Michael White (Louisiana Tech)
Pros: He’s a young, up and coming star. In the 10 years before he took over, Louisiana Tech averaged 15 wins and 16 losses a season. White’s four years on the job have seen the Bulldogs go 101–40 (.716), win three regular season conference championships, and receive their first ranking in the AP Poll in over 20 years. He’s making around $600,000 a year and has a manageable buyout. Those are numbers UT can deal with. Before taking the head job at LA Tech, he spent seven seasons as an assistant at Ole Miss where he also played for four years (1995-99). He has extensive recruiting ties in the SEC and developed a reputation as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation at Ole Miss. He listened to Tennessee last year before turning the Vols down, but he might be willing to listen again – his roster is turning over this year.
Cons: He doesn’t have an NCAA Tournament berth on his resume and the last coach UT hired from LA Tech didn’t work out well—he could be a tough sell from that standpoint. He turned down Tennessee just last season…would he be willing to make the jump now? Would Tennessee even be willing to go back down that road?
