Tick...tock...

 

It has been over a month since Tyson Helton left to become the head coach at Western Kentucky and his replacement has still not been named.  There have been many names that have been mentioned and many of those names have either declined the position or have taken a position at another school.

There has been speculation and reports that Tennessee has offered the job to Mike Yurcich.  If this is true, I hope he accepts the job.  There are rumors circulating that Ohio State has now expressed interest in Yurcich.  And this scares me, because Yurcich is an Ohio native.  If Yurcich does accept the job with Ohio State, then Tennessee has been playing the waiting game for nothing and will possibly have to settle on an OC.

If Tennessee does have to go back to the drawing board after the start of the New Year, the candidate pool will be very slim in the college ranks.  However, there are two names that keep floating around from the NFL ranks:

 

Freddie Kitchens

Kitchens name has been tied to the Tennessee job since the vacancy sign was first placed out front of Neyland Stadium.  After watching what he was able to do with the Cleveland Browns offense and Baker Mayfield after taking over halfway through the season, I'm all in favor of Tennessee offering him the job if Yurcich declines the job.

However, there is a major development that might keep Kitchens from being the next OC.  Cleveland.com is reporting that the Browns will interview Kitchens in their search for a new head coach.  So this means that Pruitt might not even be able to land his college roommate to be his next OC.

 

Steve Sarkisian

Sarkisian's name has surfaced in the past few days as a serious candidate.  While people say he meets all the Pruitt requirements (pro-style offense, familiarity, great recruiter, former Power 5 head coach), I am not a fan of this candidate.

I have major concerns with Sarkisian.  His off the field battle with alcoholism does not bother me, but it does scare me.  One slip up and he can easily fall off the wagon and become the man that cost himself the head coaching position at USC.  Where I am really concerned is with his on the field decision making.  Sarkisian's play calling as an OC the past several seasons has been choppy and unbalanced, while his red-zone decisions has left football fans scratching their heads.

In two seasons as the OC for the Atlanta Falcons, his offense has ranked outside the Top 10.  Sarkisian may be a "great offensive mind", but he was a casualty of Black Monday in the NFL  Reporters and analysts may call Sarkisian a home run hire, but I call him a hard sell.

Whomever Tennessee decides to hire, regardless of who it is, there is one thing that all Volunteer fans will agree with: