.

The post The Most Important Figures In Tennessee, Ranked appeared first on FootballTime.com.

It’s hard to say you feel bad for Ja’Wuan James when you consider all the heartache that being a first round pick and the millions of dollars that comes with the territory can reconcile. But,  if you look back at the four-year starter’s time with the Tennessee Volunteers, it’s hard not to at least wish, for his sake, that things had turned out differently.

There was a time when if you came to Tennessee, broke camp starting at right tackle as a true freshman and went on to start a school record 49 games, you’d be celebrated among the all-time greats. Chances are, you’d have played on some pretty damn good teams, as well.

Unfortunately, James’ four years at Tennessee happened to coincide with the most miserable stretch this historic program has ever seen.

In his 49 starts, the Tennessee Volunteers accumulated a 21-28 record. Ja’Wuan James went to one bowl game as a freshman, and despite whatever bowl swag he might have left over, there aren’t many fond memories to be had from the 2010 Music City Bowl.

No, it wasn’t all bad. With a lineup seemingly full of freshman, the Vols won six games in his first year on campus, and they very nearly beat LSU on the road. Given everything they had coming back, it seemed like James would be a cog in the revival of the program.

As a junior, James anchored the right side of an offensive line that protected one of the most potent passing attacks in the SEC. As a senior, with Butch Jones at the helm and a new energy surging through the program, James was in the trenches, battling against a vaunted South Carolina defensive front as the Vols beat their first ranked opponent since the Bush administration.

He made lifelong friends–the bond between himself, Zach Fulton and James Stone (all four-year starters on the offensive line) was well-documented–and he earned a degree. Those are all accomplishments that you can build a life around.

However, the fact of the matter remains. When Ja’Wuan James came out of North Gwinnett High School as a highly-touted recruit, he had an expectation of winning football games.

It never worked out.

Yet, despite all the tumult and what-ifs–multiple position coaches, two different head coaches and offensive coordinators, and all the insufferable losses–Ja’Wuan James carved out a corner for himself in the history of Tennessee football.

He started more games than any offensive lineman in the history of the Tennessee Volunteers–more than Chad Clifton, Michael Munoz and every other big ugly to ever dawn the Orange and White–and while we all dote on the brightening skies in lieu of Butch Jones’ Top 10 recruiting class in 2014 and another solid start to the 2015 class, Ja’Wuan James was the stalwart of #Team117.

He was the biggest brick on the team that started to pave it all.

Last week, when James was selected 19th overall by the Miami Dolphins, some actively wondered if new Miami Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey was reaching, despite the fact that when you read a scouting report–any scouting report–the only real negative anybody can seem to find goes something like this:

“He’s tall, and like most tall people, at times, he can struggle with pad level.”

Of course, that sentiment is the last thing (and sometimes the only thing) you read in the “weaknesses” section, and it’s almost always preceded by a glowing review in the “strengths” tab.

Here’s what CBSSports.com’s Rob Rang had to say in his scouting report on James:

Alert and comfortable at right tackle. Recognizes stunts and line games. Surprising initial quickness, lateral agility and flexibility for his monstrous frame. Powerful and competitive with grit to knock defenders off the ball and continue downfield. Plays to dominate one-on-one battles, letting his hands to the work with good body control. Can slide to protect the edge against the variety of speed rushers faced in the SEC. Technically sound, maintains position to mirror. Surprisingly light feet, natural power and quickness off the ball. Could play guard.

Ja’Wuan James is a nice guy who surprises people with his tenacity on the football field, and despite being the guy who started 49 games and won just 21 times, his career at Tennessee is something we’ll eventually look back and beam upon (if you don’t already).

That’s because he was the embodiment of excellence at the University of Tennessee even in a time when Tennessee football was far from excellent.

The post Despite turmoil, Ja’Wuan James’ career an unsurprising success at Tennessee appeared first on FootballTime.com.

I think I got everyone … RT @Birdman_33: @patrickbrownTFP can we get an updated roster? pic.twitter.com/blFCzqTtBB

— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownTFP) May 13, 2014

                                              Wait…There’s More

The @UTCoachTyndall train keeps on rolling. RT @_williec24: Officially a Tennessee volunteer #⃣VFl pic.twitter.com/jLpJRIEABZ

— BasketballTime in TN (@BBallTimeMag) May 14, 2014

                                              Wait…There’s More

.@UTCoachTyndall has signed his sixth #Vol! Meet graduate transfer Ian Chiles (@iPutOnFaMyCity): pic.twitter.com/WOlFELDBBl

— WATE 6 News (@6News) May 14, 2014

                                              Wait…There’s More

. @Volquest_Rivals confirming reports that 6-9 F Tariq Owens committed to #Vols today. Former Ohio signee. @wbir pic.twitter.com/xsiYoqpakV

— WBIR Sports (@WBIRSports) May 21, 2014

With a laudable dash to grab talent that will make Tennessee Basketball competitive in the 2014-2015 season, Coach Donnie Tyndall has been doing what few in his position have the moxie to do: he’s been racking up players at breakneck speed. All of this change in the Tennessee roster has lead to a renewed optimism about the program, an ever deepening affinity for Coach Tyndall and his hardworking staff as well as some question as to what Tennessee will look like as the Vols take the court next year.

The first two are ephemeral emotions, based on the moment. But the response to the latter point is actually answerable:

Tennessee will look like a One-And-Done Kentucky team.

There are clear differences, of course. Tennessee and its shiny new roster will have considerably more experience than any of the talented kittens that John Calipari brings in every year. They will also be less NBA ready, which matters to their own economic future, but not to their viability as a mechanism to win games next year.

The next Tennessee hoops team, for various reasons, will structurally resemble a Calipari Kentucky team primarily for this reason: This Team will be a clean slate from the year before. Yes, Kentucky will have a ton of players who’ve come back from the 2013-2014 campaign, but this is the exception that proves the rule. They’re built on a foundation that regenerates year by year, from September till NBA Draft. Ironically next year might be Calipari’s most challenging year in Kentucky as he’ll need Zen Master quality ego stroking capabilities to keep these budding stars in line.

The reason next year will be so challenging is because of the way Calipari has structured playing at Kentucky. It’s akin to starring in a big budget Hollywood movie. Sure you might hate other people on the set, because you all have egos the size of Montana, but you do it because the end result makes everyone a bigger star. Each year, under Calipari, Kentucky is The Avengers. Stars that have shown viability on their own yet join together to create something that cannot be beaten. It’s perfectly fine to hate Kentucky or John Calipari, but arguing with their success is as useless as arguing with Marvel’s gate receipts.

Next year, John Calipari has a whole new cast coming in, which he anticipated, and lots of people returning, which he did not. He has to balance things in a way he hasn’t in the past. Lots of opportunities, lots of peril. Sort of like that X-Men movie that’s coming out soon. But I digress.

The difference between Kentucky and everyone else, in terms of their recruiting and roster, is the difference between casting a movie and casting a television show. I’ll explain: Movies want as much talent as they can possibly afford and the more stars they can cobble together the better. Do they like each other? Who cares? They’re only working together for the next 6 months! Suck it up and give us a good performance. Sound familiar? That’s Kentucky. The rest of the College Basketball world, while they’ll enjoy a star for a year or so, mostly recruits the way TV shows recruit. They want stability. They want people to commit to contracts and be able to stick to them (even though they’ll hypocritically sever them at a moment’s notice when it is convenient or necessary for management). It’s a reason that Kentucky is quite compelling every year. It’s also a reason many, who don’t have the history with Kentucky that Tennessee has, join Vol Nation in resenting Cal and his crew.

Oddly, Tennessee has a movie crew set for the 2014-2015 season. But they aren’t structured that way. They are, oddly enough, set up like the last season of The Practice which had a freedom and value that I expect this season will share. New characters will be revealed, there is an excitement in knowing that they have an interesting past. In the end, they’ll leave as anticipated. It’s already emotionally satisfying.

Mostly for this reason:

Tennessee has One-And-Dones that are quite different. There will be some Vol familiarity in the vein of Josh Richardson, and allowing him to continue to showcase his talent is vital. Those around him are an impressive, but random, collective that looks similar to a class at the graduate level of a University. It will be populated by people who sensibly decide that they don’t want to be adults yet and they want to prolong their fun in college and are choosing to do so at the University of Tennessee. To continue the analogy, Tennessee has a crew of actors that love the craft and are happy to have stumbled upon an opportunity to continue. Much like the cast of Mad Men.

There is profound value in that.

Tennessee is going to be populated by veterans, who will be rejuvenated by a new campus, new coach and new style. They will also be more likely to understand and accept coaching, be more prepared to mesh with their new teammates and will be much more excited to play in front of a huge fanbase at every home game than a batch of cynical AAU Stars counting the days till they can bolt campus for the NBA Draft like a prisoner counting their days left in Rikers Island.

The most striking thing about this recruiting session is how smart Coach Tyndall and company have been and how they’re simultaneously trying to make next year fun while building long term. That’s the key to next year and to what Tennessee fans should expect: Fun.

Coach Tyndall and company already clearly understand that a hugely important part of the job is to make it fun, both for themselves and for the fans. A clear window into this is how incredibly smart Coach Tyndall and his staff are in terms of their use of social media, as this tweet from Director of Basketball Operations Justin Phelps shows:

@UTCoachTyndall & Sir Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/zrh7Et9RdQ

— Justin Phelps (@CoachPhelps) May 14, 2014

This is going to be an uptempo team driven by a coach who understands the qualities he has to have to succeed at the University of Tennessee and will be populated by players that are happier to be on Rocky Top and will probably hear less vitriol (one can hope) via social media than this past season.

Does this team have talent and experience? Yes they do. Does that mean that a level headed analysis has them headed towards an NCAA berth? Not yet. Nor should that be the expectation. The expectation should be a team that plays hard and wants to score. The expectation should be a reunified fanbase that is appreciative of their coaching staff. Will the team win double digit games? They certainly could. That’s how remarkable the Old City Jerusalem Haggling style recruiting has been by this staff. The best part of the Bruce Pearl Era at Tennessee was the joyous nature of it. That joy has returned. It’s been too long since Vol Nation has seen it. Let’s hope it stays for at least twice as long as last time.

The post A Big Blue Template For Tennessee appeared first on FootballTime.com.

Then as Basketball season hits, Knoxville will see the return of their 10th Doctor. The man ripped from them before they were willing to let go. Bruce Pearl took a program with no energy or enthusiasm and gave it both. He gave it a sense of purpose. He gave it a narrative. He united the fanbase and had people who didn’t even like basketball buying in. He accomplished something that hadn’t been done since before Ronald Reagan was President. He returns now and not as the Coach of the Big Orange. Vol fans will see Bruce Pearl match up against the University of Tennessee. The man they didn’t want to lose. The man who uttered this out the door:

That GIF is Bruce Pearl and his time in Knoxville personified.

Pearl happens to be in the next phase of his life, which you can see below if you still want to punish yourself. I’d advise against it. That said I’ve never been comfortable as the bartender of anywhere. So, let’s make a checklist:

Do You Have The Day Off?

1) Yes!

You Can Watch, Easy On The Whiskey.

Can You Get The Day Off?

2) No!

You May Not Watch! Stay Employed!

This is the internet and the libertarian in me will post this below, just be careful. It will sting:

This entire year is its own form of emotional chemotherapy. It seems like in 2014-2015 even General Neyland himself could be playing Tennessee with a different team. All of this carries with it a complicated and intricate emotional template for each fan of Tennessee.

Donnie Tyndall can add something to that. For the better.

Basketball schedules have all the stability of the weather in Knoxville. Games are scheduled so abruptly that any attempt to ascertain now what tickets you should focus on will have you quickly screaming and reaching for a shotgun and whiskey. I say that from recent, personal Google experience.

So Donnie Basketball, here’s the first person throwing down the gauntlet upon your arrival:

Schedule this gentleman and his new team.

Welcome to #BearTerritory! Cuonzo Martin to be announced this afternoon as HeadMen’s Basketball Coach @Cal! #GoBears pic.twitter.com/Zz0UwgG50I

— Sandy Barbour (@gobearsAD) April 15, 2014

It’s time for the University of Tennessee to attack its recent past. We’ve been running from it or ashamed of it for too long. We’ve made mistakes and so have people we’ve trusted.

No more.

We already have two people coming in who Vol Nation trusted and who we ultimately saw wind up elsewhere. It is forgiven, in Pearl’s case, because the path he took was not chosen. But he’s in the early stages of building his latest empire. It’s not here.

Coach Tydall, you’ve had this job for all of approximately five minutes as I write this. You’re trying to assemble your staff and deal with the fact that the incoming recruiting class is bailing and the World is freaking out. I understand. But while I’m making what I know is a a preposterously pompous and pretentious request, and I recognize that, it’s being made anyway.

Because beyond that provocative request is opportunity.

2014-2015 is already the year that Tennessee faces it’s ghosts. Bring in the third. Rocky Top should put all three of these games in their sights as “The Season of Revenge.” Two of these Coaches received adoration upon their tenures: “The Coach We Regret,” Lane Kiffin and “The Coach We Can’t Forget,” Bruce Pearl. By Scheduling Cuonzo Martin, Coach Tydall, you are completing the circle of recent trauma your fanbase has suffered: “The Coach We Never Met.” For all his admirable qualities, Tennessee never broke the Cuonzo Martin reserve. There, too is a lesson for you sir. But it’s one you already know. By completing the trifecta and scheduling this game, by any means necessary, you will close all the wounds. The healing can only begin once the surgery is complete.

Scheduling this game means the work can begin.

The foundation of circumstance is currently already set before you. All you need to do is pick up a phone. Find out what tournament would make this possible. Find out if a home-and-home would be an enticement. But you need to make it happen. It is in your best interest for this year to mean that Tennessee truly becomes #OneTennessee. Unite the fanbase. Attack the past. The only way to bring everyone together is to attack the past as an enemy to be beaten. That means adding Coach Martin to the schedule this year.

Rocky Top needs to look at the totality of next years schedule as all hands on deck. Because the fact of the matter is, it’s the only way for #OneTennessee to survive:

Bring it on, Donnie Basketball and slay some dragons on the way.

Tennessee needs to stop looking backwards and look exclusively forwards.

This brings us closer to that dream.

The post Donnie Basketball Needs To Go For The Triple appeared first on FootballTime.com.

Al Pinkins (assistant): Originally from Camilla, Georgia, Pinkins played college basketball at NC State (1994-97) where he averaged 9.5 points and 7 rebounds during his career. A 6-6 forward, Pinkins went on to play basketball professionally (Europe) before starting his career as a coach. He also won two state basketball championships in high school and was the starting quarterback on his team’s 1990 state championship. Pinkins spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Ole Miss where he helped develop All-SEC post players Terrance Henry, Murphy Holloway, and Reginald Buckner. Prior to his time in Oxford, he spent eight seasons at Middle Tennessee State where he coached with Tyndall for several years. While at MTSU, he helped recruit the No. 1 class in the Sun Belt in 2007 and developed All-Sun Belt Conference forward Desmond Yates. In Pinkins, the Vols are getting an assistant with numerous recruiting ties in Tennessee and across the Southeast. He has a track record of success both as a recruiter and as an assistant coach who develops post players.

Adam Howard (assistant): He joins Tyndall in Knoxville after coaching with him at Southern Miss and Murray State. Howard played collegiate basketball at Western Kentucky (under former South Carolina HC Darrin Horn) and was a backup guard on their 2008 run to the Sweet 16. He joined Tyndall’s staff at Morehead State in 2009 as a graduate assistant and was promoted to an assistant coach a year later. He’ll be entering his sixth season as an assistant on Tyndall’s staff this fall.

Chris Shumate (assistant): He played under current Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin at Murray State where he averaged over 10 points per game and shot over 40% from three. After his college career, he played for three seasons in the NBA Developmental League. When he ended his playing career, he joined Cronin’s staff at Cincinnati where he spent six seasons serving in multiple roles (including director of basketball operations and director of student-athlete development). He joined Tyndall’s staff at Southern Miss as an assistant coach and will fill that same role in Knoxville.

Justin Phelps (director of basketball operations): Phelps is a proven commodity in this industry with SEC ties and a diverse background of basketball experience. He spent two years with Tyndall as director of basketball operations at Southern Miss, a role he previously filled at South Carolina. Phelps founded and directed the All-American Junior College Showcase in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2010. He spent four seasons on staff at Kent State–the Golden Flashes won 20 games every season during his tenure. While at Kent State, he worked with Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates.

Jareem Dowling (player development): Dowling spent three seasons on Tyndall’s staff before coming to Knoxville—two at Southern Miss and one at Morehead State. Originally from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, he moved to Delaware during his high school. He played collegiate ball at Cecil College before transferring to Maryland Eastern Shore. He spent time as the head coach of the U.S. Virgin Islands 17-and-under national team which won a silver medal and has coaching experience at Slippery Rock and Cecil College. In his three years coaching at Cecil (2005-08), they went  97-6 and finished the season ranked No. 1 each year. He will operate in a player develop capacity at Tennessee.

The post A breakdown of Donnie Tyndall’s coaching staff appeared first on FootballTime.com.

Exactly a week after the Tennessee job opened, Donnie Tyndall was officially announced as Tennessee’s new head coach. Tyndall was contacted late last week by representatives from UT and told he would be getting a call from Dave Hart “soon.”

He waited.

And waited.

And waited on Tennessee to call over the weekend.

When LA Tech’s Mike White was offered the job, I reached out to Tyndall through a source to let him know I didn’t think White would take the job. Tyndall kept waiting and when Dave Hart came calling Monday evening, he jumped at the opportunity to don the Orange and White.

Though he eventually ended up in Knoxville, he took a winding road to get there.

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Donnie Tyndall (43) grew up in a blue collar home. His parents divorced when he was young and he credits both his mother, Judy, and his stepfather, Dave Lightfoot, for demonstrating the type of work ethic it takes to be successful in the basketball world.

Judy and Dave were both educators who worked hard to make a difference in the lives of those in the community. “My mom was a teacher, then a principal. My dad (Dave) was a teacher, principal and superintendent of schools,” Tyndall said in an interview in Hattiesburg last year. “My parents were very educated, goal oriented people. My mom in particular was as hard-working individual as I’ve ever seen. I remember as a young boy, she was finishing up her degree at night. She was driving back and forth on some bad winter nights that you have in Michigan and she went on to work on her master’s so she could be a principal while working at a small private school. She was making $6,500 a year working at school, raising two kids and trying to go to school to be a principal.”

“Her work ethic, driven to achieve her goals, certainly helped me, even as a young boy, engrain work ethic into my mind and when you put your mind to something making it happen.”

When he was in fourth grade, he spent time as the water boy for his school’s middle school team. One day his coach decided to reward all his diligence and let him dress out for a game. His team got a lead and Tyndall got to go in the game. From that point forward, he knew he wanted a career in hoops.

“I never drank and never smoked because basketball was going to be my way out. I was a gym rat. All I ever wanted to do was be a pro basketball player. But my genes limited me…Once I finally figured out my sophomore or junior year of college that I wasn’t going pro, there was no other direction my life was going to take other than to be a basketball coach,” Tyndall said.

After playing at Morehead State, he immediately got a job as an assistant at Iowa Central Community College at the age of 24. After a couple years there, he took a head coaching job at St. Catharine, a small NAIA level college in Springfield, Kentucky. In his lone season leading them, they went 30-5. That experience got him a job as an assistant at LSU at the young age of 27. He was there for four years before jumping to Idaho (01-02) and Middle Tennessee State (02-06). His reputation as a bright young mind and relentless worker and recruiter landed him the head coaching job at his alma mater, Morehead State.

There, he took a program that finished 4-23 to a 12-18 record in year one. In six years at Morehead State, he took them to two NCAA tournaments and won 20 games three times—Morehead State won 20 games just twice in program history prior to his arrival. His historic success at Morehead State was duplicated at Southern Miss. Tyndall’s two years in Hattiesburg saw the Golden Eagles win a school-record 56 games. Southern Miss narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons despite an RPI no worse than 34th both years. For perspective, in Martin’s three year tenure Tennessee’s best RPI at season’s end was 40th.

His success has not been limited to the court. “Education has always been at the forefront of everything I’ve done and I’ve certainly tried to engrain that into my teams,” Tyndall said. “I believe in the student-athlete, obviously the emphasis there on student…In my eight years of as a head coach, at the end of this May, I will have graduated 21 or my 22 seniors. So when I say the word or the term student-athlete it is not just lip service. Our kids will go to class, they will be on time, they will value an education and they will leave the University of Tennessee with a degree in hand. I can assure you that.”

“Our guys will handle themselves in the community in a first class manner. We are not going to have thugs, we are not going to have renegades as part of our program. It won’t happen on my watch. Will we have perfect angels? I doubt it. I am not a perfect angel. But we are going to have people who are prideful to wear the Tennessee uniform and want to represent our university the exact right way.”

In Donnie Tyndall, the Vols have a coach with a proven track record of success both on the court, in the classroom and in the community. Tennessee also has a coach who’s had his eye on the Vol head coaching job for some time.

“Tennessee to me is a destination job,” Tyndall said. “I know that is going to vary year-to-year, but arguably it is one of the better conferences in the country year in and year out. I think it is a place that is my network of recruiting-wise, in the southeast, the states I have recruited for 15 years. I have the network and the relationships to be able to get quality players each and every year. I just think, again, the fan base, the passion that our fans have, when you can get 18,000 to 20,000 fans in the gym every night, that is appealing.”

Sources during Tennessee’s search indicated Tyndall wanted the job before it ever came open and a story he told Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart, and then the media, backed that up.

“I showed Dave yesterday at the interview, my youngest daughter Grace, she’s 11, if you’ve seen my two daughters throughout my coaching career, a lot of times they sit on the end of the bench,” Tyndall said.

“In fact, a few years ago in the NCAA tournament Erin Andrews interviewed my oldest daughter, they’re like those girls in the movie Remember the Titans; they live and breathe it now. So we’re at the Final Four, Nikki and I and the girls are with us and Tulsa calls on Saturday morning and their athletic director and the search firm wanted to meet with me, so I got dressed and told the girls I was going to meet with them and went down and did the interview.”

“I got back and the girls asked `what do you think daddy, what do you think?’ and I said `well, I don’t think that’s the right spot for daddy.’ They said `why not, they’re in UCONN’s conference, that’s the big conference and so I told them that I thought something maybe down the road would be a little bit better fit for your dad, that maybe the Tennessee job would open up because at the time Cuonzo was rumored to be going to Marquette.”

“So obviously that didn’t transpire and then about a week later I got a text from my daughter Grace and I showed it to Dave, she text me and it said in capital letters, THE TENNESSEE JOB IS OPEN HINT HINT so you never hope that a guy leaves but this was a job that was on my radar, and Grace’s too.”

Vol fans owe Grace Tyndall a heartfelt “Thank you.”

The Vols have a coach.

He’s a proven winner and a dynamic personality.

Tennessee is the perfect fit for him, and he just might be the perfect fit for Tennessee.

The post Tennessee a “destination job” for Donnie Tyndall appeared first on FootballTime.com.

Okay, clearly not my best work and all (details woulda taken days), but just to get it out there right now…. pic.twitter.com/OrbC80ZgeW

— Spencer Barnett (@CleVOLander) April 22, 2014

#Vols AD Dave Hart opens with joke, noting it’s like church. has to wait on all to be seated here at Pratt Pavilion.

— John Brice (@John_BriceVQ) April 22, 2014

#DonnieHoops pic.twitter.com/7NL1fKgzri

— Paul Fortenberry (@Volquest_Paul) April 22, 2014

Tyndall already won the press conference by congratulating the current roster on their Sweet 16 run.

— BasketballTime in TN (@BBallTimeMag) April 22, 2014

Dave Hart said Tyndal fit his coaching profile ‘perfectly’ and said he saw a lot of similarities to Butch Jones in learning about him.

— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownTFP) April 22, 2014

It’s officially #DonnieOnTheSpot pic.twitter.com/0lx4BDERct

— John Brice (@John_BriceVQ) April 22, 2014

Tyndall: My entire staff will be coming with me from So Miss but they may not be in the same role.

— TN Sports Radio (@TNSportsRadio) April 22, 2014

All Aboard the #TyndallTrain!!! pic.twitter.com/El3tmf9Lrb

— Michael (@Laser_Mike_89) April 22, 2014

Donnie says “Val.” Not “Vol.” Gonna need some work on that one.

— govols247.com (@govols247) April 22, 2014

At the podium. pic.twitter.com/IIiSMcNbNr

— BasketballTime in TN (@BBallTimeMag) April 22, 2014

“It has to start today.” @UTCoachTyndall on bringing the fan base back together.

— Paul Fortenberry (@Volquest_Paul) April 22, 2014

.@UTCoachTyndall answers questions from the Knoxville media pic.twitter.com/gIj4982H6R

— Tennessee Athletics (@Vol_Sports) April 22, 2014

Tyndall says he met with Tulsa regarding its opening. Said he didn’t think it was the right spot. Was hoping UT would come open.

— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) April 22, 2014

. @UTCoachTyndall: We’re at Final 4, I said “The Tennessee job may open.” Youngest daughter text me: HEY DADDY, TENNESSEE JOB IS OPEN

— John Brice (@John_BriceVQ) April 22, 2014

TYNDALL (my first question to Dave Hart): When do I start?

— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) April 22, 2014

http://t.co/yYcBklJirK RT @patrickbrownTFP: Tyndall on his questions when he met with Hart. ‘When do I start.’

— Daniel Lewis (@DanielNooga) April 22, 2014

Tyndall: We’ll start individual workouts tomorrow.

— BasketballTime in TN (@BBallTimeMag) April 22, 2014

Well that didn’t take long. The wall inside Pratt Pavillion at #Tennessee during Donnie Tyndall press conference. pic.twitter.com/mCBeRGJqlw

— Vince Ferrara (@VinceSports) April 22, 2014

Go Vals.

— Sab (@Sabanocchio) April 22, 2014

All Val pic.twitter.com/ompTZBBF9z

— Doug Brooks (@DesertVol) April 22, 2014

They made this change quick. pic.twitter.com/IdbzRce1rg

— Seth Stokes (@SethStokesTSR) April 22, 2014

Coming later today, an exclusive interview with Bob Kesling of @VolNetwork_IMG with @UTCoachT yndall pic.twitter.com/c4wnPwfH3j

— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) April 22, 2014

“Here comes Donnie. Better lace ’em up!” #Vols pic.twitter.com/dkzd7mTmsx

— NRWOrange (@NoOrangeRhymes) April 22, 2014

I'm so excited to join the Vols' family on Rocky Top. It's great to be a Tennessee Vol!

— Donnie Tyndall (@UTCoachTyndall) April 22, 2014

Well Done All.

The post VolFeed: Donnie Basketball Opening Presser Reaction appeared first on FootballTime.com.

Coming off a Sweet 16 run at a university with top-notch facilities and an average attendance that has ranked among the Top 10 in the nation for the better part of a decade, head basketball coach of the Tennessee Volunteers would seem to be a coveted position. However, after Cuonzo Martin left to take a lateral (if not sub-lateral) position with the California Golden Bears, it became clear that it would be the Volunteers who had to sell themselves to prospective coaches and not the other way around.

Late last night, they finally made the sale when former Morehead State and Southern Mississippi head coach Donny Tyndall agreed in principle to become the new rosy-cheeked face of Tennessee basketball. And while Donny Tyndall brings SEC assistant coaching experience to the table and a history of winning at every head coaching stop he’s made along the way, the fact of the matter remains that the Tennessee job will present Tyndall with a slew of new challenges.

Under Cuonzo Martin, the Vols made an unexpected run deep into the NCAA Tournament, coming up a questionable charge call–and let’s be honest… a lackluster possession–short of an Elite Eight run that would have matched their furthest trip into the postseason in school history. However, with seniors Jordan McRae, Jeronne Maymon, Antonio Barton and D’Montre Edwards out of eligibility and junior Jarnell Stokes declaring for the 2014 NBA Draft, the Vols will lose 72% of their scoring and 64% of their rebounding from last season.

Meanwhile, on the recruiting trail, Donnie Tyndall will be tasked with holding onto signees Jordan Cornish, Philip Cofer, C.J. Turman and Larry Austin, a class that currently ranks 49th in the nation per 247Sports. And, to make matters worse, before he was even contacted about the vacancy, the Vols lost a commitment from 7-1 center Kingsley Okoroh less than 36 hours after receiving it in the first place.

Worse still, he’ll have to deal with all this during the late signing period.

Yet all those roster issues pale in comparison to the politicking required by the current nature of the job. Despite delusional expectations of a program that perennially won big, Cuonzo Martin’s tenure could only be deemed a successful one given the history of Tennessee basketball. However, his single biggest failure was that he lacked the charisma of his predecessor.

And while nobody should have the unreasonable expectancy that Donnie Tyndall has the panache of a Bruce Pearl, he’ll undoubtedly have to use charisma to bind a fractured fanbase that can’t seem to come to any sort of agreement over what the loss of Cuonzo Martin actually means to their program.

Tyndall has a reputation as a fan-friendly coach. He was a Morehead State graduate who came back to lead his alma mater to a pair of OVC tourney titles and even led a stunning upset of Louisville in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Then, at Southern Miss, he led the Golden Eagles to a regular season Conference USA title in the 2013-14 season and made a pair of NIT appearances in two years, having just missed out on the Big Dance in both campaigns.

And, he dances.

However, beyond being comfortable enough in his own skin to do quite possibly the most awkward white guy dance in a nation bursting at the seams with awkward white guy dancers, Donnie Tyndall is going to have to win over fans and donors one room at a time. That all starts this afternoon at the press conference.

And while the idea of anybody “winning” a presser is an unmistakable fallacy, it will be important that Tyndall lays out a clear vision for what’s to be of Tennessee basketball, and he can’t speak in a string of thinly-veiled platitudes.

When he took the job at Southern Miss he mentioned Bill Self and Rick Pitino as major influences on his coaching career, but he won’t have the luxury of simply emulating success at Tennessee. Vol fans would love to win like Kansas or Louisville, but they don’t want to be Kansas or Louisville. They want to do it in their own way.

That was a large part of what made Bruce Pearl so likable. He developed a style of basketball that was a brand in and of itself. Cuonzo Martin even did that to a lesser extent.

Whether it was the three or four quick baskets off inbound sets or the frenetic pace of the offense or the full-court pressure off made buckets, Bruce gave Tennessee something to hang its proverbial hat upon stylistically.

Donnie Tyndall doesn’t have to be Bruce, but he’ll have to develop his own unique brand of basketball, too, and I think he’s equipped to do exactly that.

Tyndall’s offenses have led their respective conferences in AdjO (a stat that measures offensive efficiency) in three of the past four seasons and his defenses have been consistently multiple–a term that we’re allowed to be comfortable with outside the framing of a Derek Dooley and Sal Sunseri defense.

The challenges are obvious, but the Tennessee Volunteers found a coach that seems to fit stylistically with what the fanbase is looking for. Now, however, is when the real work begins.

Donnie Tyndall has to win over the fans, the media and the donors at Tennessee, and then when he’s done with all that he’ll have to win games.

Piece of cake and a sip of Harlem Shake.

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