ESPN+: Lessons for six former CFB powers (Tennessee)

[V04L]

Glory days: Tennessee has had three periods of high-level success, most recently from 1985 to 2001, when it recorded nine AP top-10 finishes with a national title in 1998 and five SEC championships (outright or shared). The Volunteers never finished outside the AP top nine from 1995 to 1999 and finished No. 4 in 2001. They also had five AP top-10 finishes from 1965 and 1972 and had eight AP top-eight finishes from 1938 to 1956 with a national title in 1951.

What happened next: A year after Tennessee finished No. 12 in 2007, coach Phillip Fulmer recorded his second losing record in four seasons and was fired. Lane Kiffin spent only one season as Vols coach before departing for Southern California, and Tennessee has since recorded only two AP Top 25 finishes (2015 and 2016 under Butch Jones) and zero 10-win seasons. The Vols had only two losing regular seasons from 1981 and 2007, but they have since had seven.

What held back the program: Leadership instability. From 1977 until 2008, Tennessee had two coaches: Fulmer and Johnny Majors. The program had three athletic directors from 1963 and 2010. Since Fulmer's departure, Tennessee has had five coaches and four ADs. There have been bad coaching hires and moments of peak dysfunction, most notably the search to replace Jones that briefly resulted in Greg Schiano's hiring and ultimately led to athletic director John Currie's ouster and the hiring of coach Jeremy Pruitt, whose otherwise forgettable tenure led to 18 alleged NCAA violations.

Biggest lesson for the future: Tennessee has to lean into its advantages with the right type of guardrails, especially from a leadership standpoint. The Vols' fan base is massive, passionate and extremely engaged. While other groups would have tuned out during the past 15 years, Tennessee fans are as invested as ever, sometimes too much.
"Football and the Power T matters to them a great deal," current Vols coach Josh Heupel told me this summer. "It is truly embedded in who they are and how they live their lives, in some ways. That has a great effect on the energy we feel. That changes the focus and how intentional we are and the way we work. It has a huge impact on recruiting too."
The combination of Heupel and athletic director Danny White, who worked together at UCF, gives Tennessee a chance to establish a more stable foundation and identity for the program. Tennessee has been aggressive in the NIL space and the opportunities Knoxville -- "A college city," Heupel said -- can provide athletes. But Tennessee's trajectory won't truly change until the people at the top stop changing.

 

[TNHopeful505]

I think, as long as we keep Danny White and Josh Heupel, we are going to be alright. I feel like we have it truly aligned in the right direction for the first time in 20 years.

 

[sjt18]

There are reasons to change and "stability" in itself does not guarantee success. However, so far so good with White and Heupel. They seem to be people who respect the culture and fit it pretty well. They don't seem to be looking at UT as a stepping stone. Both appear to be good leaders and people with integrity.

Heupel still has to get it done on the field but we appear to be closer than we've been since the NC and just after.

 

[VOLfrombama]

So far so good. Now lets win some football games and then you will see the program skyrocket.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

A good AD is the key to a universities athletic success. We have had a series of bad AD's which in turn led to a series of bad coaching hires. You can't let the boosters run the show which Hamilton did and then we had Fulmer who wanted to run the show himself but was just incompetent at it.

D. White has saved our athletic program and is bringing all sports back to prominence.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Glory days: Tennessee has had three periods of high-level success, most recently from 1985 to 2001, when it recorded nine AP top-10 finishes with a national title in 1998 and five SEC championships (outright or shared). The Volunteers never finished outside the AP top nine from 1995 to 1999 and finished No. 4 in 2001. They also had five AP top-10 finishes from 1965 and 1972 and had eight AP top-eight finishes from 1938 to 1956 with a national title in 1951.

What happened next: A year after Tennessee finished No. 12 in 2007, coach Phillip Fulmer recorded his second losing record in four seasons and was fired. Lane Kiffin spent only one season as Vols coach before departing for Southern California, and Tennessee has since recorded only two AP Top 25 finishes (2015 and 2016 under Butch Jones) and zero 10-win seasons. The Vols had only two losing regular seasons from 1981 and 2007, but they have since had seven.

What held back the program: Leadership instability. From 1977 until 2008, Tennessee had two coaches: Fulmer and Johnny Majors. The program had three athletic directors from 1963 and 2010. Since Fulmer's departure, Tennessee has had five coaches and four ADs. There have been bad coaching hires and moments of peak dysfunction, most notably the search to replace Jones that briefly resulted in Greg Schiano's hiring and ultimately led to athletic director John Currie's ouster and the hiring of coach Jeremy Pruitt, whose otherwise forgettable tenure led to 18 alleged NCAA violations.

Biggest lesson for the future: Tennessee has to lean into its advantages with the right type of guardrails, especially from a leadership standpoint. The Vols' fan base is massive, passionate and extremely engaged. While other groups would have tuned out during the past 15 years, Tennessee fans are as invested as ever, sometimes too much.
"Football and the Power T matters to them a great deal," current Vols coach Josh Heupel told me this summer. "It is truly embedded in who they are and how they live their lives, in some ways. That has a great effect on the energy we feel. That changes the focus and how intentional we are and the way we work. It has a huge impact on recruiting too."
The combination of Heupel and athletic director Danny White, who worked together at UCF, gives Tennessee a chance to establish a more stable foundation and identity for the program. Tennessee has been aggressive in the NIL space and the opportunities Knoxville -- "A college city," Heupel said -- can provide athletes. But Tennessee's trajectory won't truly change until the people at the top stop changing.

Tennessee made a huge mistake(In My Opinion) in firing Phil Fulmer in 2008. It started a whole bunch of chaos that has only stopped with the hiring of Danny White as AD and Josh Heupel as head football coach.

 

[FranklinVFL]

Tennessee made a huge mistake(In My Opinion) in firing Phil Fulmer in 2008. It started a whole bunch of chaos that has only stopped with the hiring of Danny White as AD and Josh Heupel as head football coach.

Hamilton was the real curse....they hamstrung Fulmer financially as to what he could pay an OC once Cutcliff left....

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Tennessee made a huge mistake(In My Opinion) in firing Phil Fulmer in 2008. It started a whole bunch of chaos that has only stopped with the hiring of Danny White as AD and Josh Heupel as head football coach.

That was AD Hamilton that let the boosters push him into that which is why he is listed in my post above as one of the bad AD's TN has had a series of.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

There are reasons to change and "stability" in itself does not guarantee success. However, so far so good with White and Heupel. They seem to be people who respect the culture and fit it pretty well. They don't seem to be looking at UT as a stepping stone. Both appear to be good leaders and people with integrity.

Heupel still has to get it done on the field but we appear to be closer than we've been since the NC and just after.

White and Heupel appear to be the right men at the right time. However, as you said; CJH still has to get it done on the field or the very same fans lavishing him with praise will turn on him like a rabid dog.

As a UT fan i pray that he is the guy and stays 3 decades.

As CJH fan (and i do like the way he operates more than any of the others) i pray he is the guy.

As an observer of this passionate fanbase...i fear that each stumble, and there will be stumbles, will get magnified to the point another needless change is made and another CJP will be hired.

I think Josh is the right coach but im not simple enough to think we are gonna win any titles in the next two or three years

 

[wmcovol]

That was AD Hamilton that let the boosters push him into that which is why he is listed in my post above as one of the bad AD's TN has had a series of.

That was AD Hamilton that let the boosters push him into that which is why he is listed in my post above as one of the bad AD's TN has had a series of.

I heard Hamilton speak once after he was fired and he said it was "100% my decision" (firing Fulmer). He said his bosses told him theyd support whatever he decided to do and he felt the program needed a change. His mistake was hiring Kiffin. I suspect who he was referring to was Big Jim Haslam as his boss cause we know Thorton nor Anderson supported Fulmer's firing.

For the first time in over 20 years, Tennessee might all be pulling in the same direction for a change. Majors is gone, Fulmer was a failure as AD and there are no internal major battles ongoing, at least for the time being. Good leadership throughout the administration it appears. Dont get pulled into a war that doesnt exist.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

Glory days: Tennessee has had three periods of high-level success, most recently from 1985 to 2001, when it recorded nine AP top-10 finishes with a national title in 1998 and five SEC championships (outright or shared). The Volunteers never finished outside the AP top nine from 1995 to 1999 and finished No. 4 in 2001. They also had five AP top-10 finishes from 1965 and 1972 and had eight AP top-eight finishes from 1938 to 1956 with a national title in 1951.

What happened next: A year after Tennessee finished No. 12 in 2007, coach Phillip Fulmer recorded his second losing record in four seasons and was fired. Lane Kiffin spent only one season as Vols coach before departing for Southern California, and Tennessee has since recorded only two AP Top 25 finishes (2015 and 2016 under Butch Jones) and zero 10-win seasons. The Vols had only two losing regular seasons from 1981 and 2007, but they have since had seven.

What held back the program: Leadership instability. From 1977 until 2008, Tennessee had two coaches: Fulmer and Johnny Majors. The program had three athletic directors from 1963 and 2010. Since Fulmer's departure, Tennessee has had five coaches and four ADs. There have been bad coaching hires and moments of peak dysfunction, most notably the search to replace Jones that briefly resulted in Greg Schiano's hiring and ultimately led to athletic director John Currie's ouster and the hiring of coach Jeremy Pruitt, whose otherwise forgettable tenure led to 18 alleged NCAA violations.

Biggest lesson for the future: Tennessee has to lean into its advantages with the right type of guardrails, especially from a leadership standpoint. The Vols' fan base is massive, passionate and extremely engaged. While other groups would have tuned out during the past 15 years, Tennessee fans are as invested as ever, sometimes too much.
"Football and the Power T matters to them a great deal," current Vols coach Josh Heupel told me this summer. "It is truly embedded in who they are and how they live their lives, in some ways. That has a great effect on the energy we feel. That changes the focus and how intentional we are and the way we work. It has a huge impact on recruiting too."
The combination of Heupel and athletic director Danny White, who worked together at UCF, gives Tennessee a chance to establish a more stable foundation and identity for the program. Tennessee has been aggressive in the NIL space and the opportunities Knoxville -- "A college city," Heupel said -- can provide athletes. But Tennessee's trajectory won't truly change until the people at the top stop changing.

Pretty fair.

 

[sjt18]

Tennessee made a huge mistake(In My Opinion) in firing Phil Fulmer in 2008. It started a whole bunch of chaos that has only stopped with the hiring of Danny White as AD and Josh Heupel as head football coach.

Fulmer was a big part of the problem. The incompetence that followed was bad... but he deserved to be fired. He simply refused to change with the game. He was stubborn and arrogant and never knew how to surround himself with the right people or hold those around him accountable.

I'm convinced that his purpose in being AD was to hire someone who believed in HIS brand of football. He wanted to use Pruitt to prove he was wrongfully fired and that his way still worked. Fulmer had his time. It passed and neither the AD nor Fulmer accepted it until it got really ugly.

Compare to Saban. Amazingly, Saban won multiple national championships with defense, a great run game, and a game manager QB. Then he saw the game shifting... and shifted with it. It is too bad that Fulmer didn't have that in him.

 

[sjt18]

Hamilton was the real curse....they hamstrung Fulmer financially as to what he could pay an OC once Cutcliff left....

Cutcliffe wanted his own team. Nothing was going to stop him from leaving. Fulmer "lucked" into that 1990's staff but did not know how to rebuild it. He should have known that Sanders wasn't the answer but he not only promoted him... he kept him too long. To see what I mean, simply look at the per game scoring with Cut, with Sanders, then with Cut again. In a whole lot of ways, Cut and Chavis carried Fulmer.

 

[Vol in Buckeye Land]

Fulmer was a big part of the problem. The incompetence that followed was bad... but he deserved to be fired. He simply refused to change with the game. He was stubborn and arrogant and never knew how to surround himself with the right people or hold those around him accountable.

I'm convinced that his purpose in being AD was to hire someone who believed in HIS brand of football. He wanted to use Pruitt to prove he was wrongfully fired and that his way still worked. Fulmer had his time. It passed and neither the AD nor Fulmer accepted it until it got really ugly.

Compare to Saban. Amazingly, Saban won multiple national championships with defense, a great run game, and a game manager QB. Then he saw the game shifting... and shifted with it. It is too bad that Fulmer didn't have that in him.

Difference between Fulmer and Saban is adaptability, as you say, and skill at hiring assistants.

 

[sjt18]

Difference between Fulmer and Saban is adaptability, as you say, and skill at hiring assistants.

And those are probably the two most important traits for a top end HC after leadership.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Difference between Fulmer and Saban is adaptability, as you say, and skill at hiring assistants.

Phil wasn't as good at(Changing Assistants) as Johnny Majors was in my opinion.

 

[pimo1]

There are reasons to change and "stability" in itself does not guarantee success. However, so far so good with White and Heupel. They seem to be people who respect the culture and fit it pretty well. They don't seem to be looking at UT as a stepping stone. Both appear to be good leaders and people with integrity.

Heupel still has to get it done on the field but we appear to be closer than we've been since the NC and just after.

While Stability on its own wont always lead to success you have to have positive stability to maintain. Here's the thing, If Kiffin had stayed wed likely have been back in it a few years earlier. If we had given Dooley a few more years he would have figured it out. The other two, not so sure. But it's all water under the bridge. We are where we are now. I just hope we can keep this current administration together for a while. The one good thing is that with NIL it's one less thing the coach can mess up. As long as Spyre runs a tight ship we should be fine on not having scandals over Mcdonald's bags of cash.

 

[UT_King]

who are the other 5 programs?

 

[jmacvols1]

What held back the program: Leadership instability. From 1977 until 2008, Tennessee had two coaches: Fulmer and Johnny Majors. The program had three athletic directors from 1963 and 2010. Since Fulmer's departure, Tennessee has had five coaches and four ADs. There have been bad coaching hires and moments of peak dysfunction, most notably the search to replace Jones that briefly resulted in Greg Schiano's hiring and ultimately led to athletic director John Currie's ouster and the hiring of coach Jeremy Pruitt, whose otherwise forgettable tenure led to 18 alleged NCAA violations.

Seems to me after Kiffin left, the powers that be at UT got cheap and did not want to invest big money in bringing in a top rated coach, but brought in 3rd rated coaches and got a 3rd rated product on the field.

 

[JoAllan]

Tennessee made a huge mistake(In My Opinion) in firing Phil Fulmer in 2008. It started a whole bunch of chaos that has only stopped with the hiring of Danny White as AD and Josh Heupel as head football coach.

Your opinion is just as valid as mine however mine is different.

I feel Fulmer had been losing control. Things were going downhill and he wasn’t the man who could bring it back at that time.

I strongly believe Tennessee gave itself the 13 year death penalty by hiring Kiffin and not hiring Patterson.

Kiffin was the shiny new thing…..a hot name who would attract attention, bring in an old NFL guy and make Tennessee something different and new again. However Kiffin had a very limited resume and zero knowledge/success of building or rebuilding anything. He had no college HC experience and only 2 seasons of even being an OC

Patterson on the other hand had been a DC for 9 seasons and a HC for 8 seasons. In his 8 seasons he had 7 winning, 5 which were double digit win and 2 or fewer losses………heck his very next season…..12-1 then 13-0.

However they elected to pass because of experience and the big timeness of Tennessee……wow.

That is where Tennessee screwed up royally. They could have been rolling then been in a great position when looking for a replacement maybe when things started to slow down or change.

 

[Winchester73]

As a fan I’m VERY happy with everything we’ve seen from CJH and DW. We’re moving in the right direction for sure. But that’s ALL we’ve done so far - it’s still a work in progress but I will continue to celebrate it for what it is. On the other hand, I refuse to accept as fact that we aren’t winning “anything” for such and such years. I don’t EXPECT to win a NC this year or next … but I’m always hopeful THIS is the year … until it’s becomes obvious that it’s “not” …

 

[DaddyChad]

What happens when incompetent football boosters run a program. Thankfully our most meddling and incompetent now has his hands full with making ignorant football decisions for the pro team he owns.

 

[dduncan4163]

Fulmer was a big part of the problem. The incompetence that followed was bad... but he deserved to be fired. He simply refused to change with the game. He was stubborn and arrogant and never knew how to surround himself with the right people or hold those around him accountable.

I'm convinced that his purpose in being AD was to hire someone who believed in HIS brand of football. He wanted to use Pruitt to prove he was wrongfully fired and that his way still worked. Fulmer had his time. It passed and neither the AD nor Fulmer accepted it until it got really ugly.

Compare to Saban. Amazingly, Saban won multiple national championships with defense, a great run game, and a game manager QB. Then he saw the game shifting... and shifted with it. It is too bad that Fulmer didn't have that in him.

Couldn't agree more

 

[dduncan4163]

Phil wasn't as good at(Changing Assistants) as Johnny Majors was in my opinion.

It's not even close to be honest. Fulmer never had Johnnys nose when it came to sensing talent among assistants. .

 

[TennEddie]

The problems went above the AD and coaches.
Dysfunction all the way to the top.