It's time for Tennessee Vols athletic director Danny White to make a decision that will be unpopular with at least a small part of the UT fan base. 

On Monday, the Lady Vols lost to NC State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

The loss means that the 2023-24 season was head coach Kellie Harper's worst season yet at Tennessee (20-13 overall with a 10-6 record in the SEC). 

To make matters worse, the loss on Monday came against the program that fired Harper in 2013. 

At this point, it's safe to say that we know who Harper is as a head coach. 

The former Lady Vols point guard is a career .600 coach. And the sample size is large enough to suggest that's who she will always be as a coach. 

There's no shame in that. The overwhelming majority of folks couldn't even come close to finding the same success. But the standard at Tennessee is higher than a .600 winning percentage. And Harper, who played on three NCAA championship teams under Pat Summitt in the late 90s, knows that as well as anyone. 

No one expected Harper to be the next Summitt. No one on this planet can be the next Summitt.

Pat was one of one. 

But plenty of fans want to see the program at least have a chance in March and April. 

And it's been a long time since that was the case. 

It's clear that Harper isn't the coach that's going to make Tennessee relevant again on the national stage. So what's the point the in delaying the inevitable? 

Harper is an important part of Lady Vols history. She'll always be a Vol. And she's given all she has to the program. But the Lady Vols need a fresh voice, a fresh face. The program needs a shot of life. 

There are a lot of fans on board with moving on from Harper. The group of fans, however, that want to see Harper stick around usually make the comment "well who are you going to get that's any better?"

Tennessee has an athletic director in White that has a stellar reputation when it comes to hiring head coaches. Let him conduct a search and hire who he thinks the best person for the job is. White has earned some trust in that department thanks to numerous great hires over his career (dating back to his time as the athletic director at Buffalo). 

It's never easy to fire a coach. But it's time for the Lady Vols to make a change. The program has been stuck in mediocrity for far too long. 

Every other athletic program at Tennessee seems to be firing on all cylinders right now. But until the Lady Vols are back near the top of their sport, things won't feel completely "right" on Rocky Top. 

The Tennessee Vols are off to the Sweet 16, but fans are already annoyed about one situation

Can’t blame the fans, either