Hamilton seeking integrity, salesmanship in coach

Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton has no timeframe to replace ousted head football coach Phillip Fulmer.

“I think it’s more important that you hire the right person than you put a timeframe on it,” Hamilton said on Thursday. “I do think that we’ll efficiently and expeditiously tie it up as quickly as possible but I’m more concerned about the who than how long.”

Hamilton said UT has hired Neinas Sports Service to lead the search. The firm is headed up by Chuck Neinas, the former head of the College Football Association and Big XII commissioner.

Neinas’ firm has been credited with Urban Meyer’s hiring at Florida, Bob Stoops’ hiring at Oklahoma and Houston Nutt’s hiring at Ole Miss.

“He’s really, really well connected in football circles,” Hamilton said.

In laying out the qualifications, Hamilton said he’s looking for a coach with great leadership skills who can sell UT’s football program to fans and recruits.

“Tennessee football is such a fabric of the state," Hamilton said. “It’s border to border. It’s a part of who we are everyday.

“So it’s got to be somebody that can get out there and articulate that. It’s also got to be somebody that can sell to recruits. We do have to go outside our borders to get young men in here.”

Hamilton said integrity, scheme and talent evaluation (both in coaches and players) will also be factors.

Hamilton declined to put more specific parameters on his search, such as head coaching experience.

“I’m wide open,” he said.

That certainly brings coordinators into play.

“Everybody’s got to be somebody first,” Hamilton said. “Certainly a head coach has sat in that chair and there’s a different level of responsibility by being a head coach than not.

“But being a head coach at XYZ University is totally different from being the coach at the University of Tennessee.”

Hamilton expects the search firm to prevent the process from getting embarrassing if a handful of candidates decline UT’s advances. That means high-profile coaches can be approached.

“You’ve got to evaluate who are the right big calls to make but that’s not to say that those kinds of calls wouldn’t be made,” Hamilton said. “But we’re not interested in getting somebody a raise at another school.”

Hamilton said the search firm has his initial list and that contacts are being made.

Hamilton declined to outline what he was willing to pay UT’s next head coach, but said “We’ll be competitive, particularly based on somebody’s experience.”

Hamilton’s shining moment in hiring coaches came when he plucked basketball coach Bruce Pearl from Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Since arriving at UT, Pearl is 77-24 and has become a fan favorite with his energetic, infectious style.

While Hamilton wants a salesman, he doesn’t believe he has to go quite as far as Pearl.

“Basketball is totally different,” Hamilton said. “You’ve got to remember we had five coaches in 15 years so we were at a point where a lot of the fan base was ready to give up.

“We had to have an evangelist. In the end, football is really about what you’re going to do on the field.

“But I believe that you’ve still got to be able to sell because the celebrity status of a head football coach at the University of Tennessee is significant. You’ve got to have someone who is willing to bear that burden.”

So what kind of coach are UT fans most willing to accept?

“I think Tennessee fans are most willing to accept winning,” Hamilton said. “That’s the bottom line.”

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!