Tennessee the 7th best job in the SEC (16th nationally)

#51
#51
Yes, I've noticed this before, and I am hoping LSU is the right comparison. They were worthless in the 90s, but recovered nicely the next decade. Another model for UT's decline would be Ole Miss. They were one of the leading programs in the 40s, 50s, and part of the 60s, but then went into decline for 30+ years. It wasn't until Cut recruited Eli that they had some decent seasons. I truly hope we follow the LSU model, and not the Ole Miss model. If so, Pruitt is the man. He has to be.
It really does just take the right coaching hire. Too early to tell if that is Pruitt but I have hope.
 
#52
#52
This stuff is so fluid. 20 years ago zero people would have rated Georgia over UT. 15 years ago you could have copy and pasted what was said about us (except SEC record) for Bama. We are a hot shot coach away from being a top 5 job (like most power 5 schools that support football are).
How about South Carolina 20 years ago? They won a grand total of 1 game in 1998 and 1999. They were worse than Vandy. The point is, with the right hire, things can change very quickly.
 
#53
#53
No it’s not a slump. It’s a 20 year downward trend. We haven’t been relevant since 2001.
-2004, finished the season with a record of ten wins and three losses (10–3 overall, 7–1 in the SEC), as the SEC Eastern Division champions

-2007, won the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference before falling to the eventual national champion LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship Game.

Winning the SECEast, playing in the SECCG and spending a good bit of the season, if not the majority of the season, is relevant imho.
 
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#54
#54
-2004, finished the season with a record of ten wins and three losses (10–3 overall, 7–1 in the SEC), as the SEC Eastern Division champions

-2007, won the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference before falling to the eventual national champion LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship Game.

Winning the SECEast, playing in the SECCG and spending a good bit of the season, if not the majority of the season, is relevant imho.

An SEC East title is relevant? With single digit regular season wins? I disagree. When’s the last time people talk about Tennessee as legitimate nations title contenders in a November? 2001.
 
#55
#55
An SEC East title is relevant? With single digit regular season wins? I disagree. When’s the last time people talk about Tennessee as legitimate nations title contenders in a November? 2001.
"Relevant" is such a subjective term. Relevant to who? Relevant to what? Tennessee was very good in 2004 with 2 of their 3 losses being to Auburn who went undefeated. If you are talking about the Tennessee decline, you are not including that season. Any season that we beat Florida, Georgia and Alabama... and win the SEC East... and a bowl game... and win 10 games is a success.
 
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#56
#56
An SEC East title is relevant? With single digit regular season wins? I disagree. When’s the last time people talk about Tennessee as legitimate nations title contenders in a November? 2001.

You don’t have to be a national title contender to be relevant
 
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#58
#58
An SEC East title is relevant? With single digit regular season wins? I disagree. When’s the last time people talk about Tennessee as legitimate nations title contenders in a November? 2001.

I get what you are saying, but in all honesty, SEC East title really isn't a thing.
 
#59
#59
-2004, finished the season with a record of ten wins and three losses (10–3 overall, 7–1 in the SEC), as the SEC Eastern Division champions

-2007, won the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference before falling to the eventual national champion LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship Game.

Winning the SECEast, playing in the SECCG and spending a good bit of the season, if not the majority of the season, is relevant imho.


Yes and if you look, all our losses in 2004 were to teams in the top ten.
 
#60
#60
This stuff is so fluid. 20 years ago zero people would have rated Georgia over UT. 15 years ago you could have copy and pasted what was said about us (except SEC record) for Bama. We are a hot shot coach away from being a top 5 job (like most power 5 schools that support football are).
20 years ago, Georgia was just emerging from approximately a decade of post VINCE Dooley decline. It's always tough to replace a legend, many schools have had difficulty in those circumstances, however unlike a lot of other schools we foolishly forced our legend out ourselves. LSU and Georgia being down both helped us ascend in the 1990's to a period of real dominance (outside of the wretched reptiles). One difficulty we have that Florida and Georgia don't is they have a lot more in-state talent, it's a real advantage, as the post-1972 numbers indicate, however it's not insurmountable.
 
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#61
#61
View attachment 204582

16. Tennessee

Tennessee is a great place to coach — tremendous fan base, top-notch facilities, strong tradition — but the Vols have slipped down the food chain over the past two decades. The program has had one winning SEC season (5–3 in 2015) since 2007.

Ranking All 130 College Football Coaching Jobs for 2019 | AthlonSports.com

Uhh those are eerily close to recruiting rankings. But I guess that does make things easier (natural recruiting advantages). But surely our budget, all-football AD, fanbase, revenues, etc have to be worth more. But I get we are at a disadvantage geographically. Need to move UT to Nashville or Chattanooga and get closer to the big recruits. Crazy idea I know, but long-term it helps.
 
#63
#63
LSU Football Records from 1989-2000:

1989: 4-7
1990: 5-6
1991: 5-6
1992: 2-9
1993: 5-6
1994: 4-7
1995: 7-4-1
1996: 10-2
1997: 9-3
1998: 4-7
1999: 3-8
2000: 8-4
Total: 66-69-1 (Tennessee's record from 2008-2018 was 67-70)

This raises the most obvious point. What did LSU do in 2000 that changed its trajectory? Uhhh...hired a great coach? Named Saban? And won the Natty by 2003, and still reaped the rewards of that hire for many years to follow. Now sliding the wrong way again.

The point is that all it takes (but not easy to do) at a high level school IS TO HIRE THE RIGHT COACH.

Alabama did it with that Saban guy (again there is that name) and Florida with Urban also come to mind. I think Kirby has hit his ceiling at UGa ... not a lot different than Richt.

Time will tell if Pruitt is anywhere near that kind of coach. The young coach that I think fits that bill the most is Matt Campbell at Iowa State. If I was AD, I would have tried everything possible to raise the $ for his large buyout and get him.

The coach is everything.

I
 
#64
#64
Remember guys this team had the most wins from 1926 to 2001 than any team in college football. That’s a good 75 year streak with lots of wins but the sad part outside of Neyland many years ago only one National champions.
 
#65
#65
Remember guys this team had the most wins from 1926 to 2001 than any team in college football. That’s a good 75 year streak with lots of wins but the sad part outside of Neyland many years ago only one National champions.

While that completely arbitrary time period that ended almost 2 decades ago is nice and all, it doesn't really say a lot. Since integration, UT is 18th nationally in wins and 6th in the SEC.
 
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#66
#66
I agree. All of those on the list at least in SEC have better high school football. All of them have similar or better tradition at least in the last thirty to forty years. Most have had a national title or at least been relevant since Tennessee has been down. Auburn and Tennessee are arguable but again Auburn has won more recently, facilities are close even though I think we have an edge, high school football is better in Alabama.
 
#67
#67
While that completely arbitrary time period that ended almost 2 decades ago is nice and all, it doesn't really say a lot. Since integration, UT is 19th nationally in wins and 6th in the SEC.


Tennessee is second in the SEC and 10th all time.
You Tennessee fans blow my freaking mind with nothing but negative
 
#68
#68
Tennessee is second in the SEC and 10th all time.
You Tennessee fans blow my freaking mind with nothing but negative

What do you mean "you Tennessee fans"?

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#72
#72
Our last few coaching searches would seem to validate this list. Part of what makes this job hard is that a lot of us still expect to win at a high level and probably won't feel like things are "normal" until that is happening.
 
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#73
#73
Tennessee is second in the SEC and 10th all time.
You Tennessee fans blow my freaking mind with nothing but negative

All the more reason to be very disappointed with the results of the past 10+ years. This latest phase is destroying a lot of our historical accomplishments and legacy.
 
#74
#74
Alabama 905
Tennessee 838
Georgia 819
LSU 797
Auburn 767
Texas A@M 741
Florida 724

Did they all start playing and recording wins and losses the same year? Things get a little fuzzy with records in the early 1900s or even late 1800s for some.
 
#75
#75
Did they all start playing and recording wins and losses the same year? Things get a little fuzzy with records in the early 1900s or even late 1800s for some.

This came from their official wins/loss/ties record. Some teams have more games than other however all of them are in the 1,200 games except Florida which is right at 1,195.
 

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