I will say this - I am surprised that UT did not already have a top tier HC lined up before they fired Mack.
Maybe they did. Maybe it really was Nick Saban, like McPhaul said.
We may never know if that is completely true - but if it was and it was fumbled, then it certainly is a train wreck.
Notre Dame did the same thing years ago when they fired Lou Holtz. It set our program back for 15 years. Many of us regret that he was forced out of ND when he was. What's worse is that we did not have a plan with a top tier coach to replace a legend.
That's why my perspective may be a little different while visiting your message board. Perhaps Mack could have hired a whole new staff and been successful this off-season. He could have brought in a OC and a whole new staff. He may have been able to right the ship. I may get flamed for saying that, but my perspective is a little different than the typical UT fan. I had to live through some BS hires before Kelly -and HE may not be the answer. Holtz left and did what Lou does - at South Carolina. We saw magic there that could have been at ND while tolerating loser coaches at the best college football program in the universe...perhaps with a little tweaking...
I still think that UT is one of the best coaching jobs in the nation. I think that Strong is a lot like Brian Kelly - maybe even better. But I truly thought that you would blow the doors off the nation with a big name.
Strong has some risk to him. He played the 105th schedule this year and 70th last year. Despite this, he may be the answer. He coached at some big time programs that had high expectations at their peaks. He won a BCS bowl.
