Tennessee to announce Donnie Tyndall as new coach

Feb 22, 2014; Hattiesburg, MS, USA; Southern Miss Golden Eagles head coach Donnie Tyndall watches game action in the first half against the UTEP Miners at Reed Green Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

One coach leaves for supposedly greener pastures and another now enters the fray. With the news breaking yesterday, today it will become official. The Tennessee Volunteers are going to announce that Donnie Tyndall is their new head basketball coach going forward.

Tyndall led Southern Miss to the NIT in his seasons two seasons with the program. Before that, he took Morehead State to two NCAA Tournaments.

Only 43, Donnie Tyndall is pretty familiar with the SEC. Before making a name for himself as a head coach, he was an assistant with the LSU Tigers.

With Cuonzo Martin and the ghost of the charm of Bruce Pearl still lingering, Tyndall has a pretty heavy task at hand. Not only will he have to help the Vols win basketball games, but deal with the sometimes volatile Tennessee fanbase.

It is worth noting that Ryndall was not Tennessee’s first choice. Previous reports had the Vols going after Louisiana Tech coach, Mike White, before White withdrew his name from the table.

With all of that being said, though, Donnie Tyndall is a pretty solid hire for the program. Only time will tell, however, if the fanbase feels the same.