It took 19 days, but athletic director Dave Hart has filled the head coaching vacancy at Tennessee. Despite the fact that Butch Jones wasn't the first man called ? or even the third ? Hart felt confident in his decision.
"I don't know if I was even the third choice for my wife, but at the end of the day I got to the destination and that's what happened hear. That's part of it," Hart said. "You capitalize on opportunities. You don't look backwards. You move forward and I think that's what we have to do now as a family. As alumni, as a fan base we've got to come back together as one."
The Volunteer fan base was upset following the failure to lock up rumored prospective coaches Jon Gruden, Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State or Louisville's Charlie Strong, but Hart kept moving through the short list of coaches.
"When you get into a search and you target, we had half a dozen targets that I thought could come and do the job at Tennessee, you move on if you offer the job and somebody takes it or doesn't take it," Hart said. "You move on and feel confident going on to the next guy. I think it was stated by Butch very well that things do work out and do work out for the best."
But, Hart believes that having the fan base invested in the decision and commenting on what is happening around the program ? even if it is negative ? is what makes college football as popular as it is.
"That's fun for the fans, there's nothing wrong with that," he said. "There is nothing wrong with that. It's part of college athletics, it's part of the passion that I love so much. So, it doesn't bother me."
Hart said that Jones was on his short list of coaches. The two of them had not met in person till meeting Thursday night in Lexington, Ky. According to Hart, the two spoke until 6 a.m. Friday morning about the job.
Though they hadn't spoken in person for the first time until less than 24 hours before Jones was introduced as the Volunteers 24th head football coach, Hart had spoken to people around college football about Jones and his work.
"I talked to a lot of people in the profession," Hart said. "Administratively (I) talked to people Butch had worked with in terms of administrators, staff on campus and talked to coaches.
"In talking to pro scouts who come through a lot, college coaches that I have a great deal of respect for, who I saw many in New York, they hold him in very high regards as a football coach."
Jones expressed his excitement and gratitude for being offered the Tennessee coaching position.
"It's my dream job," Jones said.
Jones and Hart have agreed to a 6-year Memorandum of Understanding worth $18 million. He will also receive a five hundred thousand dollar one-time bonus at the end of January.
The question Hart explicitly wanted to answer during his search was, "has he been able to win everywhere he has been?"
Jones has done just that at his stops at Central Michigan and Cincinnati. Hart and the Tennessee fan base hope he can do the same on Rocky Top.
Source: http://utdailybeacon.com/breaking-news/2012dec7-hart-confident-jones/
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