Former Vols Assistant Linked to Group of Five Head Coaching Job

By Tucker Harlin

We are steadily approaching firing season in college football.

So far, Rice and Southern Miss are the only two schools to have parted ways with their head coaches in FBS, but that number likely increases in the next three weeks.

Mike Farrell (@mfarrellsports on X) released a list of five candidates for the Rice job, and Tennessee fans know one of said candidates from the Josh Heupel era.

That is of course former Vols running backs coach Jerry Mack.

Jerry Mack, Dino Babers, and Head Coach Candidates for Rice https://t.co/DyIC36WrO2 via @HuesmannCFB

— Mike Farrell (@mfarrellsports) October 29, 2024

Although it’s not at the FBS level, Mack had a prior head coaching experience that was positive. NC Central went 31-15 from 2014-17 under Mack’s watch before taking a coordinator job at Rice the following season.

The other names I recognized on the list are Gary Patterson and Dino Babers.

Between those two, Babers is most logical as Patterson is off a stint at TCU that lasted over 20 years. To my surprise, Babers isn’t that much younger than Patterson, but he’s also coming off a shorter tenure at Syracuse.