Something To Think About

#26
#26
GAVol said:
Not exactly . . . He had a contract extension pending and then had heart problems. CPF took over as interim coach and had success and you had two camps spring up. Then Majors returned almost unannounced and too soon and it tore the team apart. Majors has always been bitter and felt like Fulmer took advantage of his health situation to get the job . . . which is certainly possible. The other part of it though was that there were a number of people who were just tired of dealing with Majors in the first place.
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This I do know, my Father-In-Law's been a UT fan since the 50's. He told me that until he went to a Mississippi State game back in the mid-nineties that he always believed Fulmer kinda screwed Johnny. However, at that game he sat next to Majors' and Fulmers' agent. Sexton, I think he said the name was.

Anyway, Sexton said that at the time this all went down, UT was having some financial difficulties and was cutting pay for staff and anybody working on campus
that they could. At the same time Majors was running around telling anybody that would listen that he needed more and more money and that he was underpaid. The higher-ups got tired of hearing it and when an opportunity presented itself... well, you know the rest of the story.
 
#27
#27
I won't pretend that there's not a distinct possibility that CPF took advantage of a situation, but I don't think there's any doubt that Majors largely created the situation himself. The bottom line though is that if he hadn't annoyed the administration and not made a habit of losing to Alabama, he probably would have been the coach for as long as he wanted.

For whatever happened, I really wish Majors could get past the bitterness and have more of a relationship with the university. I got to speak with him about 4 years ago for an extended amount of time and he really was a neat guy to talk to . . . quirky as hell . . . but a nice enough guy.
 
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#28
#28
He rubbed a lot of people the wrong way by complaining about his contract on an almost daily basis. There were also reports that he was being a jerk during the Big Orange Caravan that year, and even got into some arguments with friends and former players. Some say it was his health (this was before the hospital stay) that was some of the problem. He comes back way too early, a day after the Florida victory. There were rumors (and take it for what it's worth) that he was berating Fulmer in front of the players during practice. Then they lose 3 straight, and there you go. Perfect excuse to make a change. Did Fulmer stab him in the back? Probably, but to say he didn't bring it on himself just isn't true.
 
#29
#29
Volmorning said:
Anyway, Sexton said that at the time this all went down, UT was having some financial difficulties and was cutting pay for staff and anybody working on campus
that they could. At the same time Majors was running around telling anybody that would listen that he needed more and more money and that he was underpaid. The higher-ups got tired of hearing it and when an opportunity presented itself... well, you know the rest of the story.
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Not much different than this summer on campus and Fulmer's raise...
 
#30
#30
GAVol said:
I won't pretend that there's not a distinct possibility that CPF took advantage of a situation, but I don't think there's any doubt that Majors largely created the situation himself.

The bottom line is that if he hadn't annoyed the administration and not made a habit of losing to Alabama, he probably would have been the coach for as long as he wanted.
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kind of going more off your unedited version, but I'll say this.

I had just become serious about UT football when the change happened (largely due to my age), but I remember my papaw and older cousins being happy with the change because they were ready to get to the elite level of college football. I had two uncles that were strongly against the change because they thought Majors could get us there. At the time, I was in the middle. I knew Majors had done a lot of good, but I knew a lot of people didn't like dealing with him and his issues. I also had absolutely no idea if he could ever get us to the next level. I remember him very fondly though, and still think very highly of him. I just wish he'd drop the anger and realize how important he was to everything UT became in the 80s and 90s.

For anyone to pretend he didn't play anything short of a major (no pun intended) role in our 1990s success is ridiculous.
 
#31
#31
volfanbill said:
kind of going more off your unedited version, but I'll say this.

I had just become serious about UT football when the change happened (largely due to my age), but I remember my papaw and older cousins being happy with the change because they were ready to get to the elite level of college football. I had two uncles that were strongly against the change because they thought Majors could get us there. At the time, I was in the middle. I knew Majors had done a lot of good, but I knew a lot of people didn't like dealing with him and his issues. I also had absolutely no idea if he could ever get us to the next level. I remember him very fondly though, and still think very highly of him. I just wish he'd drop the anger and realize how important he was to everything UT became in the 80s and 90s.

For anyone to pretend he didn't play anything short of a major (no pun intended) role in our 1990s success is ridiculous.
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Maybe, but they don't win the championship in '98 if he's there.
 
#33
#33
volfanbill said:
we'll never know that. He could have won us a title in 93, 94, 95, etc
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Nope. He was a mediocre coach. He played not to lose (sounds familiar I know). His best shot was in '90 and he winds up with a tie and 2 losses. Some people seem to have 20/20 hindsight when it comes to Johnny. It was time for him to go then, just like it's time for Fulmer to go now.
 
#34
#34
volsforever27 said:
Maybe, but they don't win the championship in '98 if he's there.
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I agree. Aside from the soap opera that occurred, I think we really had a shot at something special in both 1990 and 1991 but we lost/tied some games that we really shouldn't have and that convinced the average fan that Majors was not the guy to take the program to an elite level.
 
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#35
#35
GAVol said:
I agree. Aside from the soap opera that occurred, I think we really had a shot at something special in both 1990 and 1991 but we lost/tied some games that we really shouldn't have and that convinced the average fan that Majors was not the guy to take the program to an elite level.
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How many times did Fulmer do that though before and after taking us to the top of the mountaintop?
 
#36
#36
GAVol said:
I agree. Aside from the soap opera that occurred, I think we really had a shot at something special in both 1990 and 1991 but we lost/tied some games that we really shouldn't have and that convinced the average fan that Majors was not the guy to take the program to an elite level.
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Exactly. UT was in the cellar for several years in the late 70's and early 80's. Some of that was Battle's fault, but no way in today's game does Majors have that kind of time. He did some great things here, but UT would have been stuck in mediocrity if he had stayed on.
 
#38
#38
volsforever27 said:
Several, but the fact is he did get them there. Something Majors never did.
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He never got us there, correct. But I still think it's unfair to say he never would have done it. We really don't know. He got us out of those miserable years when I was just a baby, how do we actually he couldn't have eventually gotten us further?

The only thing I think that could have prevented it from happening was his attitude
 
#39
#39
volfanbill said:
How many times did Fulmer do that though before and after taking us to the top of the mountaintop?
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I never said that it was necessarily fair. It happens to all coaches when they meet high expectations. The difference was that when it happened to Majors, it was on top of all the other stuff.
 
#40
#40
volfanbill said:
The only thing I think that could have prevented it from happening was his attitude
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I think that is the general consensus.

Probably the run in with Dale Carter at the Fiesta Bowl in 1992 was an example of how he'd have trouble with the "modern" athlete.
 
#41
#41
volfanbill said:
He never got us there, correct. But I still think it's unfair to say he never would have done it. We really don't know. He got us out of those miserable years when I was just a baby, how do we actually he couldn't have eventually gotten us further?

The only thing I think that could have prevented it from happening was his attitude
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Two things about that... 1) How long did it take him to get us out of those miserable years, and 2) How much longer did he deserve to get us there?. I remember UT's playcalling, and if you think Fulmer and co. play it close to the vest, try quick punting on 3rd down against Bama. The way Fulmer always choked against Florida is the way he choked against Bama. There were just a myriad of things that led to the end of his career here, but most of it he brought upon himself. Keep in mind, as bad as Fulmer is now, he was considered fresh at the time.
 
#42
#42
GAVol said:
I think that is the general consensus.

Probably the run in with Dale Carter at the Fiesta Bowl in 1992 was an example of how he'd have trouble with the "modern" athlete.
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I never thought I'd take up for Majors, but to be fair most coaches would have had problems with Carter back then.
 
#44
#44
volsforever27 said:
I never thought I'd take up for Majors, but to be fair most coaches would have had problems with Carter back then.
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You're probably right, but supposedly Majors went way over the line and the team quit on him.
 
#45
#45
volsforever27 said:
Two things about that... 1) How long did it take him to get us out of those miserable years, and 2) How much longer did he deserve to get us there?. I remember UT's playcalling, and if you think Fulmer and co. play it close to the vest, try quick punting on 3rd down against Bama. The way Fulmer always choked against Florida is the way he choked against Bama. There were just a myriad of things that led to the end of his career here, but most of it he brought upon himself. Keep in mind, as bad as Fulmer is now, he was considered fresh at the time.
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i know. I remember it and as I posted before, I was on the fence when it happened. But I just don't think we can know for certainty that Majors wouldn't have gotten himself into a national championship
 
#46
#46
GAVol said:
. . . and Alabama wasn't necessarily always quite as good as Florida has been in the last 15 years.
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Agreed, and that streak lasted longer as well. Towards the end of his career I firmly believe UT had better tallent than Bama (with the exception of the '92 game).
 
#47
#47
volsforever27 said:
Agreed, and that streak lasted longer as well. Towards the end of his career I firmly believe UT had better tallent than Bama (with the exception of the '92 game).
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The 1990 Alabama game was one of the biggest debacles I have ever witnessed at Neyland Stadium. If we find any offense at all that night we're #1 in the country the next day and waiting for Notre Dame to come to town.
 
#48
#48
I hate these threads. They remind me that had we fired Majors in '88 like we should have and hired Schnellenberger, Spurrier, or Erickson, we'd have a much larger trophy case and would have never had a pious snitch for a head coach.
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#49
#49
GAVol said:
The 1990 Alabama game was one of the biggest debacles I have ever witnessed at Neyland Stadium. If we find any offense at all that night we're #1 in the country the next day and waiting for Notre Dame to come to town.
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Losing on a blocked kick then a made fg was one one the strangest losses ever. Majors seemed to find new ways to lose to them every year.
 
#50
#50
hatvol96 said:
I hate these threads. They remind me that had we fired Majors in '88 like we should have and hired Schnellenberger, Spurrier, or Erickson, we'd have a much larger trophy case
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We probably would have hired Mack Brown and spent 10 years wondering why we couldn't get over the hump.
 
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