Bill Majors

#3
#3
Mccage said:
Dicky left in 69. Bill Majors died in 65
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The only thing I can come up with is that he meant Johnny, and yes, that would have made more sense than Bill Battle... They had several options in 1970 better than Bill Battle. The cupboard was full and Tennessee was a top 5-10 job at the time. 28 year old Bill Battle was a strange choice.

The OP sounds a little groggy.
 
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#4
#4
Strange question, even assuming that OP meant Johnny instead of Bill. Johnny has gone on record in the past saying he thought he would get offered the job and when he didn't he was surprised. The essential point is that Battle was the choice, so I don't really understand the point of the OP's question.
 
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#5
#5
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#7
#7
My wild assumption is that he means if Bill had not passed away, would he have replaced Dickey. But that's a WAG.
 
#8
#8
Johnny was coaching Iowa St. at the time, and had them winning games. He took them to bowl games and was doing very well. I wanted him instead of Battle because I thought Johnny would do a better job. Yes, Battle inherited a good team, but his record went downhill after his second year. I had season tickets at the time and gave them up because of his losing too many games. I lived in Nashville and it was a long drive after a heartbreaking loss. Still glad coach Majors came here.
 
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#9
#9
I lived the Battle hiring. Practically everyone thought it was Johnny's job except one guy, Bob Woodruff. Woodruff claimed he wanted to keep the staff together but Dickey took both coordinators with him to Florida so what was there to keep? After Battle failed, Woodruff had to hire JM after the PItt NC or he'd been burnt at the stake.

My father once said many thought Bill Majors would have been a better head coach than Johnny. He was just as knowledgeable about the game, had the same feel but didnt have the ego and other "johnny' issues.
 
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#11
#11
wmcovol said:
I lived the Battle hiring. Practically everyone thought it was Johnny's job except one guy, Bob Woodruff. Woodruff claimed he wanted to keep the staff together but Dickey took both coordinators with him to Florida so what was there to keep? After Battle failed, Woodruff had to hire JM after the PItt NC or he'd been burnt at the stake.

My father once said many thought Bill Majors would have been a better head coach than Johnny. He was just as knowledgeable about the game, had the same feel but didnt have the ego and other "johnny' issues.
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There may not have been any "Johnny" issues if Johnny had been hired in 1969. He would have inherited a national championship team, and would have had at least 1 national title, and about 3 SEC titles. Tennessee/Alabama would have been another OU/Nebraska. Sure, Alabama would have still been dominant, but there would have been competition.

And to another poster, I was talking about Bill.
 
#12
#12
BowlBrother85 said:
The only thing I can come up with is that he meant Johnny, and yes, that would have made more sense than Bill Battle... They had several options in 1970 better than Bill Battle. The cupboard was full and Tennessee was a top 5-10 job at the time. 28 year old Bill Battle was a strange choice.

The OP sounds a little groggy.
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Battle was the ultimate charmer. Somebody invited him to speak at our frat one night, unbelievably he accepted and walked into a crowd that was ready to drag him down Andy Holt Blvd. Not only did he get a standing ovation but we were all ready to elect him governor. Then he promptly went out and lost to Vandy at home. LOL
 
#13
#13
Several on the board including Col Tom Elam wanted to bring Majors back to Knoxville from Iowa State when Dickey left. However, AD Bob Woodruff wanted to keep Battle who was the Vols' TE coach at the time. At 28, he was the youngest coach in D1 football. He was a good enough coach but admittedly did not like recruiting and it showed. By the end of his tenure and the first of the Majors tenure, the Vols were using 200 lb defensive linemen and struggling to match the depth of their opponents.

With less recruiting regulations at the time, if the Vols had hired Johnny when they hired Battle, they would have continued the climb to the top that Dickey started.
 
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#14
#14
I sort of always wondered why Shirley Majors was not given a shot on The Hill rather than Bill Battle if Woodruff was not prepared to bring Johnny home. Shirley would have kept Cafego and guys like that on staff, kept us as a power, and been the natural lure for Johnny's return once he decided to retire which he did in '77. The Battle hire just never made sense to me at all.
 
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