The Tennessee coaching saga has been very entertaining in its absurdity... unless you are a supporter of the Volunteers. In that case, the extended search to replace Butch Jones (one that cost AD John Currie his job) has to be maddening to say the least but, now, it appears as if there could be light at the end of the tunnel.
Scott Roussel of Football Scoop brings word on Monday that new AD and former Tennessee head coach Phil Fulmer has centered on five de facto finalists for the job and those names are quite interesting. The list includes three current defensive coordinators in Georgia's Mel Tucker, Clemson's Brent Venables and Auburn's Kevin Steele. Then, the quintet also includes current SMU head coach Chad Morris (also seemingly in the running at Arkansas) and the headliner of former LSU head coach Les Miles.
Amusingly, a few of these names have been at least tangentially involved since the outset of the search but, presumably with Fulmer making the calls, Tennessee fans will be happier with these choices. Until an actual announcement is made, the long, national nightmare continues but reports indicate that the "winner" will emerge from this particular group of candidates.
