Washington State Football: 3 possible landing spots for Mike Leach

1. Tennessee Volunteers

Mike Leach may not look good in that weird orange tint of the Tennessee Volunteers, but I can imagine him loving Smokey the dog and learning all kinds of Smokey trivia. He would be a great band leader for Rocky Top as well. I can see Leach and Peyton Manning having a good time at booster events being equally weird and simultaneously charming as they both are known to be.

On the football side, Butch Jones hasn’t done a good job of coaching the program and developing talent, but the talent is there. Tennessee is in a good location for football talent between Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville, Birmingham/Hoover, Atlanta, Charlotte and even coastal Virginia isn’t that far away. Those are all hotbeds for football talent and within a reasonable drive.

However, you’re going to have to compete with the big players in college football in the SEC and ACC for those kids. Leach learned that minefield at Texas Tech and could find success in Knoxville which many have failed to do since the ushering out of Phil Fulmer.

Leach may be quirky but he’s a football mind and a winner. He has a better head coaching resume than Butch Jones, Derek Dooley and Lane Kiffin held at the time of their hiring. Leach will bring his experience as a head coach in major conferences which the past few hires haven’t had.

The Vols defense isn’t that horrible — it’s 61st in the S&P+ rankings from Bill C — and really considering how horrible their offense has been — 120th in the S&P+ rankings — that’s not that bad. Leach will instantly improve the struggling offense and the Vols deep pockets will allow him to bring in a high-quality defensive coordinator to improve the defense.

Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: Complete first round after Week 11

Then again, Leach may stay in Pullman or wind up in Gainesville with the Gators or possibly at UCLA with the Bruins. Anything is possible when you’re discussing Leach.