Here's who Tennessee fans told Danny White to hire as Lady Vols coach besides Kim Caldwell

Lady Vols fans suggested Kim Mulkey, Dawn Staley and even high school coaches to replace Kellie Harper in emails they sent to Tennessee athletics director Danny White before he hired Kim Caldwell.

Emails sent to White’s official UT account were obtained by Knox News through an open records request.

Some were eye-opening, profane and at times comical. But they represented a snippet of the enormous Lady Vols fan base.

In the first wave, a small subset of furious UT fans insulted White for firing Harper on April 1. Some focused on the fact that White was a man firing a female coach, albeit terribly misspelling misogyny in their rage.

“Please find a way to respect the women who surround you," a fan named Lesley wrote in an email. “You are a massaganistic piece of (expletive). I hope you rot in your man hell.”

In the second wave of emails, fans told White who he should hire to replace Harper. And then a few emails reacted to Caldwell’s hiring on April 7.

In all cases, fans told White exactly what they thought.

Knox News obtained 54 emails sent to White in the week between Harper’s firing and Caldwell’s hiring. Here are some notable recommendations fans made for the Lady Vols next coach and their initial reaction to Caldwell.

Colorful request to hire Kim Mulkey

Fans pitched their favorite candidates to be the next Lady Vols coach, and there were some predictable heavy hitters like LSU’s Mulkey and South Carolina’s Staley.

“Make Dawn Staley say no,” a fan named Jeff said in an email to White.

Staley has won three national titles in the past eight years. Mulkey has won four national titles during her tenures at Baylor and LSU.

There’s no indication that they were interested in the Lady Vols job. But that didn’t stop a UT fan from recommending Mulkey in a colorful way.

“She has (the) class of a bar drunk. But she WINS!” the fan identified as “not a wealthy donor” said in an email.

Pat Summitt coaching tree is tapped out

A fan named Hunter said a member of his family played on one of the Lady Vols’ national title teams under legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt.

But the fan told White that he should look outside Summitt’s coaching tree, which included Holly Warlick and Harper, the past two UT coaches.

“I would highly advise against (Duke coach and former UT player) Kara Lawson,” Hunter said. “I think we need to go outside the Lady Vols umbrella.

“My pick would be (WNBA coach) Becky Hammon or (Notre Dame coach) Niele Ivey. Swing for the fences with this one and let’s get championships coming back to the Lady Vols.”

Another fan echoed that sentiment: “Do not be bound by choosing a former Lady Vols player from Pat Summitt’s tree. There are none that are Championship caliber!”

Other fans wanted these Lady Vols

But some UT fans wanted to put another Lady Vol on the bench. They argued that White shouldn’t have fired Harper unless another former UT player was ready to take the job.

Granted, there aren’t many former Lady Vols with extensive coaching success. But that was a minor detail to some fans.

“I am hoping that instead of looking at how many wins a coach has, that you look for a coach who has the true culture of this program,” a fan named Harriett said. “You need someone who can relate to the players and recruits, understands how things are now. You need a player who was at the school that people recognize and respect.”

That fan suggested Semeka Randall Lay, who played alongside Harper on UT’s undefeated national title team in 1998. Randal-Lay has a 34-80 record in four seasons coaching Winthrop.

Another fan named Kermit told White to consider Jody Adams, the point guard on UT’s 1991 national title team. She has a 230-175 career record, including a 43-52 mark in the past three seasons at New Mexico State.

“She has coached,” the fan told White in an email. “Unfortunately, she has not had a chance to coach a school that has the resources that Tennessee has. I think you would be impressed should you take a look at her.”

Jeff Walz could beat Dawn Staley, Kim Mulkey

Louisville coach Jeff Walz was another popular recommendation. Some UT fans who wanted Staley or Mulkey pitched Walz as a more realistic option.

Walz has a 465-135 record in 17 seasons at Louisville, including four trips to the Final Four.

“Thank you for executing a change of coaches in the women basketball program. This immediate action is supported by the Lady Vol fans,” a fan named Jim said. “I sincerely believe he could compete with Coach Staley and Mulkey quickly. He would be expensive but well worth the money to restore the Lady Vols.”

NAIA and junior college coaches were pitched

UT fans also suggested Vanderbilt’s Shea Ralph, Grand Canyon’s Molly Miller, Shelton State's Madonna Thompson and Freed-Hardeman men's coach Drew Stutts.

Granted, those last two names aren’t like the others. But Caldwell had only one season of Division I coaching experience before White hired her.

Thompson has turned Shelton State, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, into one of the top junior college programs in the nation. She has posted at least 20 wins in 24 consecutive seasons. Stutts won the NAIA national title in his fifth season at Freed-Hardeman.

These high school, NBA coaches may surprise you

Other names were submitted as outside-the-box candidates.

A person recommended Pickett County High girls coach Brent Smith, who won a Class A state title in March. Another person suggested White look into Bruce Loudermilk, a former high school coach in North Carolina.

Alex Piccirillo, a high school boys coach in Long Island, was submitted for consideration. The email explained that Piccirillo has leadership qualities as a school board member and fundraising expertise for NIL purposes because he’s worked on local political campaigns.

Alex McLean, the Washington Wizards director of player development, was suggested.

And a man identified as Jerry Kidd, who said he coached the Chattanooga Choo Choos semipro women’s basketball team in the 1980s, also submitted his resume for White to consider.

“I prepared my team for league play by playing preseason exhibition games with area colleges,” the email said. “… (But) Pat Summitt would never give us an exhibition game, and she played two every year. She knew my players well and feared them.”

Who is Kim Caldwell? Here’s how fans reacted

Caldwell, 35, is considered a rising star in women’s college basketball after winning the Division II national title at Glenville State in 2022 and leading Marshall to the 2024 NCAA tournament in her first Division I season.

But she’s not the marquee name that some fans wanted.

“What a joke...that is your bigger and better??” a fan identified as “Teeny” wrote in an email.

“Not even a well known coach, had to google to see who she is...  Sad, you fired the Coach, you need to be fired for ruining the program.”

A fan named Darryl put it more directly in an email to White: “I do not understand hiring a cheap nobody!”

College referee predicted Danny White's firing

Another fan said he knows Caldwell will fail because he officiated Glenville State games a few times during his 34-year career, and he wasn’t impressed.

He didn’t say whether he officiated any of Caldwell’s games. But Caldwell had a 191-24 record in seven seasons at Glenville State, and she won the Pat Summitt Trophy as the Division II national coach of the year.

“Just remember you can be ‘fired to’ seen many ADs come and go at Tennessee,” the fan told White in an email. “Orange nation can be hard on low down pieces (expletive) like you. Way to go (expletive).”

These emails praised Kim Caldwell

Fans have responded positively to Caldwell at Big Orange Caravan events in the past two weeks. And not every email was critical of White’s decision to fire Harper and hire Caldwell.

“You are, no doubt, the greatest athletic director the University of Tennessee could have ever had,” one email said. “… Kim Caldwell plays the style of modern basketball needed at Tennessee to compete with South Carolina and LSU.”

A Marshall fan was sad to see Caldwell go. But he congratulated White on hiring her at UT.

“In one season, Kim added a few pieces to last year’s roster and completely changed the direction of our program,” the Marshall fan said. “Her poise, passion & positivity is contagious. We will miss her dearly, but wish her & UT a national championship in the not too distant future!”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Emailadam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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