Vol head coach Butch Jones addresses the media.
Photo by Reed Carringer

KNOXVILLE—The search to replace the departed Jay Graham is progressing quickly, and the Vols should have a coach in place by the middle of next week at the latest. Tim Spencer interviewed earlier in the week and remains one of the top three candidates for the job. You can read more about Spencer’s extensive coaching experience here. Vol offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian worked with Spencer in Chicago, and he seems like a good fit from both a scheme and personality standpoint. One candidate who surfaced early in the process, Roy Manning, is likely to take a job with his alma mater, Michigan. Des Kitchings, the running backs coach at N.C. State, looks like he’s unlikely to leave and hasn’t interviewed for the position at UT to our knowledge. Still, until he’s officially ruled out or the Vols hire someone else, he’s a name to keep an eye on.

Two candidates to watch closely are Mississippi State’s Greg Knox and West Virginia’s Robert Gillespie. A coach from another SEC school reportedly interviewed yesterday, and though far from confirmed, Knox is a name that came up earlier in the week so he’s worth a quick look. He has been the running backs coach at Mississippi State since 2009. Prior to his arrival in Starkville, Knox spent 14 years coaching receivers for Tommy Tuberville at both Ole Miss and Auburn. Knox would bring 18 years of SEC coaching experience with him, and would be an excellent addition.

Robert Gillespie is a name Tennessee fans should remember; he played for Steve Spurrier at Florida from 1998-2001 before starting his coaching career at South Carolina in 2005. He interviewed for the job yesterday and is thought to be the leader at this point. Gillespie was hired to coach running backs at Oklahoma State in 2009 and coached there for two years. In 2011, he joined the Mountaineers as their running backs coach. He understandably has extensive ties to recruiting in Florida, and was named one of the top 50 recruiters in the nation by 247Sports in 2012.

As always, we’ll keep you updated as names surface.