In his first season at Tennessee, Donnie Tyndall coaxed 16 wins out of a threadbare roster, upset Arkansas, Butler and LSU and actually had the rebuilding Vols in contention for a postseason bid before a poor final four weeks.
It was a promising enough debut campaign that Tennessee cannot be happy there will be no encore.
Athletic director Dave Hart fired Tyndall on Friday morning because he felt any other course of action would have been impractical given the punishment the NCAA is likely to levy against the coach. Tyndall reportedly is under investigation for academic misconduct and impermissible benefits for players during his two-year stint at Southern Mississippi from 2012-14.
“It is disappointing that we have to take this action,” Hart said in a release. “It is highly likely that Coach Tyndall will face significant penalties at the conclusion of the NCAA’s infractions process. We believe that this decision is in the best interests of the University of Tennessee.”
Firing Tyndall had to be gut-wrenching for Hart because it's an admission he didn't properly vet the hire in the first place last spring. Tennessee will have its fourth coach in six seasons next year, having fired Bruce Pearl for NCAA violations in 2011 and let Cuonzo Martin leave for Cal last spring.
Tennessee is in such need of stability that it cannot take any risks with its next hire. It must find a coach who is squeaky clean in the eyes of the NCAA and committed to building a program in Knoxville for the long haul.
Whoever the new coach is will have a challenge on his hands initially because all the coaching uncertainty has hampered Tennessee's recruiting. Senior standout Josh Richardson will graduate this spring, but juniors Armani and Kevin Punter and sophomore Robert Hubbs III could be back to provide leadership next season.
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