Why Lady Vols, Danny White may have found next great basketball coach by hiring Kim Caldwell

Danny White wasn't going to find the next great women's basketball coach at a Power Five program over 20 years into their career.

In the Tennessee athletic director's own words Tuesday, finding a coach that can do what the legendary coach Pat Summitt did is "like finding a needle in a haystack." When hiring the next Lady Vols basketball coach, White wasn't going to fall in love with a brand or success at a high-level program. If he wanted to find someone to win national championships again for Tennessee, he had to commit to finding that needle in the haystack of coaches.

And he might have just done that with Kim Caldwell.

Only time will tell how Caldwell's tenure with the Lady Vols will go, but White wanted "someone with an enormous upside and trajectory," and Caldwell certainly has that. She's a winner – she has gone 217-31 in her career and won a Division II national championship – and White is betting that winning will translate at Tennessee.

He said it not only with his words, but with a contract clause that will make Caldwell the highest-paid coach in women's basketball if she wins a national championship. It shows not only what the expectation is, but what White believes is possible.

He did it before they knew who they were hiring to show how serious they are about winning championships again.

"(I) wanted to make it very clear that investment and how serious we are about getting our women’s basketball program back to the top is in no question at all," White said. "(Caldwell) has our full support and will continue to have it.” 

Caldwell, who just finished her first season coaching in Division I at Marshall, isn't afraid of the expectations. She embraces them.

Caldwell said at her introductory press conference she has had many opportunities to look at jobs in the past. But she wants to be somewhere with high expectations. Caldwell couldn't have found higher ones than at Tennessee.

"I was never interested in a job that did not have high expectations, did not have a loyal fan base, did not have a hungry crowd that wanted to pay attention to what was going on," Caldwell said. "I think that that is something that makes this program incredibly special. And I'm going to work very, very hard to make sure that we keep it there."

The expectations will likely always deter some from pursuing the job at Tennessee. Half the battle is not fearing that, and Caldwell already has one victory.

Getting elite talent to play her in system is a must, there's no way around that. But White was confident in the NIL support the program will get and added it's important to remain competitive in that space. But he also believes Caldwell's fast-paced style of play will attract recruits, because it's where the sport is going.

"Pace of play, both in men's and women's basketball, is becoming more and more a factor, and I think that she's on the cutting edge," White said. "We talk about leading the way in college sports here at Tennessee, and I think Kim helps us do that."

Caldwell led Marshall to the Sun Belt regular-season and tournament titles in one season. She made program history with her 26-7 record, which was the most wins by a first-year coach at Marshall and led the Thundering Herd to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1997.

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White said he needed to see the success happen at the Division I level after Caldwell's seven years in Division II. But he also knew that success meant if he didn't hire her now, "somebody else is going to."

"I think she's going to be one of the best basketball coaches in the country, and I think we have a great one for the future," White said.

Caldwell's confidence and the way she carries herself is incredibly compelling – enough that I just might believe White.

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.