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The Tennessee Volunteers’ search for a head football coach rolls on and the crosshairs are apparently now focused on Washington State’s Mike Leach.
Sources tell @NBCDFWSports that former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is working on a deal to become the next coach at Tennessee. A deal could be announced Friday. I’m working on more details.
— Newy Scruggs (@newyscruggs) December 1, 2017
The apparent offer follows reports Tennessee athletic director John Currie was in Los Angeles today to interview Leach and other candidates for the job as well (USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin had been floated as a possibility).
Tennessee’s search for a new head coach after letting go of Butch Jones earlier this month has been ... tumultuous, to say the least. Multiple candidates, including Oklahoma State Cowboys coach Mike Gundy, have reportedly received offers from the Vols and turned them down. Included in those offers was one to current Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator and former Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano that was met with near universal vitriol from Vols fans.
Whether Leach is actually interested in the position, given the fact that he must know he is roughly the sixth or so choice of Currie or if he’s using it as leverage to get a raise from the school, we don’t know. Unfortunately, there’s probably only one way to find out.