The Name Game: Leach Could Land at Tennessee

“The Name Game” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on active coaching searches around the country. The latest edition centers on the Tennessee Volunteers…

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach falls into the category of a successful coach at a program with fewer resources. In the most competitive conference outside of the SEC, he has made headway against the likes of Oklahoma and Texas. And his team plays in a stadium with about half the seating capacity of Neyland Stadium. A source told me that Leach is “very, very interested” in the UT job. Of course, Leach isn’t going to say that. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s currently preoccupied with trying to win a national championship. He’s also on the verge of having his contract renegotiated. So he’s probably happy where he is and committed to building a championship program at Texas Tech. But don’t cross him off your list – Knoxville News Sentinel

A source with knowledge of the search told ESPN.com that among the candidates on Tennessee’s preliminary list are Minnesota coach Tim Brewster, Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin and Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. Contact has already been made or will soon be made with representatives of all four coaches. Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton confirmed Thursday that the Vols’ initial list had already been forwarded to Chuck Neinas, who’s been hired to lead the search and will make the initial contact with coaches through their representatives. Hamilton said he would neither confirm nor deny any specific candidates. Neinas, who runs Neinas Sports Service, has been involved in several high-profile searches over the years, including Urban Meyer to Florida, Mack Brown to Texas and Butch Davis to North Carolina. Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is another name that has been connected with the Tennessee job. Hamilton said someone with head coaching experience makes it easier to document that person’s success and record, but that it wasn’t a requirement… Some of the other names that could end up on the Vols’ list include Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, TCU coach Gary Patterson, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun and Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley. Others will emerge as well as the coaching dominoes start to fall around the country. – ESPN.com

Mike Locksley, the Illini’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, is considered a possible candidate to replace Fulmer at Tennessee and is also a possible replacement for Syracuse coach Greg Robinson, whose firing has been long rumored. Locksley has been a part of Zook’s staff at Illinois and Florida since 2003. Zook said that Locksley’s departure for a head-coaching job of his own is only a matter of time. “I don’t think there’s any question, Locks is going to get a job. I think that’s something we all expect, and we all look forward to celebrating with him,” Zook said. “Do I want to lose him? No, I don’t want to lose him. But it makes you feel good knowing you had a guy the caliber of Locks, and he deserves that opportunity.” – Daily Illini

A little birdie says Tennessee could end up using the same football coach search firm that Minnesota did in finding Tim Brewster. – Pioneer Press

North Carolina football coach Butch Davis says he’s happy in Chapel Hill and committed to building a championship program there. His agent, Jimmy Sexton, also downplayed the Davis-to-UT rumor. So you immediately crossed Davis off your University of Tennessee coaching candidates list, right? Of course, you didn’t. Davis was hardly as emphatic in dismissing speculation connecting him to the UT vacancy. In fact, he might be the most reasonable rumor of all the high-profile candidates. A source told me weeks ago that “UT representatives had expressed an interest in Davis.” – Knoxville News Sentinel

Beyond that, it’s up to Hamilton to identify and hire Fulmer’s successor. He can’t afford to get this wrong or he’ll be the next person out the door. Personally, I’d gravitate toward Tim Brewster at Minnesota because of his live-wire personality and relentless recruiting style. If you can sign blue-chip recruits at Minnesota, you should be able to one-up that at UT. Meanwhile, UT figures to make richer men out of some of the names on its wish list. Because he now is perceived to be in play, Davis will cash in at North Carolina without having to switch conferences to the tougher SEC. Likewise, Mike Leach should parlay his success and the interest of other schools into a lucrative new deal at Texas Tech. – Tennessean

Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton has a long list of qualities he’s looking for in the next Tennessee coach but no timeline on which to hire him. “I’m more concerned about hiring the right candidate than I am about how quickly we get it done. I do think that we need to be expedient and go about our business as quickly as is possible,” Hamilton said in his last public comments before hiring someone to replace Phillip Fulmer. The right candidate, Hamilton said, is one who has a lot of integrity, is a proven leader, is good at recruiting and building a staff and can work as a salesman to promote Tennessee. – The State

What does what happened with Phil Fulmer at Tennessee say about the college football world right now? A: Well you know it’s sad for the profession, when a guy gets a new contract like that and then gets let go. Really it questions the leadership there when a guy is handling the money of the university and then five or six months later, not only do you have to pay him off, but the assistant coaches. You’ve got an $8 million payout. But at the same time, I can see the AD’s part, too. They’ve had a hard time winning against the teams they’ve got to beat and they’ve got to look to the future. But why give him that new contract? – Athens Banner-Herald

On Tuesday as voters flocked to the polls, coaches David Cutcliffe of Duke and Butch Davis of North Carolina took to the podiums. Their message? Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton shouldn’t waste a phone call gauging their interest in the Vols’ head coaching vacancy that’s effective at the end of the season. “So to put an end to any speculation, I’m staying at Duke,” said Cutcliffe, the former Vols offensive coordinator who was lame-duck coach Phillip Fulmer’s right-hand man for most of Fulmer’s career. “(Tennessee) is not even a thought process.” And Davis? “The long and short of it is that the administration and I are completely, firmly committed to building a championship football program at North Carolina,” he said. “And my family and I are very happy in Chapel Hill.” – Commercial-Appeal