The University of Tennessee has made Richmond football coach Dave Clawson an offer that he probably can't refuse.

Clawson, who led UR to the finest season (11-3) in school history last year, has been offered the job as offensive coordinator with the Volunteers, according to two sources.

Clawson's attorney was reviewing the terms of the contract last night and a decision is expected today, one source said.

Clawson signed a new, five-year contract with UR last week that runs through 2012 and would pay him between $200,000 and $250,000 annually.

Most contracts include buyout clauses written that allow coaches to leave by paying the school a specified amount of money.

David Cutcliffe, who was UT's offensive coordinator last season, was paid $350,000 and was scheduled to receive $375,000 this season, according to the Nashville Tennessean. Cutcliffe left last month to become Duke's head coach.

Not only would Clawson, 40, make considerably more money at UT, but such responsibility and exposure would position him to become a head coach at the I-A level one day.

The Spiders have gone 29-20 in four years under Clawson and won a pair of conference championships that led to NCAA I-AA playoff bids. Last season, Richmond advanced to the I-AA semifinals before losing to eventual champion Appalachian State.

Before coming to Richmond, Clawson guided Fordham to a 29-29 record in five years, going from 0-11 in 1999 to back-to-back marks of 10-3 and 9-3.

If Clawson leaves, the front-runner to replace him is likely to be University of Virginia defensive coordinator Mike London, who played and later coached at UR.

London, 47, graduated from Hampton's Bethel High in 1979 and from UR in 1983. He coached the Spiders' outside linebackers in 1988 and '89 and again in 1994, '95 and '96. He also was recruiting coordinator during his second stint as a Richmond assistant.

Reached last night by phone, London declined to comment. With the exception of a brief period each August, Cavaliers coach Al Groh prohibits his assistants from talking to the news media.

Should London get the job at his alma mater, Sept. 6 figures to be an interesting day for him. That's when UR meets Virginia in Charlottesville.

The 2007 season was London's sixth as a U.Va. assistant and second as Groh's defensive coordinator. London left Groh's staff to coach the Houston Texans' defensive line in 2005. He returned to U.Va. as defensive coordinator in '06.

The Cavaliers ranked 16th nationally in scoring defense this season and 22nd in 2006.

A highly regarded recruiter, London also has been an assistant at William and Mary (1990 to '93) and Boston College (1997 to 2000). After graduating from UR, where he was a standout defensive back, he worked as a detective in the city of Richmond police department.

London interviewed at UR during the search that ended with Clawson's hiring in February 2004. A year ago, London was a leading candidate to become coach of Old Dominion University's new football program. He withdrew from consideration after U.Va. persuaded him to stay.

Staff writer Jeff White contributed to this report.