NBC Dallas is reporting Washington State head coach Mike Leach is working on a deal to become the next coach at Tennessee.
Our partners at govols247.com report that Vols athletics director John Currie was in Los Angeles Thursday to meet with Leach.
Leach has coached the Cougars for six seasons, reaching four bowl games. He went 9-3 this season with an upset win over fifth-ranked USC.
Sources tell @NBCDFWSports that former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is working on a deal to become the next coach at Tennessee. A deal could be announced Friday. I’m working on more details.
— Newy Scruggs (@newyscruggs) December 1, 2017
Prior to Washington State, Leach coached Texas Tech for 10 seasons. He's known for his pass-heavy offense which holds multiple NCAA records. Leach's "Air Raid" attack has ranked in the top three nationally in passing yards per game in each of the last four seasons.
He does have experience in the SEC - Leach was Kentucky's offensive coordinator in 1997 and '98. He's known for his quirky personality and his offseason studies of various subjects that interest him, including pirates.
Leach holds a law degree from Pepperdine and did not play college football.
Several other names are still circulating as possible candidates for UT's next head coach.
After a source confirmed to WBIR Thursday that Dave Doeren decided to stay at North Carolina State instead of jump on an offer from the Vols, the search speculation turned to former Texas former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin. Sumlin was fired by the Aggies on Sunday and is due to collect a buyout of more than $10 million dollars in the next 60 days.
In his first season in College Station in 2012, he led the Aggies to a road upset of Alabama, coached Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and guided Texas A&M to its first Top 5 finish since Bear Bryant was the coach in 1956.
In the following five seasons, Sumlin went 40-24 and 19-21 in the SEC.
Les Miles is one of only four coaches to beat Nick Saban twice in the last ten seasons. In 12 seasons at LSU, he led the Tigers to ten or more wins seven times, won two SEC titles and a national championship. ESPN says he's interested in the job, but hasn't talked to UT.
Tee Martin is currently the offensive coordinator at USC and was the quarterback on Tennessee's 1998 National Championship team. He was the number one recruiter in the country in 2016 according to 247Sports.
A majority of Tennessee fans seem very interested in bringing Martin back to Tennessee, but there's been no reports of UT contacting Martin about the opening.
Other fans find themselves back on the Lane Train--- hoping that former coach Lane Kiffin could return, but Kiffin said he's not been contacted about the job.
