Rocky Top is still smoldering after the Greg Schiano debacle from Sunday. Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy on Tuesday night declared he's a "Cowboy for life!" Meanwhile, Tennessee still needs a head football coach.
Dan Mullen, believed to be Tennessee's top choice when it started the search, is off the board and hired at Florida. Matt Campbell is staying at Iowa State with an improved contract. Duke coach David Cutcliffe wants no part of the mess at the place he coached for 18 years. TCU's Gary Patterson isn't going anywhere, and if Jimbo Fisher leaves Florida State, it will be for Texas A&M. And both Purdue's Jeff Brohm and NC State's Dave Doeren have indicated they will stay at their current schools after being pursued by the Vols.
First-year athletic director John Currie seems to be public enemy No. 1 after the Schiano shame, but his Tennessee tenure will be defined by what happens next and who he hires. The Vols would like to name a coach as soon as possible, especially with the early signing date barely three weeks away.
Here are the candidates we expect Tennessee to pursue in the coming hours and days.
Washington State coach Mike Leach: If Tennessee wants a big personality with an exciting scheme who doesn't care about the toxicity around the program and does and says what he wants, Leach is the pick. He has upgraded two programs where it's much tougher to recruit in Texas Tech and Washington State, which beat USC and Stanford this year and was an Apple Cup win away from claiming the Pac-12 North title. While Leach, 56, isn't an SEC guy and his system could hit some speed bumps in the league, he has never been at a place with the resources that Tennessee offers.
SMU coach Chad Morris: Not long ago, Morris, 48, was the nation's highest-paid coordinator at Clemson and always mentioned for several big jobs. He ended up guiding SMU, which was in lousy shape but has improved under his watch, to a 7-5 record this season. Morris' overall record with the Mustangs (14-22) makes Greg Schiano's look sparkling, but he knows offense, he knows quarterback development and he knows Texas, where he's a legend as a former championship-winning high school coach. He understands the spotlight and how to lead, and could give Tennessee the recruiting spark it needs.
Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele: He has been almost everywhere in college football, mostly as a successful defensive assistant, and his work at Auburn the past two seasons has been exceptional. Steele, 59, is a former Tennessee linebacker who began his coaching career at his alma mater. Few coaches anywhere know the SEC landscape better, but the big knock is Steele's head-coaching record, as he went 9-36 in four seasons at Baylor, never winning more than three contests and going 1-31 in Big 12 play.
Memphis coach Mike Norvell: Another name we expected on Tennessee's initial list, Norvell is 18-6 at his first head-coaching job and has Memphis in the American Athletic Conference championship game this weekend with a chance at a New Year's Six bowl berth. He's very young (36), but he would bring a dynamic offense and already knows the area from his time at Memphis.
Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables: He has done an excellent job building Clemson's defense into a nationally elite unit and, while extremely happy working for Dabo Swinney, may be ready to take over his own program. Venables, 46, brings Big 12 and ACC experience and has coached against the SEC's best in the postseason, including Alabama in the past two national title games. This could be a tough situation for a first-time head coach to step into, but Venables could bring the edge Tennessee needs, especially on defense.
Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt: The former Alabama high school coach knows the SEC from his time with Georgia and now with the Crimson Tide. He helped lead Florida State's defense to a national title in 2013, and the Seminoles haven't been the same since he left. Like Venables, the 43-year-old Pruitt would enter a tough environment for a first-time college head coach. But he knows what it takes to win championships at this level.