He's a favorite son there, and really has done a bang up job at Duke. If he hired a decent DC, he could end up with a better overall record at UT than Fulmer had.
Don't disagree that he could work out okay. He did a good job at Ole Miss, too.
But in perception terms?
They hired boy wonder and put him on a pedestal. Gave him a cape and a mask. They stood solidly behind him when he made mistakes and justified his every gaffe. Well he took his super suit and left their little city.
If Kiffin is Aquaman or Green Arrow or Nightwing or one of the minor super heroes, Cutcliffe is droopy schloopy Underdog. He's Perry the platypus.
Would it be a good move? Probably. Peyton would likely endorse it. But I just wonder if they'd be willing to take the short-term PR hit that hiring a pedestrian guy like Cutcliffe instead of a flashy splash (which might not work out nearly as well) like Gruden or Muschamp would inevitably bring.
** He was also fired at Ole Miss and replaced by Orgeron who just told Tennessee to fuck off and tried to steal their recruits. So there's that history, too.
It's a fail from a perception standpoint.