Lady Vols fans recommended Kim Mulkey, Dawn Staley, and even high school coaches to replace Kellie Harper in emails to Tennessee athletics director Danny White before he hired Kim Caldwell. Knox News obtained these emails from White’s official UT account through an open records request.
Some emails were eye-opening, profane, and occasionally comical, reflecting a portion of the vast Lady Vols fan base.
Initially, a vocal group of angry UT fans criticized White for firing Harper on April 1. Some emphasized that White, a man, was firing a female coach, often misspelling misogyny in their fury.
“Please find a way to respect the women who surround you,” wrote a fan named Lesley 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 suggested candidates for Harper’s replacement. Finally, a few emails reacted to Caldwell’s hiring on April 7.
In every instance, fans made their opinions clear to White.
Knox News obtained 54 emails sent to White in the week between Harper’s firing and Caldwell’s hiring. Here are some notable coaching suggestions from fans and their initial reactions to Caldwell’s appointment.
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.
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.
