Who Will Coach Tennessee Football in 2018?
November 13 update: Butch Jones fired, odds re-released
We’ve been tracking the odds on next Tennessee head coach after it was pretty clear Butch Jones’ days were numbered. Even though Jim McElwain of Florida was the first SEC coach fired, Jones was gone soon after and BetOnline released updated odds on who will lead the Vols in 2018. There have actually been some rumors that Jon Gruden is serious about considering the position, and he’s now the +180 favorite after opening +2000. [Odds via BetOnline]
| Head Coach | Nov 15 | Nov 13 | Nov 9 | Oct 28 | Oct 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Gruden | +180 | +180 | +250 | +250 | +2000 |
| Dan Mullen | +280 | +600 | +800 | +2200 | +1800 |
| Mike Norvell | +350 | +400 | +800 | +900 | +750 |
| Chip Kelly | +650 | +500 | +450 | +400 | +325 |
| Les Miles | +800 | +500 | +700 | +1400 | +1000 |
| Jeff Brohm | +1000 | +1000 | +700 | +550 | +450 |
| Mike MacIntyre | +1200 | +1200 | +1000 | N/A | N/A |
| Bobby Petrino | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 | +550 | +450 |
| PJ Fleck | +1200 | +1200 | +1400 | +1000 | +800 |
| Tee Martin | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 | +1200 | +900 |
| Jim Bob Cooter | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 | +2200 | +1800 |
| Lane Kiffin | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 | +10000 | +10000 |
| Peyton Manning | +5000 | +5000 | +5000 | +10000 | +10000 |
| Brian Kelly | +5000 | +5000 | +5000 | +3300 | +2500 |
| Bob Stoops | N/A | N/A | N/A | +1200 | +900 |
Chip Kelly opened as the +325 favorite, followed by Jeff Brohm (+450) and Bobby Petrino (+450). Unfortunately there’s no ‘Field’ option, but all bets are refunded if someone not on the list ends up getting the job.
Since opening, bettors have been all over Jon Gruden, moving his odds from +2000 to +180. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean he’s more likely to get the job– it just means that the public is willing to put their bets and money on Gruden in order to move the odds. Prop bets like these have lower limits and move much, much easier than a normal spread or future bet. Take the big odds change with a grain of salt, although there does appear to be some traction on it happening.
Jon Gruden opened at +2000, and is now the +250 Fav to be next coach at Tennessee https://t.co/qBV7FuqTfh#GoVols #Grumors #CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/CiDyw49vR8
— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) October 28, 2017
Of course with a list like this, bettors also don’t mind throwing $5 on someone like Peyton Manning at long odds, which was the case early on. The odds hadn’t budged on him whatsoever until this past week:
Top 3 bet counts to bet next @Vol_Football HC (via @DaveMasonBOL )
1) Chip Kelly
2) Peyton Manning
3) Lane KiffinCan't make this stuff up
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) October 4, 2017
FWIW, Butch Jones went 26-32 ATS at Tennessee after going 19-17 at Cincinnati and 22-13-1 at Central Michigan.
Over the last couple weeks, there’s been seriously movement and speculation on Dan Mullen to Tennessee. He opened +1800, moved to as high as +2220, but has steadily dropped to +280, only behind Gruden at the moment. Many including Bruce Feldman believe he’s the perfect fit for them.
Glenn Lemmons
11/26/2017 at 12:18 pmTennessee would be insane for not going after Les Miles, he knows the SEC inside and out and would mesh well in Tennessee Football (I doubt very seriously he would have lost to Vandy).