Tennessee fans awoke today, likely with a hangover, to the reality that they are in the market for a new Head Basketball Coach. Reed has, typically, done a terrific job of outlining who will be targeted and whose name you could be hearing in the coming weeks. But as we recover from the aftermath of what was, by any account, an unpleasant split with Coach Cuonzo Martin, it’s important that we outline things that Coach Zo didn’t know.

Here are the Four Things A Tennessee Basketball Coach Has To Be.

1) A Workaholic

There are many natural advantages one has as the Head Basketball Coach of The University of Tennessee: Facilities, Passionate Fans and (if the athletic department is smart enough to spend it) Money. But in order to truly succeed in recruiting, the Head Coach and his staff have to be complete and total burnout workaholics. The next Tennessee Coach and his staff have to follow the example of Butch Jones & Company. They have to hit the road, hard. They need to make many friends in the Atlanta area and try to find friends in Memphis. They also have to do whatever it takes to make Tennessee a national story, something Coach Pearl understood very well, in order to keep the attention of the kinds of players that are the lifeblood of a program. They need to get the attention of people in New York and California. Tennessee doesn’t need to, and probably can’t, attract the One-and-Dones that Kentucky monopolizes and North Carolina and Duke now live for. But they need to find kids that have talent and want to be a part of what Knoxville has to offer, which is something special. It isn’t impossible for a New York kid to fall in love with the University of Tennessee as Tobias Harris, Ernie and Bernie and, to a much less significant extent, I show. But in order to make kids like that consider it, a significant amount of outreach is needed. Which brings us to requirement number 2:

2) A Politician

The Head Coaches of The “Big Three” Tennessee Sports: Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball are all Statewide figures on par with the Governor and the two United States Senators. Those that don’t acknowledge this are fundamentally misunderstanding the culture of Tennessee and the importance that the Vols play across the State and region. To be frank, the average Tennessean would and does accept a much lower level of performance from their Senators than they would ever dream of accepting from the UT Athletic Department. That’s why it’s vital for the next person to head the Tennessee Men’s Basketball program know that they are REQUIRED to have a politician’s skills. Those skills are vital for recruiting, thriving with the media and most importantly, building the types of relationships that the Tennessee fanbase and donors desire. Tennessee fans WANT to love their coach. They only require two things: Winning and the notion that Coach likes them too. You take this gig and you are no longer just a basketball coach. That’s an opportunity and a burden. But it’s also a fact. As is requirement number 3:

3) Be A “Player’s Coach”

Tennessee fans aren’t always negative, despite this recent awful press from the mainstream media, but that element does exists. I add, parenthetically, that it also exists elsewhere and nowhere more than Kentucky which is a program that has been pretty damn successful, but I digress. The amount of outside criticism a college athlete is exposed to, primarily through social media, is far beyond what it was just 10 years ago. But there are lots of reasons, other than Twitter, to be a “Player’s Coach.” Not least of which is that it’s the most effective way in dealing with the modern athlete. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a meeting wherein you give a player an honest critique. It doesn’t mean you don’t make tweaks with their game to benefit the team and your program. But it does mean you no longer have free reign to be a Bobby Knight-Style jackass. That was never a good thing and spoke to the irrational amount of power someone could have over a college athlete. Those days are gone. Stuff Bobby Knight got away with is getting people fired and they should be fired. The next Tennessee Men’s Basketball Coach should be a “Player’s Coach” because it also means they are a decent person, but also because it’s an indication they’ll actually be effective at the job.

4) Happy To Have The Job

Being the Head Basketball Coach at The University of Tennessee isn’t just a good gig, it’s a GREAT gig. You draw more people for home games than darn near anyone. The State recognizes that you’re more important than their U.S. Senators. You have the opportunity to build an incredible legacy that will never age, nor fade, nor die. Bruce Pearl is no longer a shadow. He’s a template. He’s an example of how the right coach can grab this job by the throat and own it for life. The fundamental fact is that, with respect, Pat Forde is wrong here on the larger point. It is fair to be critical of the “Bring Back Bruce” crowd. I have, to be fair, also done so on this website and on the radio. It is fundamentally true that Billy Donovan makes Florida special and not vice versa. In Tennessee’s case, it is the infrastructure that makes Tennessee a program that should expect to win. Yes it has flaws, but it is vastly superior to a variety of programs that get more bang for their buck every year. The right coach will understand the opportunity, embrace their role as a workaholic politician who consistently charms their players.

So, to those considering the job as the next overworked but highly paid individual prowling the sidelines of Vol Nation, keep these four factors in mind. They are the reality of the job that you seek.