The final piece of the coaching puzzle! Here it is, enjoy:
Tennessee: Dan Mullen
While Butch Jones should be commended for rebuilding Tennessee after the disastrous tenures of Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley, he was never able to get the Volunteers program to the prestigious Rocky Top of the SEC. Tennessee won nine games in 2014 and 2015, but never won a division title in a down SEC East. When the Vols started this season 4-6 with no SEC wins, his fate was sealed.
Now, Tennessee needs to find the guy that can take them to the top of the division and the top of the SEC in general. With Nick Saban at Alabama and Kirby Smart at Georgia, that’s a tough ask, but the Vols need to get this hire right. Their ideal hire is a guy who has done more with less in the SEC West. No one will confuse Starkville with a thriving metropolis, and Mississippi State’s athletic revenue is pretty poor, but Dan Mullen has done an excellent job with less at MSU. The Bulldogs will go to a bowl for the eighth consecutive season, and Mullen is 69-45 at State with five seasons of at least eight wins.
The Bulldogs put a bigger scare into No. 1 Alabama than anyone this season, leading in the fourth quarter before falling 31-24 after the Tide scored in the final 30 seconds. It’s quite possible that with Alabama, Auburn and LSU in the same division that Mullen has reached a ceiling in Starkville. He’s ready for a bigger, better-funded challenge and would thrive with Tennessee’s facilities and resources. He has earned the chance to try, without question.
Texas A&M: Chad Morris
A&M hasn’t won more than nine games in a season since 2012, and even with last week’s win over Ole Miss, nine wins is the best the Aggies can do in 2017. That might not be good enough for Sumlin to save his job. A&M spent $485 million renovating Kyle Field, and it didn’t do so to finish third in the SEC West, something that Sumlin hasn’t done since 2012. It wouldn’t be surprising to see leadership move on from him after the regular season concludes. And they will, as they announced yesterday that he will be fired.
Where do the Aggies turn? Their answer is already within Texas’ b
orders. Chad Morris has revitalized an SMU program that went 1-11 in 2014. The Mustangs are 6-5 and bowl-eligible this season, using a high-flying passing offense that averages 301.5 yards per game, good for 15th nationally, and 39.9 points per game, which is the ninth best in the country. Would Morris be wise to change his defensive approach? Yes—the Mustangs allow 35.3 points per game which ranks 113th.
UCLA has never been a football-first school. However, the athletic department that John Wooden built still cares about the gridiron, as Jim Mora Jr. found out Sunday. Mora got off to a strong start in Westwood, winning 29 games in his first three seasons, but the Bruins have slumped even with the
presence of standout quarterback Josh Rosen, going 8-5, 4-8 and 5-6 over the last three years. Sunday, Mora was fired by UCLA.
The Bruins need a fresh look, and while Chip Kelly would be an appealing option, maybe they should take a look at someone who just needs a fresh start, period. As we mentioned, Kevin Sumlin has all but run his course at Texas A&M. However, he is a proven offensive coach and could bring defensive coordinator John Chavis with him. Sumlin is 86-42 in 10 seasons as a college coach, with only one losing season and three seasons of at least 10 wins. He would benefit strongly from coaching in the Pac-12, especially out of the glare of the SEC.
