Here's an interesting question for the group to think about. Do you think Tennessee football will ever get back to being the powerhouse it once was?

#76
#76
Firebirdparts said:
No team will ever do what the 1928 to 30 teams did. 33 games in a row. After one loss, the vols were then unbeaten 28 in a row. Nobody will ever do that again.
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Clemson in 2018-19 won 29 in a row. Oklahoma won 45-50 straight games in the 50's.
 
#77
#77
Duckyvol59 said:
I have no idea but I remember when Bama was asking the same question in the 90's
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During which time they won 1 natty and 2 SEC championships. To the OP's question, yes, but it's going to be difficult, we need a good coach, some time, plus bad coaches or sanctions for our rivals, mainly Georgia or Florida, though a weakened Bama and Clemson would also be helpful. I like what Heupel is doing, he is going out and recruiting alot of 3 stars who want to be here. We've got to get back to consistently respectable again before we can be consistently great, and we need to address the culture problem by win or lose getting guys who will give their all for Tennessee. Pruitt spent far too much time swinging for and mostly missing elite prospects. Heupel is being alot more pragmatic so far.
 
#78
#78
This is a loaded question, Tennessee has the financial resources to compete and be a powerhouse, but the Vols have lost a generation+ of new Vol fans. This means that over the next 10-20 years they will lose donors. Tennessee has not been viewed as a powerhouse for over a decade now by recruits or coaches. This will continue till UT has strung 3-4 solid winning seasons in a row, which is highly unlikely due to the demonstrated mismanagement of Tennessee's administration. I hope Heupel can be a good coach that can right this program but I fear the deck and odds are greatly stacked against him.
 
#79
#79
If the worthless administration and boosters that have run the program like Dollar General the last fifteen years are replaced, yes. Otherwise, probably not.
 
#82
#82
BeardedVol said:
So if we don't find a level of measurable success under Heupel, that's fine, because "continuity"?
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Didn’t say that. I think it’s pretty much implied that whoever the coach is have a pretty high level of success in order for us to become a powerhouse again, and also stick around for 5-10 years.
 
#83
#83
To answer your question we need to understand a few things.
First - What constitutes a "powerhouse"? 8-12 wins per year? Number of championships? Number of bowl wins?
Second - To me you must not look at only a good/great period of time. You must look at the overall history of a program.
Third - I think you should leave out the long past history. I would start from say 1950. To me the ability of hearing and then seeing the game from that point is far enough back.
Fourth - The measuring stick. You would need to know the average wins by all "big time teams" per year. Then our own average. Then apply these averages to your definition of powerhouse. Now where does UT fall in this situation. Have we ever been a powerhouse in this equation?
 
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#84
#84
Boca Vol said:
Clemson in 2018-19 won 29 in a row. Oklahoma won 45-50 straight games in the 50's.
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That's not 33. Then 28. Is it?

Did you know We used to be 1 of only 2 teams that had never lost 8 games in a season?
 
#85
#85
No
Don't have enough local talent & we have a bad stigma with young kids that will be hard to overcome I'm afraid. Saban has to retire soon too
 
#86
#86
People (including myself) moan and groan but it is easy to forget that all it really takes is the right leadership. Alabama is what it is because Saban runs it and when he is gone, after a time, it will spiral downward just as we did unless it is able to make a lucky replacement. Empires rise from the ashes and fall into ruin every day in every sector but the consistent theme is leadership (think Reagan after Carter). For smaller programs, even with good leadership, it would take more time to build the program and facilities to a national juggernaut. The truth is that UT perennially remains 5 years away from greatness. It has the facilities and the resources to backstop a giant but until we get the right coach, who brings in the right staff and has good team leadership in a great QB, it will remain but a dream. I hope Hupel is that man but of course, you never know until you are looking backward.
 
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#90
#90
What constitutes a powerhouse in the modern era where there is no parity? Who are the current powerhouses? Clemson, Bama, Ohio State, Georgia. Why are they powerhouses? Good coaching and all, or most, of the top HS players at all positions go to these 4 programs. Will UT ever achieve the combination of this level of recruiting and coaching and run a "clean" program? No, not in near future.

My expectations for UT are what Brian Kelly has been able to do at ND. I do believe that UT can achieve this level of success. Although ND does recruit well, they don't have the embarrassment of riches like the the four teams mentioned. They are consistently in the top 25 and occasionally in the top 10 or 5, with an opportunity to play for a championship. ND develops 3 and 4 star players into 5 star players, especially on the line of scrimmage.

The problem, UT has to go through both Georgia and Bama every year. It will be much harder for them than ND. Those two teams have to see a decline in talent and UT will have to maintain competitiveness with UF.
 
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#91
#91
Iravolfan said:
I know I’m gonna get hammered, but the day they fired Phillip Fulmer as head coach, that was the beginning of the end.
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True but that had to do more with not having a plan and making a good hire. Phil and Tennessee had come to an end.
The team, fans, administrators and everyone else had come to understand Phil struggled in big games vs rivals. Recruiting was dropping off from it. He lost with a lot of talent often. Without it he wasnt going to get better.
 
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#92
#92
savannahfan said:
To answer your question we need to understand a few things.
First - What constitutes a "powerhouse"? 8-12 wins per year? Number of championships? Number of bowl wins?
Second - To me you must not look at only a good/great period of time. You must look at the overall history of a program.
Third - I think you should leave out the long past history. I would start from say 1950. To me the ability of hearing and then seeing the game from that point is far enough back.
Fourth - The measuring stick. You would need to know the average wins by all "big time teams" per year. Then our own average. Then apply these averages to your definition of powerhouse. Now where does UT fall in this situation. Have we ever been a powerhouse in this equation?
Click to expand...
Tennessee was a powerhouse from about 1990 until about 2005.
 
#93
#93
Gandalf said:
People (including myself) moan and groan but it is easy to forget that all it really takes is the right leadership. Alabama is what it is because Saban runs it and when he is gone, after a time, it will spiral downward just as we did unless it is able to make a lucky replacement. Empires rise from the ashes and fall into ruin every day in every sector but the consistent theme is leadership (think Reagan after Carter). For smaller programs, even with good leadership, it would take more time to build the program and facilities to a national juggernaut. The truth is that UT perennially remains 5 years away from greatness. It has the facilities and the resources to backstop a giant but until we get the right coach, who brings in the right staff and has good team leadership in a great QB, it will remain but a dream. I hope Hupel is that man but of course, you never know until you are looking backward.
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This exactly
 
#94
#94
Longshank said:
True but that had to do more with not having a plan and making a good to hire. Phil and Tennessee had come to an end.
The team, fans, administrators and everyone else had come to understand Phil struggled in big games vs rivals. Recruiting was dropping off from it. He lost with a lot of talent often. Without it he wasnt going to get better.
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He had the number 5 class in the country, the day he was fired., including, Tajh Boyd and Bryce Petty, the QB that went to Baylor and lit it up. As far has hiring. Nobody can really say Dave Clawson was a bad hire. 11 months on the job. Also 11 months removed from being in Atlanta!
 
#95
#95
Berry4Heisman14 said:
Nah we are basically Nebraska we will have the occasional 9 win season.
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I could not disagree more.

If my memory is correct, one big thing that did Nebraska in was NCAA rule changes in that every county in the state provided a scholarship that was used for the football team prior to the rule change, so they had more scholarships and could take many more players and have a much better chance of finding the diamond in the rough along with having good coaches.

Tennessee has way more money for facilities and a larger recruiting base close by with Tennessee talent getting better.

We have been hit with some really bad coaching hires.

I think that if he could have avoided NCAA issues Kiffin would have have us right up there now if he had not made the mistake (his words I believe) and left for USC.

The hire of Dooley was a knee jerk joke right off the bat, Butch as was just a coach with a lower level ceiling for being a head coach and Pruitt's ceiling appears to be has a defensive coordinator.

I did not like the hiring of Dooley and I was very skeptical about Butch, but I thought that Pruitt could be solid and I was wrong.

I am totally willing to roll the dice on this hire and see what happens, but I do believe Tennessee football will again be dominate and it will just take the right coach. Heupel may or may not be that coach, only time will tell.
 
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#99
#99
615vols said:
The resources haven’t been an issue for the past 20 years either, have they helped us field a powerhouse?
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No. But they are a prerequisite for building a "powerhouse".

I live in an area where the corn harvest is measured in 10's of millions of bushels. You cannot have corn without good soil and long growing season. If you have those things then you put seed in the ground. But that doesn't guarantee a harvest. You need rain and need it on time. You need farmers with the right knowledge, equipment, and skill. There are still some things that are in the hands of providence like the freak storm that went through Iowa last year.

There are no guarantees... but as long as you have good soil, good growing seasons, and typically good moisture... you keep planting. I have friends that can remember when 120 bushels/acre was a great year. They can get over 200 now. If droughts or floods had caused them to quit... they'd have never seen that improvement.

Like with football... corn has its good and bad seasons. There are times when crops will be poor for a few years at a time and others when they'll be great. As long as you have and maintain your resources... you just need the right farmer and conditions.
 
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#100
#100
landscapingvol said:
Under the right circumstances, yes but if we continue burning through coaches every 3-4 years then no.
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That is up to the coach and the person hiring the coach. The only thing worse than changing coaches every 3-4 years is keeping a bad coach for more than 3-4 years.... and doing so is A LOT worse.

I am hopeful that AD White will be better at choosing coaches... and knowing when/how to cut bait.
 
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