Tennessee's Reportedly Found its Man...And it's Not Clemson's Tony Elliott

Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was in a position in terms of timing to be a serious candidate for the Tennessee Vols head coaching job, but Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports is reporting new AD Danny White is bringing in Josh Heupel from UCF.

One of the many reasons Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was considered a candidate for the head coaching position at Tennessee was his past relationship with the new athletic director Danny White.

The new sides crossed paths back in 2017 when White was looking to replace Scott Frost at UCF. However, he instead hired then-Missouri OC Josh Heupel over Elliott. 

It appears history has possibly repeated itself. While rumors of just how involved Elliott and the Vols were with each other, that's come to an end. According to a report from Yahoo! Sports college football insider Pete Thamel, White is bringing Heupel with him to Tennessee to replace Jeremy Pruitt. 

All indications Tuesday were that White was focusing on bringing Josh Heupel with him from UCF. @PeteThamel reporting that deal is being finalized. https://t.co/rX9VGTGzuQ

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) January 27, 2021

Heupel has gone 28-8 in three seasons as the head coach at UCF. He had back-to-back 10-win seasons, including a 12-1 mark in 2018, in his first two years. Heupel spent two years in the SEC at Missouri and nearly 10 seasons on staff with his alma mater Oklahoma. 

Clemson, meanwhile, might have dodged a bullet. Elliott, who's never been a head coach but has worked on Dabvo Swinney's staff since 2011, was in a position in terms of timing to be a serious candidate and go through the interview process, unlike in December when most coaching hires are made. Now, after turning down interest in NFL jobs, it appears he'll be back in the booth calling plays for the Tigers and QB D.J. Uiagalelei this fall. 

Josh Heupel / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Elliott has been rumored for numerous head coaching positions since winning the Broyles Award, giving to the top assistant coach each season, in 2017. That belief that he and White had contact during that 2017 UCF coaching search led many to speculate that Elliott was a potential frontrunner for the job. 

White stuck with the man he already knew less than a week after he took the Tennessee job to replace Phil Fulmer. The Vols have a new direction. 

Clemson, on the other hand, continues to enjoy some of the most consistent staff continuity in college football