While I am tired of UC being a stepping stone, you can’t deny the degree of success they have had with so many coaches or the success the coaches have had once they move on. Looks like the AD knows talent. Now they need to invest some money in the program or it will continue to be a stepping stone.

@florida727 …

Agree with you on waiting until after the NCAA season ends to begin coaching musical chairs. However, I’d take it a step further and say no negotiating until the season is over. That’s NFL policy and the financial stakes are even higher there. If the pros can wait until the post-season to allow coaches to start negotiating for new jobs, then so can the NCAA. It isn’t fair to the kids for their coaches to leave the team–literally or mentally–before the final games have been played.

Did you ever consider that possibly Saban might retire in a couple of years, and Kirby is the next in line. I think he wants to stay in the SEC, and that is a possibility.

You’re a damn liar, Bielema never made any such statement. Sheesh!

Bottom line, give the guy a shot before you shoot him down. As many have stated the two best coaches in the SEC (Saban and Miles) are not SEC born. They are from the Big 10 and Big 12. All of you so called UT fans need to give the guy a chance before being convinced that he will be a bad coach.

Back when Butch Jones was originally hired at Cincinnati, following Kelly’s departure to Notre Dame in 2010, he beat out Diaco for that job as Diaco interviewed & was a finalist for the job (Butch Davis was Kelly’s Offensive Coordinator at C. Michigan for 1 year, 2004, and was recommended for both the C. Michigan & Cincy head coaching jobs by Kelly). While I expect Diaco to seriously consider the job, I don’t know if he will take it. After this year, Diaco has been the Defensive Coordinator for two undefeated teams in the past four seasons (2009 with Cincy; 2012 with Notre Dame) & is fresh off winning the 2012 Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in college football. Kelly has also given Diaco the majority of credit with sealing the deal with most of Notre Dame’s top recruits the past few years, offensive and defensive players. A head coaching gig is always sweet for an assistant coach, especially at a school younger familiar with, however Diaco’s résumé suggests that he should be coaching a better team than Cincinnati. Diaco could very well be a candidate for Wisconsin, or he may be considered for a DC job in the NFL with the numerous coaching changes that will take place this offseason. With the Big East losing it’s BcS AQ status starting next season, the job is not very enticing to a hot coaching prospect. I think Diaco will consider the job, but ultimately turn it down. I think he’ll hope he gets offered the Wisconsin job or gets tapped by an incoming NFL head coach to take his 3-4 defense to the pros. If neither of them comes to fruition for Diaco, he will not be in a bad situation at Notre Dame for one more year. Notre Dame is one of the most prestigious schools in college football & he is getting paid a pretty penny where he is. Diaco is a hot head coaching prospect & when his time comes, I fully expect him to take advantage of that chance.

Bielema said so in his press conference

You dont have a clue what you’re talking about. South Carolina had some serious cultural issues that infected that program when Spurrier took over, they were so deep in fact their fans were totally happy if they won 7 games, and had a few moral victories in the process. The first thing Spurrier did was get rid of 26 players then he started over from scratch. Its not like Granny left him with a winning program. Dooley laid a solid foundation with 3 years of Top 20 classes, the Vols are in pretty good shape.

And this crap about ‘established/elite’ coaches is total BS too. First of all, that list of coaches is as short as your putz, and coaches like Chris Petersen and Gary Patterson are not going anywhere, for any amount of money. Neither are guys like Gundy or Strong or Fisher. When you are “established” and already making 3mil or more, then an incremental bump to change conferences means absolutely jack-sh*t. Now go away Pinky, I think we’ve covered all your assertions.

He won 19 games in 2 seasons in the Big (L)East. So what? His team got drilled by Dooley’s squad in 2011 45-23. That same UT team had one SEC win in overtime against Vanderbilt. I see no reason to think this guy can keep Tennessee competitive in the SEC. TN is spending almost ten million in buyouts and for what? This does not feel like a significant upgrade. We shall see.

LOL just where do you get this crap about Bielema “turning down” UT? Total nonsense.

I for one am happy with this hire, Jones is a good coach and he knows the recruiting landscape very well. There is plenty of talent on the roster to work with, even if we lose the Big 3. Praying he keeps Pittman and Graham.

Talk about your mid minor league more.

Get your facts straight.
If you would actually read the article, it clearly states that Jones won 19 games IN THE LAST 2 YEARS. Which he did. He was 24-14 over 3 years at Cincinatti. And he did not coach that bowl game against Florida. That was their offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn that coached that game.

That’s because he lost the bet and is now getting his head shaved. I can’t believe he thought Gruden was coming to UT.

NO big coach wanted to come to UT.

Travis is sitting in a room somewhere sucking his thumb and crying

Talk about your mid minor league more.

And to the numbnuts above, he won 19 games in 2 (two) seasons. It could have been 20 if he stuck around and won the bowl game.