Two years ago, when faced with the biggest staff decision of his Tennessee tenure to date, Butch Jones turned to his old friend and mentor Mike Debord to take over the reins as the Vols’ offense coordinator.
Today, Jones is faced with making an equally significant hire to replace Debord. Debord was set to retire as Friday was planned to be his last game with the Vols. Debord wants to get back closer to his family. In the last 48 hours, retirement turned into a new opportunity for Debord as he's taking the offensive coordinator job at Indiana.
That move throws open a huge vacancy on Jones’ staff, to say the least. Much speculation had already centered on whether or not Debord would return in 2017, though many thought he might just walk away from the game entirely rather than take another job.
Last week in Nashville, Debord reflected on what led him to land in Knoxville two years ago and how he viewed his time at Tennessee.
"I was in a position where I was going to be very particular with where I went and who I worked for and everything," DeBord said. "Everyone knows Butch and I had a relationship before that, and I've always had great respect for him and we have a great friendship. I wanted to come help him if I could help him. I told him I don't want to be your coordinator if you don't feel like I can help move this offense along.
"As I look back, I'm proud of what our coaches and players have done offensively. Going back to two years to when we were the No. 2 rushing offense in the conference to this year with what we did in second in the conference in scoring and one of the best in the red zone. I'm proud of what we have done."
How Jones goes about filling what is a crucial staff position will come under great scrutiny to say the least.
Debord led an offense that finished second in the SEC in scoring this fall, putting up 36 points a game. He helped develop Josh Dobbs into one of the most productive quarterbacks the Vols have had in terms of yardage gained. Debord also provided some stability to the offense, moving on from Mike Bajakian, who handled the coordinator duties in Jones’ first two seasons in Knoxville.
In 2015 the Vols, under Debord’s guidance, had the second best season in the history of the program in terms of running the football, picking up 2,908 yards on the ground. That was the highest single season total since 1951.
So where does Jones turn now? One year after replacing his defensive coordinator, he’s charged with doing the same thing on the other side of the ball.
Certainly fans will clamor for some big names to get a look, like former Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich. A sentiment that was only fueled by Helfrich’s showing up in Nashville last week at one of the Vols’ bowl practices.
But will Jones go that route? He swung for the fences to some degree in last year’s defensive coordinator search, which produced Bob Shoop, but that was without a really sound candidate on staff.
This time around, does he look at promoting Larry Scott, who served as interim head coach at Miami last year, compiling a 4-2 record with the Hurricanes in that role. Some speculation leads us to believe he could be a viable candidate.
Additionally, does Jones look for someone who could also occupy the role of quarterback coach? Tennessee hasn’t had anyone in that position since Bajakian left. NCAA changes that will allow programs to add a 10th on-field assistant, if passed, could render that point moot, but it’s something to think about.
Does Jones want a ‘quarterback guru’? Or is he more interested in an established playcaller.
Will he be comfortable with someone who wants to bring his own system to Knoxville? Or will this hire be about finding someone who will be comfortable running the system Jones has has in place, as was the case with Debord’s hire?
How this one plays out will be fascinating for Vol fans to follow, and it’s also safe to say that it could have an enormous impact on the course the 2017 season takes.
