Tennessee Hiring Dameyune Craig Would Be Boost Butch Jones Needs
Tennessee head coach Butch Jones needs some momentum, and hiring Dameyune Craig would provide a boost for the Volunteers.
Tennessee head coach Butch Jones needs some momentum, and hiring Dameyune Craig would provide a boost for the Volunteers.
Butch Jones needs some momentum. Actually, that is an understatement. The Tennessee head coach needs a major boost for the program.
The fan base is tired of unfulfilled hopes, moral victories, and, especially, the whole “champions of life” mantra.
This past season was a disaster considering the hype that led into it. Several key players were injured. Frustrating losses to inferior opponents knocked the Volunteers out of contention for SEC East, and another season of big dreams went out the window. That is over, and Jones needs to put it in the past.
With wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Zach Azzanni departing for a position with the Chicago Bears, Jones now has a chance to make a big hire, and there is one man in his Rolodex that should be the recipient his first phone call: Dameyune Craig.
Craig is certainly available after being dismissed by LSU head coach Ed Orgeron after spending a season in Baton Rouge as wide receivers coach. He was hired from Auburn by Les Miles. Craig was brought in as not only as an esteemed coach but as one of the top recruiters in the nation. It didn’t work out with Orgeron taking the reins, and now he is looking for a job.
Jones should not wait another second to go after Craig, who has helped sign players such as former Florida State quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston and potential breakout stars at Auburn like wide receiver Nate Craig-Myers.
Craig knows the SEC, and he has deep roots in talent-laden states Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana.
Bringing him in might be harder than a phone call, as Craig seems to be holding out for an offensive coordinator position and might see a sinking ship that Jones is steering in Knoxville. Jones enters this upcoming season on the hot seat, and Craig most likely does not want to go through a second coaching change in as many years.
Despite that, Jones needs a hire like Craig. Not only will instant credibility in the recruiting game come with him, but the Big Orange faithful would see it as a step forward instead of another huge setback.
Make the call, Butch. Your job is on the line.
