One of the top questions on every Vol fan’s mind right now aside from who will be the Vols’ next head football coach is when will the hire occur? And according to an interview with one of Tennessee’s top 2018 commitments, we now know a timeline.
Adrian Martinez appeared an SEC Country podcast and was asked about his commitment and the Vols’ coaching search. And the four-star quarterback stated he spoke with John Currie on Sunday, and Tennessee’s athletic director shared an outline of a timeline for the hire.
“I asked him since I was enrolling early if I could expect to get to see this new coach and talk to him and have a feel before going and signing for this school,” Martinez stated. “He said, ‘Most certainly.’ He actually said, ’If there’s not a new head coach by December 20th, then there will be a new AD in town.
“So I’m confident he’s going to get the job done and it’s going to happen pretty quickly. As quickly as it can.”
So according to Currie’s statement to Martinez, the Vols will have a new head coach before the early signing period begins. Most believe a hire will happen weeks before that, but Currie appears to at least have a deadline in mind.
The Vols’ top quarterback in their 2018 recruiting class said that Currie reassured him and made him feel more secure in his commitment to Tennessee. The Vols have suffered numerous decommitments since the firing of Butch Jones, and those were headlined by four-star athlete Alontae Taylor.
But Martinez feels better after speaking with Currie.
“I can tell from what he told my father and I that he’s working really hard,” Martinez added. “It won’t be hours when the decision will be made. It’s going to be days. There will be a lot of work that goes into this decision. It’s going to be someone who’s a leader, and someone who’s going to get this program back to where it needs to be.
“(Currie has) really reassured us he’s going to get it done. He gave us a message of positivity and to have confidence in him.”
Martinez is a four-star dual-threat quarterback and is the No. 155 overall player in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He’s currently the Vols’ second-highest rated commit in their 2018 class after all the decommitments the last week-plus.
