Regardless of what you think about the Tennessee Vols' public breakup with quarterback Nico Iamaleava, there's no doubt that the situation exposed a problem at UT that needs to be fixed, otherwise the program could encounter similar situations moving forward. 

There's a lot of information flying around about what really happened between Iamaleava and Tennessee. And most of that information is nothing more than hearsay since very few folks, if any, have been willing to go on the record about what went down between Iamaleava and the Vols (which has led to some really poor takes from "journalists" who are either misinformed, uninformed, or just love spewing negativity about young athletes based on rumors). 

What I think we do know, though, is that Iamaleava would've been happy to continue playing football at Tennessee regardless of his contract situation. I think we also know there was poor communication throughout this whole saga. 

And it's the poor communication that really highlights the glaring issue that this saga has exposed. 

Tennessee doesn't currently have a general manager and that needs to change. 

Schools around the country are rapidly hiring general managers to oversee rosters and manage contracts (one source told AtoZ Sports that around 70 percent of Power-4 college football programs currently have a general manager). Managing that aspect of the roster is suddenly one of the most important jobs for a college football program. It's a massive task, and handling that task with the same staff structure that programs had four or five years ago — the last couple of years that college football was in a semi-normal state — just isn't realistic. But that seems to be the approach that Tennessee is taking. 

General mangers aren't figureheads or unimportant ceremonial roles for college football programs. They serve an important purpose. A general manager not only lightens the load of the coaching staff and other football personnel — including off-the-field staffers — but they also provide a singular voice for roster and contract management. A general manager can focus full-time on handling contract demands, negotiating deals, putting out fires, and making sure that a clear line of communication exists between the program, the player, and the player's agent or representation. The general manager can also deal with the collectives (many of which simply aren't equipped to handle contract language, negotiations, etc). 

There are several obvious options that would be great to serve in this role for Tennessee. 

One internal option would be Billy High, who is currently Tennessee's director of internal and advance scouting. 

High, who graduated from Tennessee in 2012, served as the assistant athletic director/general manager at North Carolina from 2019 to 2022 under Mack Brown. 

Another option could be former Vols offensive lineman Jacques McClendon, who is currently an agent for WME Sports. 

McClendon previously served as the director of football affairs for the Los Angeles Rams. He also served on the Knight Commission (The Knight Commission's purpose is "to develop, promote and lead transformational change that prioritizes the education, health, safety and success of college athletes"). 

The former Vols offensive lineman, who spent six years in the NFL as a player, would bring a unique perspective to Tennessee thanks to his experience as a player agent. 

I'm sure there are plenty of other highly qualified individuals who could serve in that role for Tennessee. Ultimately, what's important is that Tennessee makes filling that role a priority. 

No one knows if having a general manager in place would've led to the Iamaleava situation playing out differently at Tennessee, but I think it's pretty clear that it would've made the situation easier to manage for both sides. And if Tennessee wants to avoid going down this road again, they should probably quickly get to work on finding a general manager who can start immediately. 

Nico Iamaleava isn’t a villain and he leaves behind a legacy at Tennessee that should be remembered fondly

There’s a lot of bad Nico takes out there