Looking back on the information available now, everything seemed to fall into place almost too nicely at Tennessee over the past week or so.
As the chatter around the NCAA investigation ramped up, former Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele was brought in with a defensive assistant title and within about a week of that formal announcement, Vols decision makers decided they didn't like what they had been hearing about the investigation and decided to fire head coach Jeremy Pruitt with cause and athletic director Phillip Fulmer opted to retire.
Fresh off a stint as the interim head coach at Auburn following the dismissal of Gus Malzahn, Steele was also tabbed to step in for the Vols as the interim head coach while the school searches for a new athletic director, and then shifts their focus to a new head coach.
Steele's contract at Auburn had two years remaining on it, so the school is obligated to pay him a buyout of about $5 million, which would be mitigated by his new role with the Vols.
This morning Alex Myers shared the contract details of Steele in his new acting head coach role, sharing that he will make a base salary of $275k with supplemental pay of $175k to bring his salary total to $450k annually. Thus, Auburn remains on the hook for the preponderance of his buyout.
The deal with Tennessee runs through January 31, 2023.
Much of the attention of the college football world is now focused on Tennessee and how the school will move forward. Will Steele be able to make some hires to fill some critical vacancies in recruiting and other areas while the school goes on conducting AD and head coaching search?
We'll have some more details on the situation in Knoxville in the comings days (and perhaps hours).
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.