Tennessee’s offensive coordinator position has been vacant for two and a half weeks now, but it’s reportedly going to remain open for at least another week or so.
According to a report from Volquest, Tennessee’s Rivals.com affiliate site, Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt isn’t expected to make a hire for his next offensive coordinator until after the early signing period is over. The early signing period begins on December 19th and runs through the 21st, which is Friday of next week.
The reason why Pruitt is waiting even longer to make a hire? He wants to make sure he’s getting the right fit, and he’s been focusing on recruiting heading up to the first signing period of the 2019 cycle.
“One of the biggest factors in finding a new offensive leader is recruiting, a source close to the program told Volquest,” Austin Price of Volquest writes. “Pruitt knows this firsthand. As a defensive coordinator, Pruitt was an outstanding recruiter and wants that out of this hire, too.
“It’s also a part of the reason that Pruitt has been slow in this process. He’s working to finish the early signing period for the 2019 class, and from all accounts, it won’t hurt Tennessee significantly by not having an offensive coordinator.”
Tennessee is still in a good spot with some offensive prospects in the 2019 class heading into the early signing period despite not having an OC hired. Four-star in-state running back Eric Gray, five-star offensive tackle Darnell Wright, and four-star wide receiver and Baylor commit Jaylen Ellis are the biggest names the Vols are currently pursuing and still have a legit shot of landing on the offensive side of the ball. If the report is true and Tennessee doesn’t have a hire ready to go, then Pruitt clearly isn’t concerned about a lack of an offensive coordinator on staff affecting recruiting right now.
Price states in his report that Pruitt has interviewed Hugh Freeze, Kendal Briles, Jeff Lebby, and Mike Yurcich for his vacant OC position. But none of those candidates have been hired.
Pruitt hired USC quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Tyson Helton a year ago to serve as his first offensive coordinator at Tennessee, but two weeks ago Helton left UT to be the next head coach at Western Kentucky. The Vols’ offense shined at times under Helton, specifically in wins against Auburn and Kentucky and even in a loss to South Carolina. But at other times, Tennessee’s offense struggled, most notably over the last two games of the season.
For the second straight year, Tennessee’s offense finished last in the SEC in yards per game, and they were near the bottom of the conference in just about every major statistical category.
Tennessee’s search for an offensive coordinator has taken two and a half weeks already. Now it appears it will be another week and a half before a hire is made.
