› Vols hire Scott to coach tight ends,
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee no longer has a vacancy to fill on its football coaching staff.
The Volunteers tabbed Larry Scott, most recently the interim head coach and tight ends coach at Miami, as its new tight ends coach and announced the hiring Monday afternoon.
Scott will replace Mark Elder, the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator who was hired as the new head coach at Eastern Kentucky last month.
“Larry brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our staff,” Tennessee head coach Butch Jones said in the program’s release. “He is a great teacher, motivator and recruiter, and most importantly a great mentor for our student-athletes. I think the way Miami finished the season under his guidance speaks volumes to his leadership skills.”
Scott took over as the interim coach of the Hurricanes when Al Golden was ousted in October and guided Miami to a 4-2 finish, the only losses coming at North Carolina and to Washington State in the Sun Bowl.
Former Georgia coach Mark Richt wanted to keep Scott as part of his first staff at Miami, but Jones and Tennessee were able to nab him to replace Elder.
Scott joined Miami’s staff as tight ends coach in 2013 after eight seasons at South Florida, where he had played offensive tackle. Scott was the Bulls’ director of high school relations and a graduate assistant for three years before moving to the full- time staff in 2007, and he coached tight ends, the offensive line and running backs while in Tampa.
Scott’s connection to Jones likely is Mike Canales. The former North Texas interim coach and offensive coordinator is a good friend of Jones whose second stint at South Florida included three years with Scott ( 2007- 09). Scott also played for Canales during the latter’s first stint as South Florida’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
The 39- year- old Scott is ranked as the nation’2 No. 56 recruiter by 247Sports. His best work as a position coach came in 2014, when Clive Walford led the Hurricanes in receptions (44), finished with 676 receiving yards and caught seven touchdown passes on his way to becoming a thirdround NFL draft pick.
Tennessee was poised to hire a full-time quarterbacks coach to replace Elder before landing Scott. Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord officially holds that title, but he spent more time this season overseeing the offensive line with Don Mahoney. Thus graduate assistant Nick Sheridan has been the Vols’ de facto quarterbacks coach.
DeBord, who coached tight ends in the NFL with the Bears and Seahawks, indicated last month he was open to coaching any position.
“Coach Jones has talked to me about that and the different ways he can go and things like that,” he said. “I’m open to whatever he wants to do. I’ve always been a team guy and always will be, and whatever he feels is best for our program, then that’s what I’ll go do and coach and I’ll give it my best shot. That’s the way I’ve always been.”
Sheridan just completed his second season as a graduate assistant, so if Jones wants to keep the former Michigan quarterback and South Florida and Western Kentucky quarterbacks coach, he may have to move him to a quality control position.
Elder was the lowest-paid coach on Tennessee’s staff this season with a base salary of $240,000, but the Vols’ salary pool for assistant coaches was set to increase again this offseason.
Scott’s salary at Miami was not made public because the university is private and does not have to disclose that information, and a Tennessee official told the Times Free Press his salary with the Vols hasn’t been set yet.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.