Former Volunteers assistant Scott hired at Florida
KNOXVILLE — After two years on the football staff at Tennessee, Larry Scott will be on the opposing sideline in Neyland Stadium next season as he returns to work in his home state.
First-year Florida coach Dan Mullen announced Scott as the Gators’ new tight ends coach Thursday, making him the fifth member of Butch Jones’ final Tennessee staff to land a job elsewhere in Division I football.
“We are excited to have someone of Coach Scott’s coaching experience and background in the state of Florida,” Mullen said in a news release. “Larry will do a great job coaching our tight ends, which is one of the most important positions on our staff based on how we utilize that position and the flexibility they have within our offense.”
Scott was Tennessee’s tight ends coach in 2016 and promoted to offensive coordinator in 2017 under Jones, who was fired in November. The Volunteers ranked last in the Southeastern Conference in total offense on their way to a 4-8 record.
Prior to coming to Tennessee, Scott, 41, had spent his entire playing and coaching career in the state of Florida, highlighted by assistant coaching stops at South Florida and Miami.
New Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt has completed his on-field staff, choosing to retain only running backs coach Robert Gillespie from the group of assistants who worked for Jones in 2017.
Mullen also hired Charlton Warren, who was Tennessee’s secondary and special teams coach in 2017. Bob Shoop, who was Tennessee’s defensive coordinator for two seasons, has been
hired as defensive coordinator at Mississippi State. Mike Canales, the Vols’ quarterbacks coach in 2017, is now the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas-El Paso. Tommy Thigpen, Tennessee’s linebackers coach from 2013 through 2017, is North Carolina’s linebackers coach.
Three other assistants from Tennessee’s 2017 staff — wide receivers coach Kevin Beard, offensive line coach Walt Wells and defensive line coach Brady Hoke — have not been linked to new jobs yet.
The new employment of the former assistants reduces Tennessee’s financial obligation to them, though Tennessee will still owe them any difference between what they were making and what they are making in their new jobs.
Jones has yet to land a new coaching job, though he told ESPNU Radio earlier this month that he’s “starting to get the itch.”
At the time of his firing, the total owed Jones by Tennessee was over $8 million for the remaining time on his contract. Of three SEC coaches who were fired in 2017 — Jones, Bret Bielema at Arkansas and Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M — only Sumlin has a new job. He was hired as the head coach at Arizona.