JOHN ADAMS

John Adams: Bet Tennessee couldn't match my search committee

John Adams
USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee
Heath Shuler is a former NFL quarterback, Heisman Trophy runner-up as quarterback for the University of Tennessee, and three-term U.S. Representative for North Carolina’s 11th congressional district. Shuler is currently Senior Vice President for Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, NC.

Tennessee just hired a chancellor and athletic director. So it doesn’t have to worry about forming another search committee for a while, right?

Wrong.

Given UT’s hiring history, the search process obviously needs to be refined. And refining takes time.

That’s why Tennessee should begin forming a committee for its next AD search right now. Then, years from now, if a new AD were needed, UT wouldn’t have to waste time selecting a committee.

Instead, it could alert its already selected searchers, who could charge into action with SWAT team swiftness.

Another way to improve UT’s hiring process: Reinvigorate the search committee with new members.

Here are my suggestions:

Mark Dyer: The 1981 Tennessee graduate is a senior vice president for IMG College business ventures. He also served the same company as a senior vice-president for strategic planning and development for sports and entertainment.

Before joining IMG, he helped start NASCAR café. He also has worked for Host communications.

And he has as much common sense as he does business sense.

Charles Davis: One of the most intelligent and knowledgeable people in sports, the former UT defensive back is a Fox NFL analyst. Before that, he was Fox’s lead analyst for college football.

Former Tennessee football player and analyst for Fox Sports Charles Davis hosts the VOLSCARS Monday, April 25, 2011 at the Knoxville Convention Center. (Photo by Wade Payne, Special to the News Sentinel)

He also was an associate athletic director at Stanford, co-hosted a morning radio show in Orlando and was a tournament director for the Disney World Golf Classic.

In the Vols’ 1984 win over Washington, Davis played through the pain of a broken leg. Think he won’t give his all for a Tennessee hire?

Bill Schmidt: The Sporting News named this Knoxville resident one of the 100 most powerful people in sports in 1996 and 1998. A sports marketing guru, he was vice-president of worldwide sports marketing for Gatorade.

He has a master’s degree from UT, won the bronze medal in the 1972 Olympics, and was vice-president of sports for the Los Angeles Olympics.

His resume indicates he should be able to spot a competent administrator.

Dara Worrell: A longtime employee in the UT athletic department, she’s now the associate athletic director for development. Worrell, who has a master’s degree from UT, has been an assistant athletic director for ticket operations for men’s and women’s sports.

Her sports experience predates her employment at UT. While attending Tennessee Tech, she was a manager for the women’s basketball team, which was coached by her father, Bill Worrell.

Based on that, maybe she should be involved in UT’s next search for a basketball coach, too.

Heath Shuler: Injuries ended the NFL career of the former UT quarterback. But he later succeeded in both real estate and politics.

He left Knoxville for his native North Carolina, where he was elected to Congress. After serving as a congressman from 2007 to 2013, he became a lobbyist for Duke Energy.

Surely, his persuasive powers could help UT land a prominent athletic director.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnadamsKNS.

More from John Adams: