For at least a couple of hours this past weekend, Randy Sanders felt like a coach again.

He had a chance to diagram plays on an overhead projector.

He had a roomful of high school coaches listening to every word of his talk on quarterbacks and crossing routes.

The former University of Tennessee offensive coordinator was back in his comfort zone.

"Don't worry about walking out on me," Sanders told the Tennessee Football Coaches Association winter clinic. "When you've been booed by 110,000 people, believe me, you won't hurt my feelings."

No one walked out. No one booed.

For Sanders, it was a chance to share some of the lessons learned during his 17-year stint with the Volunteers.

When he agreed to do the clinic early in 2005, he had no idea his career at Tennessee was about to come to an end.

He made the announcement in late October -- after a particularly difficult loss to South Carolina -- he was resigning from his seven-year run as UT offensive coordinator.

He stayed on staff during Tennessee's final four games knowing it was about to end with a 5-6 record and no bowl game for the first time since 1988.

December -- normally a crazy, hectic time of recruiting and bowl practices -- became a time reflection, relaxation and time spent with his wife Cathy and daughters, Kelly and Kari.

"It has been a great December as far as putting things in priority," Sanders said. "I don't think I ever realized how much time I was missing with my kids until this past month.

"That doesn't mean I'm not ready to jump right back into it and do it again, but I think having this month has provided a lot of perspective and done a lot of rejuvenating in a lot of ways."

Sanders has not lost his passion for the game.

Already, he has been mentioned as a possible candidate for high-profile assistant coaching positions at Arkansas and Miami.

He wouldn't mention specifics or go into any offers he has received. He's just glad there's interest out there.

"It has been good," Sanders said. "I had been at Tennessee a long time and hadn't really been approached about any jobs and not really pursued any.

"I didn't really know what the outside perception in the coaching world was of me or my abilities."

Sanders said there have been "a lot of talks" with a lot of different people, but no detailed salary or contract negotiations.

He's just biding his time. He's still under contract at UT for six months.

"From conversations with people and the opportunities that have come along, and will come along in the future, it shows me there are a lot of people out there who had respect for how we tried to do things," Sanders said. "There has been a lot of positive reinforcement."

The 40-year-old Morristown native is simply trying to figure which path he wants to take.

"I'm definitely in the market to stay in coaching," he said. "I'm still trying to decide if I want to coach in college, or coach in the NFL, or possibly even coach at the high school level.

"I love coaching and I can't really see myself doing anything else."

The simple truth is the 2005 season wore on Sanders.

He had a tearful hug with his family after the Vols dropped the 16-15 decision at home to South Carolina. He announced his resignation the following Monday.

He said then he was tired. Tired of the abuse his family endured in the stands and tired of the frustration.

"I don't know if I was as tired of everything as some of the rest of my family was tired of it," Sanders said.

Tennessee, ranked No. 3 coming into the season, finished ranked No. 90 in total offense and (326 yards per game) and No. 101 in scoring offense (18.6 points per game).

It was a year of dropped passes, inconsistent quarterback play, untimely turnovers and apparent chemistry issues.

Sophomore Erik Ainge and senior Rick Clausen played musical chairs at quarterback.

Sanders admitted his biggest mistake of the 2005 season was spending "too much time as a coordinator and not enough time as a quarterback coach."

He witnessed Ainge's mechanics and fundamentals mysteriously evaporate during the course of the frustration.

At one point midway through the season, Sanders asked Ainge what was going on and got a surprising answer.

"He told me he had been dealing with turf toe for about a month," Sanders said. "Nobody knew. I definitely didn't know. It threw off all of his mechanics."

Ainge finished the year completing 66 of 145 passes for 737 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Clausen was 120-of-209 for 1,441 yards, six TDs and six interceptions.

Sanders still doesn't have all the answers or reasons for why things went so wrong.

UT coach Phillip Fulmer calls it the "Perfect Storm," where everything that could go wrong did.

All Sanders knows is he's ready to move on with his life and his career.

"This past month has been rejuvenating in a lot of ways," he said. "The criticism when things don't go well gets old, but I'm not afraid to jump right back into it and do it again."

He wants to stay involved. Eventually, he wouldn't mind getting a shot as a head coach.

"When you don't have a job, you're not real picky, especially when there's not a ton of jobs out there," he said. "In the right situation, in the right place with the right people, do I have to be a coordinator? No. Would I like to be a coordinator? Yes. I'd still like to be a head coach."

For now, it's just a steady diet of family and fishing.

"My wife looked at me the other day and said I was getting fat," Sanders said. "So I told her I was going on a new workout regimen. I would stand up when I fish."

And wait for that next job to come along.