KNOXVILLE – With the reports that Tyson Helton has left to become Western Kentucky’s next head coach, Tennessee head football coach Jeremy Pruitt is faced with a big decision as to will succeed Helton as offensive coordinator.
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A season after the Volunteers finished 117th in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense, they were statistically even worse in 2018, ranking 121st out of 129 programs in yards per game (325.5) and 112th in rushing yards (129.1). The rushing game failed to reach 150 yards nine times in 2018, including in seven of the last eight games, and the Vols were 2-6 in those games.
Pruitt appears to prefer a more ball-control offense led by a power rushing attack that would set up more opportunities downfield in the passing game. When the Vols were able to run the ball effectively, it opened up the rest of their offense. When they weren’t, opponents were able to tee off on Tennessee quarterbacks, who were sacked 23 times and hit countless others.
The Vols are expected to return all 11 offensive starters in 2019, with talent at running back and wide receiver, making this quite possibly the most important decision of Pruitt’s young head coaching career. Helton had success in two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Western Kentucky, with the Hilltoppers averaging more than 530 yards per game in the 27-game span, so there is a question of how much control he had in Knoxville.
Here are eight potential candidates for the Tennessee offensive coordinator position:
– Kendal Briles, Houston offensive coordinator: Briles, the son of former Baylor head coach Art Briles, would appear to be a hire out of left field for Pruitt considering there are no ties between the two. But there’s no question that Briles understands running an offense: He has been successful in coordinator stints at both Florida Atlantic (498.4 yards per game in 2017) and Houston (528.6 yards per game in 2018). The downside? He would come with some level of baggage, as his name was linked to the sexual assault findings at Baylor. Briles has also been linked to the head coaching vacancy at Texas State and is expected to interview there.
– Matt Canada, Maryland offensive coordinator/interim head coach: Canada has been linked to this position before, back in 2015 when Butch Jones was the head coach at Tennessee. He chose to stay at North Carolina State at the time but was fired and has since coached at LSU and Maryland. He went 5-7 as the interim head coach with the Terrapins and could be retained, but he’s definitely well-traveled, as Tennessee would be his eighth coaching job in the past 10 seasons.
– Dan Enos, Alabama associate head coach/quarterbacks coach: Enos reportedly was a person of interest for the position when Pruitt first became head coach, but it didn’t happen. He has experience coordinating in the SEC, having done so at Arkansas for one of the more balanced attacks in the league prior to a staff change in 2017. His job this season has been helping the growth of Alabama quarterback and Heisman front-runner Tua Tagovailoa, as well as two-year starter Jalen Hurts, who have led one of the most explosive offenses in the country.
– Will Friend, Tennessee offensive line coach: Pruitt could decide to not look outside of the program and just promote from within. Friend would appear to be the most likely choice on staff, as he has experience as an offensive coordinator at Colorado State and likely would be willing to embrace the offensive approach preferred by Pruitt. The two had experience working together at Georgia before reuniting.
– Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator: Kitchens was Pruitt’s roommate as Alabama players, but the two have never worked together. He has a little experience coaching in the SEC, spending time as an assistant at Mississippi State in 2005, but this could be a long shot considering Kitchens has done a decent job mentoring rookie Baker Mayfield in Cleveland and could be considered long-term despite a coaching change after Hue Jackson was fired earlier this season.
– Kliff Kingsbury: On the subject of long shots, Kingsbury was fired Sunday as head coach at Texas Tech after three consecutive losing seasons but is considered one of the brightest offensive minds in football at any level. He developed current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
– Chip Lindsey, Auburn offensive coordinator: Lindsey is in his second season of his second stint with the Tigers, with his second season not going nearly as well as his first despite a preseason top-10 ranking. He and Pruitt have never worked together but have crossed paths, as both were successful Alabama high school coaches before moving into the college ranks.
– Bryan McClendon, South Carolina offensive coordinator: McClendon has struggled at times in his first season as offensive coordinator but has had the Gamecocks rolling in recent weeks. He worked with Pruitt at Georgia from 2014 to 2015, and should he be convinced to leave South Carolina, he could just take over as running backs coach, allowing Chris Weinke – a former college and NFL quarterback – to slide over to a more natural fit coaching quarterbacks.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.