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We answer your best questions about Tennessee athletics and anything else in our weekly mailbag, Insider Mailing.
“Is Butch the gelatinous cranberry that sucks or the pie that looks delicious until you cut into it and see some old coconut?” – @neylandmafia
Nathanael: He’s the pie that looks delicious but actually turns out to be really bad. Because he looked like he might deliver some results for the Vols, but in the end turned out not to be the answer in any way, shape, or form.
Will: That cranberry stuff has never looked appealing to me. I’m with Nathanael here.
“When will the Butch Jones picture on the back of the Jumbotron be taken down?” – Brandon
Nathanael: I would assume sometime after the season at this point. Maybe once the new head coach is hired. I hope they don’t make the mistake of putting the new head coach up there and decide to put Fulmer or some other legend up there instead.
Will: I’m not sure that’s such an easy process to just do quickly. My guess is he’ll be off the Jumbotron by the end of January (hopefully). Until then, it’s pretty weird to drive by there and still see Butch watching over.
“All of this talk about the coaching carousel, if Texas A&M were to part ways with Sumlin, is he a good option for the Vols? Why isn’t Sumlin in the mix of candidates?” – Zach
Nathanael: Well it’s looking very likely that Sumlin won’t be back next year with the Aggies, so he’ll likely be on the market. But no, I don’t think he’s a good option for the Vols. He had a similar level SEC job with Texas A& (Tennessee is still better) and failed. He never could develop a quarterback properly and always lost big games except when he had Johnny Manziel. Tennessee needs someone who has actually had success in the SEC and knows quarterbacks. That doesn’t describe Sumlin.
Will: Tennessee doesn’t need a guy who has failed at a lower profile school. Sumlin’s success was completely centered around Johnny Manziel. Outside of him, he didn’t develop any other player into a good quarterback. The Vols shouldn’t hire someone who couldn’t take the pressure at a worse program than their own.
“How many walk-ons can we have on roster?” – Chris
Nathanael: Well, Tennessee is gonna have to use a couple of them against Vanderbilt. They already did against LSU. So for their sake, I hope they have five or six they feel comfortable playing on Saturday.
“Ham, turkey, or other meat? And also, what are four quintessential sides you gotta have with this meat?” – Max
Nathanael: Turkey, but it has to be dark meat for me. White meat turkey is so dry and gross. But dark meat turkey? That’s delicious. And my four sides are as follows: my mother’s sweet potato casserole, mac and cheese, some really good green beans, and dressing.
Will: Turkey is untouchable for starters. After that I go with sweet potatoes, dressing, rolls and creamed corn.
“Best and Worst Thanksgiving side dish?” – Ryan
Nathanael: The best in my honest opinion is my mom’s sweet potato casserole. But not everyone can have that. So if I were just going in general, it’s mac and cheese. The worst is easily cranberry sauce. It isn’t sweet enough and has such a weird texture to it regardless of if it’s in a can or homemade.
Will: I’ve got to say dressing is the best. And the worst is pretty easy too — anything cranberry is awful.
