So as the Vols search for a new coach, one hot name out there is Troy Calhoun of Air Force. Both Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel and Rivals.com's Tom Dienhart threw out his name, because before Tennessee hired Lane Kiffin last year, they were thinking about hiring Calhoun, who was the Houston Texans' offensive coordinator before he took over at Air Force.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen tweets that the Vols should go get David Cutcliffe, who was a Peyton Manning tutor, and has now revitalized the Duke program.
ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach suggested on ESPNEWS that Texas D-Coordinator Will Muschamp might get a call, as well. Muschamp, however, is set to be the heir to Mack Brown. Schlabach also suggests Randy Edsall of UConn, who was heavily linked to Notre Dame until Brian Kelly got the job.
Also, some have speculated Steve Spurrier would listen, if offered, though he's recently stated his commitment to South Carolina. And we're not yet buying the Jim Leavitt and Mike Leach chatter out there. Also, before Kiffin got the job last year, Butch Davis of North Carolina was another name linked to the job. Lastly, two more names you're sure to hear are TCU's Gary Patterson and Boise State's Chris Petersen.
One big concern for the Vols is that Monte Kiffin, Lane's defensive guru father, and Ed Orgeron, his ace recruiter, are going with Lane. So they need, essentially, a total package hire.
In the meantime, Kippy Brown, the recently hired WR coach, will be named interim at Tennessee. More as we hear it...and we'll be calling around for a while tonight