Former Tennessee head football coach Butch Jones hasn’t found a new job yet since being fired as the Vols’ head coach. But several of his former assistants have, and now another one of his former Vol coaches has found a new job.
And that former Vol coach will be coaching against Tennessee next season.
Former Tennessee offensive coordinator Larry Scott has been hired as the tight ends coach for the Florida Gators. The official Gators Twitter account announced the news on Thursday. Scott will be joining another former Vol coach on staff there. Charlton Warren, Tennessee’s secondary coach last season, accepted the same role with the Gators in December.
Welcome to the #GatorNation, @UTCoachLScott!
Details: https://t.co/dwLgSZ3ooL#GoGators pic.twitter.com/iUlcyo2ZfV
— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) January 25, 2018
“We are excited to have someone of Coach’s Scott’s coaching experience and background in the state of Florida,” new Florida head coach Dan Mullen said via Florida’s press release. “Larry will do a great job coaching our tight ends, which is one of the most important positions on our staff based on how we utilize that position and the flexibility they have within our offense.”
Scott had been on Tennessee’s staff since the 2016 season. Butch Jones brought him on to coach tight ends prior to the 2016 season, and he was promoted to offensive coordinator prior to the 2017 season. Before that, Scott had coached exclusively in the state of Florida. He spent three seasons as Miami’s tight ends coach and was elevated to interim head coach midway through the 2015 season. Before serving at Miami, Scott coached a variety of positions at South Florida, his alma mater.
Scott knows the Florida area well, and his hiring paid off immediately when Tennessee was able to snag some highly-rated players out of the state when Scott was first hired. He was responsible for landing four-star athlete Tyler Byrd, borderline three-star/four-star wide receiver Latrell Williams, and three-star offensive lineman Marcus Tatum.
But Scott’s coaching left a little to be desired while at Tennessee, specifically as an offensive coordinator.
Most will argue that the Vols’ offense in 2017 wasn’t all on Scott and that he was mostly running Butch Jones’ offense. Regardless, Tennessee was at or near the bottom of the SEC in almost every major offensive category in 2017. The Vols were last in points per game, total offense, and third down offense and were second-to-last in rushing yards per game and passing yards per game.
But Scott has a track record of success as a tight ends coach, and he was able to help Jason Croom develop into a viable tight end on offense in 2016 and helped Ethan Wolf turn in a career-high in receptions (24) and touchdowns (3) in 2017.
Scott is the fifth former Butch Jones assistant to land a new job. Fellow coordinator Bob Shoop is now Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator, Mike Canales is now UTEP’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Tommy Thigpen is now North Carolina’s linebackers coach, and the aforementioned Charlton Warren is also on Florida’s staff as their secondary coach.
