Tennessee's top four all-time best head coaches

[Vol49er]

Neyland, Majors, Fulmer and Dickey.

Neyland-Automatic
Majors-Build program up for Fulmer, won three SEC championships
Fulmer-Won a natty and two SEC championships, ran the program so far into the ground we are still trying to dig out a decade later
Dickey-Brought the program back to prominence, bolted for Florida but came back to have a highly successful tenure as AD

You’re really blaming Fulmer for where the program is? How about Mike Hamilton? Lane Kiffin? Derek Dooley? Butch Jones? But no let’s blame the guy who won us our most recent national championship and conference championship and was fired after two losing years in 16 seasons

 

[West Vol]

2 bad seasons in 16 years and the great Mike Hamilton thought, hey, lets fire one of the best coaches in the SEC and hire a loser who had never won a college game.

He’d gone a decade without winning anything and the direction the program was heading was pretty obvious.

 

[West Vol]

Fulmer>Majors

Let's be honest, if you don't think that then you're probably still jaded towards Fulmer.

Fulmer inherited a winner. His two coordinators were hired by Majors.

Kind of hard to compare. Fulmer wouldn’t have been the same without his predecessor.

 

[BigBadVol]

Fulmer inherited a winner. His two coordinators were hired by Majors.

Kind of hard to compare. Fulmer wouldn’t have been the same without his predecessor.

You don't know your history. Many thought Major's success was due to Fulmer. He was going to land a HC gig and TN couldn't let him go. Majors had become a major alcoholic. Fulmer got a little lazy at the end but he was one of the best for a number of years.

 

[West Vol]

You don't know your history. Many thought Major's success was due to Fulmer. He was going to land a HC gig and TN couldn't let him go. Majors had become a major alcoholic. Fulmer got a little lazy at the end but he was one of the best for a number of years.

I remember the 90s. Not really history to me as I’m over the age of 30. Majors built the program into a winner. Got the recruiting pipelines going. Hired good coaches. Fulmer was a good OC, but he benefited tremendously from the groundwork Johnny laid.

 

[wmcovol]

He doesn’t really specify that they were great as Vol coaches, just great coaches. Majors had an NC elsewhere, so I’d think that puts him above Dickey.

Dickey took over a program that didn’t even have a quarterback on campus. Talk about a rebuilding job.

 

[MikeVol44]

Fulmer inherited a winner. His two coordinators were hired by Majors.

Kind of hard to compare. Fulmer wouldn’t have been the same without his predecessor.

I agree with you....
There's NO DOUBT that Majors' '87, '89, and '90 teams were LOADED with talent everywhere.

Majors' Achilles heel, IMO, was that he just couldn't get that ELITE QB.

Other than T.Rob.... Francis and Kelly were average at best--so bad that Sterling Henton got a shot to start some games...

The question is---would CUT have stayed at UT if Fulmer left after '92?
Would Majors have been able to keep Cutcliffe here--the key to getting Manning?
And if so--would Majors have been able to lead us to a NC with Cut as OC?

 

[West Vol]

I agree with you....
There's NO DOUBT that Majors' '87, '89, and '90 teams were LOADED with talent everywhere.

Majors' Achilles heel, IMO, was that he just couldn't get that ELITE QB.

Other than T.Rob.... Francis and Kelly were average at best--so bad that Sterling Henton got a shot to start some games...

The question is---would CUT have stayed at UT if Fulmer left after '92?
Would Majors have been able to keep Cutcliffe here--the key to getting Manning?
And if so--would Majors have been able to lead us to a NC with Cut as OC?

I don’t think so. Majors was just about finished. Every coach has an expiration date.

 

[knox73]

Neyland, Fulmer, Majors, Dickey

Dickey if he had used good sense would have continued his powerhouse at Tennessee. Instead he went home to Florida and failed miserably. He left Battle a powerhouse which was systematically destroyed. Majors took over the worst program in the SEC and had to win a NC at Pitt to get the Vol job. If Johnny Majors had been hired to follow Dickey as was logical instead of 28 year old TE coach Bill Battle - Vols would have been great throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Fulmer is a great coach in his own right and even though he inherited a terrific program, he took it to new heights. The program was run down when Hamilton showed Phil the door, but there was a solid chance to rebuild and Fulmer to become the all time winning-est Vol head coach. Majors' successes at Iowa State and Pitt far outdid Doug Dickey who was fired by Florida - how could a coach not have recruiting success at Florida? Johnny was not easy to work for but he gutted it out and brought Tennessee back to prominence.

The Lane Kiffin fiasco is one of the all time SEC coaching blunders and UT deserved a decade in the wilderness for hiring that idiot. Kiffin has found his perfect match at Florida Atlantic and their high school level fan base with crowds averaging about 12,000 per game.

 

[The Original Fade]

2 bad seasons in 16 years and the great Mike Hamilton thought, hey, lets fire one of the best coaches in the SEC and hire a loser who had never won a college game.

Kiffin is average at best as an head coach. Better as an OC

 

[KBVol]

Neyland....... then huge gap behind him.....

IMO--Dickey had better FB IQ than Majors--who had a higher FB IQ than Fulmer--and not trying to disrespect CPF.
Fulmer had Cut---and the best thing to happen to both of them was Peyton Manning and his recruiting prowess as a player.

I am convinced that the trajectory of the program under Dickey as HC thru the 70s and 80s would've been MUCH HIGHER.

How do you figure Majors had a higher football IQ than Fulmer? How do you quantify that? Regarding Fulmer hiring Cut to be his OC, doesn’t that show a pretty high IQ? Of course, Majors had the IQ to hire Fulmer as HIS OC which led to his best 3 year stretch of football during his tenure at Tennessee, so you may have a point.

 

[KBVol]

Neyland, Fulmer, Majors, Dickey

Dickey if he had used good sense would have continued his powerhouse at Tennessee. Instead he went home to Florida and failed miserably. He left Battle a powerhouse which was systematically destroyed. Majors took over the worst program in the SEC and had to win a NC at Pitt to get the Vol job. If Johnny Majors had been hired to follow Dickey as was logical instead of 28 year old TE coach Bill Battle - Vols would have been great throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Fulmer is a great coach in his own right and even though he inherited a terrific program, he took it to new heights. The program was run down when Hamilton showed Phil the door, but there was a solid chance to rebuild and Fulmer to become the all time winning-est Vol head coach. Majors' successes at Iowa State and Pitt far outdid Doug Dickey who was fired by Florida - how could a coach not have recruiting success at Florida? Johnny was not easy to work for but he gutted it out and brought Tennessee back to prominence.

The Lane Kiffin fiasco is one of the all time SEC coaching blunders and UT deserved a decade in the wilderness for hiring that idiot. Kiffin has found his perfect match at Florida Atlantic and their high school level fan base with crowds averaging about 12,000 per game.

Just no way to justify putting Majors ahead of Dickey imo given what they accomplished in the time they were at Tennessee. Him deciding to leave and go back home to his Alma mater surely doesn’t diminish his accomplishments with the Vols.

 

[duckman398686]

Stop that

 

[Pepe]

I would agree with your comments concerning Majors and Fulmer.

I don't know much about Dickey's temperament and demeanor--but Fulmer as HC....Cut as OC.....and Dickey as AD were a dynamite combo thru the 90s....

Dickey certainly proved that he could recruit and build a NC contender as a HC while he was here...

Everyone seems to be forgetting about Chavis as DC. I think he was just as important as Cutcliffe to the success of the Fulmer era.

 

[Pepe]

Fulmer inherited a winner. His two coordinators were hired by Majors.

Kind of hard to compare. Fulmer wouldn’t have been the same without his predecessor.

Majors did not hire Cutcliffe as an offensive coordinator. he was dumb enough to have a Fulmer in that position.

 

[2GeeZ4VolZ]

For your consideration:

1-Neyland (first time)
2-Neyland (second time)
3-Neyland (third time)
4-Who gives a $h!t

 

[TVOL71]

So we fired the second best coach in our program’s history? That’s so Tennessee

Not We - Hamilton, and that was a gift that kept on giving, but hopefully with Fulmer, Pruitt, Barnes and the other coaches/teams we see the light at the end of the tunnel. GBO.

 

[stevenrich2003]

2 bad seasons in 16 years and the great Mike Hamilton thought, hey, lets fire one of the best coaches in the SEC and hire a loser who had never won a college game.

If everyone on this board would answer honestly, we all would take the last 10 years of fulmer. If you say you wouldn't, you are a liar!

 

[munsterlander]

Every 2 or 3 years... Never ceases to amaze me having lived through it. Seems to me the discussion should be based on results, not warm feelings. The man's life-time winning percentage is .575. 4-12 versus Bama. Had a worse record than Butch Jones first 5 years (and Battle didn't destroy the program any more than the end of CPF, Kiffin and Dooley - though I will absolutely agree CBJ left the program in much worse shape). Averaged 4 losses a year, and not just because of 1 or 2 bad years. Completely inconsistent, up and down. Maybe he set up Fulmer, but Fulmer's best stretch started in '95, 3.5 years later. '96 and on was all the recruiting of CPF's staff. How long do you get to take credit for other people's success? And today nobody would tolerate taking 9 years for a conference championship and call it 12 years to finally "set the program up." The data doesn't lie - '76 was the aberration. Great player, colorful personality, not a great coach.

 

[West Vol]

Neyland, Fulmer, Majors, Dickey

Dickey if he had used good sense would have continued his powerhouse at Tennessee. Instead he went home to Florida and failed miserably. He left Battle a powerhouse which was systematically destroyed. Majors took over the worst program in the SEC and had to win a NC at Pitt to get the Vol job. If Johnny Majors had been hired to follow Dickey as was logical instead of 28 year old TE coach Bill Battle - Vols would have been great throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Fulmer is a great coach in his own right and even though he inherited a terrific program, he took it to new heights. The program was run down when Hamilton showed Phil the door, but there was a solid chance to rebuild and Fulmer to become the all time winning-est Vol head coach. Majors' successes at Iowa State and Pitt far outdid Doug Dickey who was fired by Florida - how could a coach not have recruiting success at Florida? Johnny was not easy to work for but he gutted it out and brought Tennessee back to prominence.

The Lane Kiffin fiasco is one of the all time SEC coaching blunders and UT deserved a decade in the wilderness for hiring that idiot. Kiffin has found his perfect match at Florida Atlantic and their high school level fan base with crowds averaging about 12,000 per game.

Kiffin fiasco isn’t even an all time fiasco for UT. Guy was Lombardi compared to the last two.

 

[West Vol]

Majors did not hire Cutcliffe as an offensive coordinator. he was dumb enough to have a Fulmer in that position.

He found Cutcliffe. Majors was really good at finding coaching talent. Fulmer was not. A big part of why his last ten years weren’t special.

 

[West Vol]

If everyone on this board would answer honestly, we all would take the last 10 years of fulmer. If you say you wouldn't, you are a liar!

I’d prefer not to relive the era that saw us get handed the throne by Spurrier, only to immediately abdicate it to Mark Richt.

 

[Pepe]

If everyone on this board would answer honestly, we all would take the last 10 years of fulmer. If you say you wouldn't, you are a liar!

To be honest I was completely over Fulmer after 2001

 

[RDU VOL#14]

I’d prefer not to relive the era that saw us get handed the throne by Spurrier, only to immediately abdicate it to Mark Richt.

Id rather relive that era that at least saw us go to 3 SEC Title games from 01-07 than the disaster of the last decade.
Remember how dismal the 2000 season was? We won 8 games and went to the Cotton Bowl. Now we would kill for 8 wins and a Cotton Bowl invite. Hell an Belk, Outback, Gator....

 

[KBVol]

Every 2 or 3 years... Never ceases to amaze me having lived through it. Seems to me the discussion should be based on results, not warm feelings. The man's life-time winning percentage is .575. 4-12 versus Bama. Had a worse record than Butch Jones first 5 years (and Battle didn't destroy the program any more than the end of CPF, Kiffin and Dooley - though I will absolutely agree CBJ left the program in much worse shape). Averaged 4 losses a year, and not just because of 1 or 2 bad years. Completely inconsistent, up and down. Maybe he set up Fulmer, but Fulmer's best stretch started in '95, 3.5 years later. '96 and on was all the recruiting of CPF's staff. How long do you get to take credit for other people's success? And today nobody would tolerate taking 9 years for a conference championship and call it 12 years to finally "set the program up." The data doesn't lie - '76 was the aberration. Great player, colorful personality, not a great coach.

Bingo. Spot on. This is 100% accurate.