- ABC News
- January 27, 2021
New Tennessee athletic director Danny White didn't have to look far to land his head football coach. Sources told ESPN that White is hiring UCF's Josh Heupel as the Vols' next head coach. White also hired Heupel when White was the UCF athletic director. Tennessee called a team meeting for 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. White, announced last Thursday as Tennessee's new AD, has been working fast to find a replacement for Jeremy Pruitt, who was fired for cause Jan. 18 following an investigation that uncovered what university chancellor Donde Plowman called "serious violations of NCAA rules." White cast a wide net through the Parker Search Firm and reached out to and/or interviewed several candidates, including Penn State's James Franklin, Cincinnati's Luke Fickell, SMU's Sonny Dykes, Minnesota's P.J. Fleck and Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, among others. Sources told ESPN that Elliott over the last few days had serious discussions about the job, but turned down...