As to Ford, read this from today's Chattanooga Times Free Press. Just might be why Ford is in limbo, but if that's the case we must be second on his priority list if he's not signing while the other suitor is in disarray.
Who is in the running to become the new head football coach for the Mocs?
Coach search trumps signing period for Mocs
December 19th, 2018 by
Gene Henley in Sports - College Read Time: 2 mins.
There will be no early signing period for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program today.
The administration has
a bigger task at hand.
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Former head coach
Tom Arth's abrupt exit last Friday after only two seasons has left the program in disarray with the early period starting today. The Mocs do have commitments from seven players but aren't expecting any of them to sign
as the administration searches for a head coach.
Sources have told the Times Free Press that former UTC player and assistant coach Rusty Wright has interviewed for the position, as has current UT-Martin head coach Jason Simpson, who was UTC's offensive coordinator from 2003 to 2005.
Another source confirmed the candidacy of Jamey Chadwell, who spent four seasons as the head coach at Charleston Southern and is currently the offensive coordinator at Coastal Carolina. Chadwell, a finalist for the UTC job in 2016, was 35-14 in four seasons at CSU, which included two Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances.
Chadwell, Wright and Furman offensive coordinator George Quarles have been the early leaders for the position, with multiple sources telling the Times Free Press that Chadwell "is the favorite." But according to sources, Wright had an excellent interview and is receiving "serious consideration" for the job. He played at UTC from 1992 to 1995 and had coaching stints in Chattanooga from 1996 to 2002 and was linebackers coach and special teams coordinator from 2013 to 2016 under former head coach Russ Huesman.
Like Chadwell, Wright interviewed for the head coach position in 2016.
Quarles spent 18 seasons as head coach at Maryville (Tennessee) High School, compiling a 250-16 record with 11 state championships in 15 seasons.
In 13 seasons at UTM, Simpson is 80-68. He was a candidate for the UTC job when Huesman was hired.
Also expected to be considered are Lenoir-Rhyne head coach Drew Cronin and Louisville assistant Lorenzo Ward, who served as the interim head coach for the Cardinals after Bobby Petrino was fired during the 2018 season. Ward was an assistant at UTC from 1994 to 1998, while Cronin led the Bears to a 12-2 record and the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals in his lone season so far.
Cronin spent five seasons at NAIA member Reinhardt (2012-16), including the final two as head coach when he compiled a 22-3 record. He had a pair of stints as an assistant at Furman, including the 2017 season when he was the offensive coordinator.
A source said the process could be complete as early as Thursday.
The Mocs are coming off a 6-5 season, one that started with promise but ended with three losses. The team is expected to return nine offensive starters as well as six on defense.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.
