 On March 27, 2011, after three seasons at Missouri State, Martin was hired as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers.In three seasons as head coach, Martin led the Volunteers to two NITs and to the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen.After a slow start to the 2013–14 season, several fans began openly campaigning to have Martin replaced with his predecessor, Bruce Pearl, who was about to finish serving a show-cause penalty.