UTC Coach

[jaxstatealum]

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, but I could not find it:

These are the names contacted that we know of

Randy Sanders
Jason Simpson
Hugh Freeze
Tony Ball

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/dec/09/chattanooga-hart-has-spoken-ex-moc-ball/?sports

[appfan2008]

no offense but with the current state of things in tennessee and the lack of talent on the field that is just not a very attractive job at the moment IMO

[jaxstatealum]

There is certainly only one way to take the program. It's a shame because it is a great venue for sports.

[appfan2008]

There is certainly only one way to take the program. It's a shame because it is a great venue for sports.

oh the venue is excellent (ive been 3 times :D ) but when you put barely 5k in it it is no better than a high school field

[KiddBrewer]

hopefully UTC finds a "diamond in the rough" coach somewhere who can find a way to get ppl to wanna play there.

[hawkeye]

Jason Simpson has turned the UT Martin program in the right direction. Matter of fact, he was the offensive Q at UTC during their last winning season. UTM certainly does not want to lose him and wonder if they will come up w MO Money MO money MO money to keep him?

[Libertine]

I'm surprised that Hudspeth from UNA isn't on that list.

[utcfan]

You can add Russ Huesman DC-Richmond to the for sure list--but he will not be inerviewed until Richmond's season ends.

Hudspeth--maybe list

[mcveyrl]

hopefully UTC finds a "diamond in the rough" coach somewhere who can find a way to get ppl to wanna play there.

IIRC, Sanders was a great recruiter for UT when he was there.

[utcfan]

nm

[utcfan]

What kind of football coach does the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga need?

It’s a simple question without a simple answer.

Athletic director Rick Hart isn’t saying much publicly about the type of coach he’s targeting, only that he wants to find the “best person” for the job.

“We’ve got to hire the best person, whoever that ends up being,” he said at the start of the search to replace Rodney Allison, whose contract was not renewed after six seasons.

Does Hart go with the biggest name available? Does he pick a coach with close ties to UTC or the area? Does he hire someone with collegiate head coaching experience, something the Mocs are believed to have never had before, or does he find an offensive or defensive guru?

How about all of the above, if he’s out there?

Four of the coaches Hart is known to have talked to about the job — Lambuth University coach Hugh Freeze, UT-Martin coach Jason Simpson, Kentucky quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders and Georgia running backs coach Tony Ball — are offense-oriented.

Hart spoke with Ball briefly by phone Monday, and he has been given permission by Georgia to meet with the former Moc from Brainerd High School, who was in Virginia recruiting on Tuesday.

A Chattanooga television station reported Tuesday that Appalachian State linebackers coach Dale Jones, a former Bradley Central standout and Tennessee Volunteer, interviewed for the job, but a source with knowledge of the search told the Times Free Press that Jones has not interviewed.

Strong arguments can be made for selecting the next coach because he has one or more of the following:

n Area ties: The program is in desperate need of a public relations boost in the community, and nothing would do that faster than hiring either a former UTC player or someone with ties to UTC or the area. And there are several possible candidates that could fit the bill — most notably, former Mocs Ball and Russ Huesman, Richmond’s defensive coordinator.

According to several former players, many alumni want to see the job go to Ball or Huesman because they have relationships with the program from the strong Joe Morrison and Bill Oliver years of the late 1970s and early ’80s.

“They’ve never gone out and tried to hire an alum, and look where they are, where the interest is,” one former player said. “They’ve got to do something totally different because what they’ve been doing clearly hasn’t been working.”

n Familiar name: Ball is remembered from his time in Chattanooga and is working at one of the top programs in the country, but among all the possible candidates, Sanders has to be at or near the top in name recognition.

As a player and coach, Sanders spent 22 years at the University of Tennessee, has recruited in the area for a long time and was the Volunteers’ offensive coordinator for seven years, beginning with their win in the national championship game after the 1998 season.

n Proven offensive or defensive success: The Mocs need a lot of help in both areas. They were last in the Southern Conference in scoring offense and scoring defense this season and last in scoring offense and second-to-last in scoring defense a year ago.

Freeze and Simpson both had very prolific offenses this season, Sanders clearly knows offenses and Ball coached wide receivers at Virginia Tech before going to Georgia.

“I’d kind of like a big-name guy to come in, but really I just want someone that can turn things around,” UTC running back Bryan Fitzgerald said. “(Hiring Ball) would help me out because I play running back. He’s coaching running backs now, and I know he could teach me some more stuff.”

Huesman’s defense at Richmond, meanwhile, leads the Colonial Athletic Association, which had five teams in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, in both scoring defense and total defense.

The Mocs have a lot of needs and appear to have numerous candidates capable of filling a lot of them.


http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/dec/10/what-needed-university-tennessee-chattanooga/?sports

[catamount man]

UTC is playing at Alabama on 11/21/2009. Please hire Mike Dubose for the drama alone! xthumbsupx

[hoseman]

Jason Simpson has turned the UT Martin program in the right direction. Matter of fact, he was the offensive Q at UTC during their last winning season. UTM certainly does not want to lose him and wonder if they will come up w MO Money MO money MO money to keep him?

Jason Simpson has done a wonderful job at UTM without question however he had great talent when he got there thanks to Matt Griffin. The new UTC head coach won't have that luxury. All the best to UTC and the new guy but it'll be a rebuilding type of deal for a few years.

[Reign of Terrier]

personally I wouldn't hire a position coach as a HC. UTC hired a QB coach and see what it got them? If you want to be competitive especially with a program like UTC you need someone with experience leading a team. Position coaches just don't have that luxory yet. I would hire them as an OC/DC first and take it from there.

[jsugamecocks1]

Hey Jaxstatealum check your inbox

I heard on the news in North Ga last week that there was some talk about dropping the Athletic programs at UTC and UT-Martin all together but I dont really see any truth to that but it was on the News. Seeing as UTC's basketball is always competitive and UTM's football and rodeo is pretty good

[DX Man]

Best of luck to UTC whoever the new coach is!

[utcfan]

jsugamecocks check link below about dropping sports--ain't going to happen.

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53725

[chattanoogamocs]

AD Rick Hart met with North Alabama HC Mark Hudspeth today in Birmingham.

The choice of the football alums is overwhelmingly Huesman at Richmond.

The leading choice of fans is Hudspeth (most of the fans of leery of another football coach with no HC experience).

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2008/dec/11/two-more-interview-university-tennessee-chattanoog/

Tony Ball, Russ Huesman, Mark Hudpseth, or Jason Simpson...I would be pretty satisfied with any of those.

[GSUhooligan]

With the way the conference's offenses are going, I think they should aggressively go after Tony Franklin. He needs a place to prove his system with him in full control so he can sell more videos.

[hawkeye]

Hey Jaxstatealum check your inbox

I heard on the news in North Ga last week that there was some talk about dropping the Athletic programs at UTC and UT-Martin all together but I dont really see any truth to that but it was on the News. Seeing as UTC's basketball is always competitive and UTM's football and rodeo is pretty good

The 750K turf field at UTM that Perilloux lost on was not put down for his one game at UTM>

[jsugamecocks1]

I had not seen the previous thread for some reason I was just making a comment about when I actually spoke with an official at UTC and he told me that there were talks among the UT board about the sports at UTM and UTC not making enough money to pay to sustain themselves but when it came to a vote the vote to drop sports was voted down. My bad for not seeing the earlier thread my bad

[utcfan]

No problem. I'll be glad when search is over. It last as least until shortly after Richmond's final game and Huesman (DC at Richmond) gets to interview.

[jaxstatealum]

The 750K turf field at UTM that Perilloux lost on was not put down for his one game at UTM>

And your point is.... xeyebrowx

[appfan2008]

No problem. I'll be glad when search is over. It last as least until shortly after Richmond's final game and Huesman (DC at Richmond) gets to interview.

i am ready for it to be over as well

[mountaineertider]

UTC is playing at Alabama on 11/21/2009. Please hire Mike Dubose for the drama alone! xthumbsupx

The last I heard of DuBose, he went 0-12 as a HS coach.

[smallcollegefbfan]

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, but I could not find it:

These are the names contacted that we know of

Randy Sanders
Jason Simpson
Hugh Freeze
Tony Ball

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/dec/09/chattanooga-hart-has-spoken-ex-moc-ball/?sports

I think App State assistant Dale Jones has been interviewed as well.

[utcfan]

Jones won't get it. More of a courtesy interview.

[TTUEagles]

The last I heard of DuBose, he went 0-12 as a HS coach.

DuBose is Head Coach at Millsaps (D-III) and led them to the playoffs - I think even an undefeated regular season...

[utcfan]

DuBose not an applicant---also had NCAA problems at 'Bama.

[catamount man]

The last I heard of DuBose, he went 0-12 as a HS coach.

Led Millsaps College into the Division III playoffs this year.

[Cocky]

The last I heard of DuBose, he went 0-12 as a HS coach.

I believe he won a state title at Luverne, AL as a HS coach. This was after his UAT job.

[hawkeye]

And your point is.... xeyebrowx

Just pullin your chain Jaxstatealum. xthumbsupx

[Saint3333]

Jones won't get it. More of a courtesy interview.

Courtesy for what, I don't understand?

I'm glad to hear that. He is still looked upon highly from UTk fans and obviously a heck of a linebackers coach.

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

Should go with Mr. Freeze (hee hee) or Simpson, IMO.

[catamount man]

I say they get Hudspeth or the DC from Richmond. xthumbsupx

[jaxstatealum]

Just pullin your chain Jaxstatealum. xthumbsupx

I see.... xpeacex

[chattanoogamocs]

Courtesy for what, I don't understand?

I'm glad to hear that. He is still looked upon highly from UTk fans and obviously a heck of a linebackers coach.

Dale is from Cleveland...one of the Mocs biggest donors is from Cleveland and is very close to Dale. That is the main reason he got the interview.

But, it is also beneficial to Dale for his own resume...he can say that he was legitimately interviewed for a head coaching position.