For fun. If Johnny Majors had remained coach would he have won a NC?

#127
ksgovols

ksgovols

Well-Known Member
#127
Joined
Dec 9, 2009
Messages
1,436
Likes
1,433
#127
HoptownVol said:
I don't think I've ever seen this mentions, Tony was great and most likely he would have gotten some Heisman votes, but at best he would have been a distant 5th even if he had thrown 20+ TDs that year. Ironically at the end of the season Dickey was the better QB.
Click to expand...
Dickey didn't have a ruptured ACL at the end of the season. With all due respect, Dickey was a coach on the field, he didn't turn the ball over and he could manage the game. Until the Miami game, he lead the Vols to a tie against Georgia Tech, beat Rutgers, Memphis State, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Hardly world beaters, but he got his feet wet. T-Rob did the heavy lifting against UCLA, Auburn, Florida and Alabama.

And this is classic Johnny Majors. Tied UCLA and Georgia Tech with way more talent, lost to Florida by 7 in Gainesville but they were on probation, beat good Auburn and Alabama teams, eeked out wins against Memphis State (17-7) and Wake Forest (31-29). Go 8-1-2 to 'earn' a Sugar Bowl bid where the Vols put it on Miami.

Parlay that into 7-5 in 1986........ Went to a bowl game though.
 
#128
HoptownVol

HoptownVol

Well-Known Member
#128
Joined
Aug 21, 2014
Messages
7,583
Likes
4,930
#128
ksgovols said:
Dickey didn't have a ruptured ACL at the end of the season. With all due respect, Dickey was a coach on the field, he didn't turn the ball over and he could manage the game. Until the Miami game, he lead the Vols to a tie against Georgia Tech, beat Rutgers, Memphis State, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Hardly world beaters, but he got his feet wet. T-Rob did the heavy lifting against UCLA, Auburn, Florida and Alabama.

And this is classic Johnny Majors. Tied UCLA and Georgia Tech with way more talent, lost to Florida by 7 in Gainesville but they were on probation, beat good Auburn and Alabama teams, eeked out wins against Memphis State (17-7) and Wake Forest (31-29). Go 8-1-2 to 'earn' a Sugar Bowl bid where the Vols put it on Miami.

Parlay that into 7-5 in 1986........ Went to a bowl game though.
Click to expand...
Right, Miami was a cakewalk.
 
Likes: ksgovols
#130
HoptownVol

HoptownVol

Well-Known Member
#130
Joined
Aug 21, 2014
Messages
7,583
Likes
4,930
#130
USAFgolferVol said:
Robinson suffered a season ending knee injury against Alabama.

Your last statement is remarkably absurd. Good grief
Click to expand...
That injury happened right in front of me. I know what TRob was capable of, I also know we were a better team when Dickey got rolling, and I seriously doubt anybody in the country could have hung with us at the end of the season.

Sugar Bowl MVP: "Absurd" LMAO
 
#131
V

Volle

Well-Known Member
#131
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
Messages
662
Likes
691
#131
Seeing what’s transpired the last 10-15 years, we’d been better off if Majors continued as I believe he would have had 10 more great years and would have groomed Cutcliff for the job as a CIW... Fulmer did well, until Cut left, then started a steep decline to where it is today, because he couldn’t attract or keep great assistants, and kept the poor ones, e.g., Randy Sanders, and showed in hiring Pruitt that he’s incompetent in making personnel decisions. Fulmer also fell down sharply in recruiting after Gardner left, and big misses on QB’s Leak and Simms set us up for failure. I’m not a Fulmer basher, but I wish Major’s legacy continued for another decade, and then transitioned to something with his footprint on it, not Fulmer’s. If Fulmer were great, when he left, we would have transitioned to a great assistant or rehired one off his tree, but it was a bare limb. He’s trying to save his ass now by giving Pruitt another year, but doubt it will work out.
 
#132
ksgovols

ksgovols

Well-Known Member
#132
Joined
Dec 9, 2009
Messages
1,436
Likes
1,433
#132
HoptownVol said:
Right, Miami was a cakewalk.
Click to expand...
35-7 would indicate so and the Vols had a 4 headed running back. Who knew who Jeff Powell was before the Miami game? Ken Donahue gets the lion's share of the credit for what he dialed up for Testaverde to deal with.

I have no problems with what Darryl Dickey evolved into after 4 1/2 years in the program and a manageable schedule for the rest of the year. He's a sharp guy, a coach's son and he knew his limitations. He didn't have near the talent that Tony Robinson had. Not close. And I was there.
 
Likes: volkayaker
#133
H

hndog609

Junior Member
#133
Joined
Feb 3, 2006
Messages
10,516
Likes
4,392
#133
Maybe a bit outside the question but I believe there was a real possibility if Webb stayed healthy that '90 team would have had a chance. As much fondness I have to T Thompson he was no Webb and if he got 1200+ yards Webb is probably in the running for the Heisman and we benefit accordingly.
 
#134
HoptownVol

HoptownVol

Well-Known Member
#134
Joined
Aug 21, 2014
Messages
7,583
Likes
4,930
#134
ksgovols said:
35-7 would indicate so and the Vols had a 4 headed running back. Who knew who Jeff Powell was before the Miami game? Ken Donahue gets the lion's share of the credit for what he dialed up for Testaverde to deal with.

I have no problems with what Darryl Dickey evolved into after 4 1/2 years in the program and a manageable schedule for the rest of the year. He's a sharp guy, a coach's son and he knew his limitations. He didn't have near the talent that Tony Robinson had. Not close. And I was there.
Click to expand...
You're missing the point, I never said he was more talented sheez.
 
#135
Backwards K

Backwards K

Well-Known Member
#135
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
4,901
Likes
4,038
#135
USAFgolferVol said:
Robinson suffered a season ending knee injury against Alabama.

Your last statement is remarkably absurd. Good grief
Click to expand...
Robinson was one of those QBs where the band was always gonna be playing, you just hoped it was your's. He could make some unbelievable plays but also make some bad plays. He threw too many interceptions and also was a little careless with the ball when he scrambled. He had a lot of talent but he also had some faults.

In his career, Robinson was only 10-5-1in his starts and while he threw 23 TDs, he also threw 17 interceptions In the 1985 season that we all remember so fondly, TRob threw 8 TDs and 7 INTs. Again, a great talent but he had faults.
 
#137
V

Volle

Well-Known Member
#137
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
Messages
662
Likes
691
#137
VolsRule said:
johnny should have stayed at pitt
Click to expand...
Yep, he would have probably won the NC again in '77 with Marino, and maybe another one or two. Johnny had locked up recruiting in that region, and was on a roll. He was beating out Paterno for major recruits. It shows what a great coach Johnny was to resurrect that program from the dead. I remember a few years after being at UT he made the comment that it would be hard to replicate winning an NC at UT given Bama and recruiting challenges, and he did have a tough time for the first half of his tenure.
 
#138
ksgovols

ksgovols

Well-Known Member
#138
Joined
Dec 9, 2009
Messages
1,436
Likes
1,433
#138
Volle said:
Yep, he would have probably won the NC again in '77 with Marino, and maybe another one or two. Johnny had locked up recruiting in that region, and was on a roll. He was beating out Paterno for major recruits. It shows what a great coach Johnny was to resurrect that program from the dead. I remember a few years after being at UT he made the comment that it would be hard to replicate winning an NC at UT given Bama and recruiting challenges, and he did have a tough time for the first half of his tenure.
Click to expand...
Marino graduated high school in 1979.
 
Likes: butchna
#140
Backwards K

Backwards K

Well-Known Member
#140
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
4,901
Likes
4,038
#140
VolsRule said:
johnny should have stayed at pitt
Click to expand...
Vols should have hired him when they hired Bill Battle. There were no restrictions on recruiting at that point. Doug Dickey left UT at the top of the SEC and Johnny would have brought in 125 freshmen every year and weeded them out.

Johnny had an uncanny ability to lose games his teams should never have lost. Plenty of examples of losing to Ga Tech, Duke, & Army. Heck, he didn't complete the end of the year tri-fecta of Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Vandy until 1985. No coach could have survived the first 7 years that he had at UT.
 
Likes: volkayaker
#142
ArdentVol

ArdentVol

Well-Known Member
#142
Joined
Dec 6, 2019
Messages
960
Likes
1,012
#142
GregAmsler said:
I suspect yes.

If Majors had stayed, Fulmer goes to Clemson. He takes Cutcliffe with him and possibly a few others.

But one thing that Majors could do that Fulmer could not...he recognized great assistant coaching talent and brought them on board. He'd have replaced those guys with other good coaches. And the new blood might've been good.

Getting Heath Shuler was huge. It led to Tennessee signing more top rated QBs. If Fulmer leaves and Shuler still has a great 1993, I think Tennessee would have continued to sign top notch QBs. Shuler always credited Majors with being the reason he signed with Tennessee.

The variables are:

1) Would Majors have broken the Bama curse? I suspect so, since Bama went downhill.
2) Would Majors have still brought in top talent like Fulmer did? That would have been tough, but recruiting was on an upward trend. The young talent Fulmer inherited was better than any other during the Majors era. I supsect the answer to this question depends largely on who Majors hired as assistants after Fulmer and Cutcliffe left.
3) Would Majors have settled for a DC like Chavis and a DB coach like Slade? I'm guessing no. The programs would probably have better defensive coaching.
4) Would Majors have the Spurrier hangup like Fulmer did? I don't think so. Majors personality wasn't the type to be intimidated by a Spurrier like Fulmer seemed to be (and it bled down to players). Doesn't mean he wouldn't have still lost a few to Spurrier, but I don't think Majors teams were going to play uptight and beat themselves against Florida like Fulmer teams so often did.

So I think Majors would have continued the upward trajectory and won a Natty. And he might not have blown as many other opportunities to win the SEC as Fulmer did because of his Spurrier hangup. But who knows.
Click to expand...
interesting theory. he definitely had the eye for coaching talent

elaborate on fill-full clemson talk
 
Likes: iluvsmesumdooley and volkayaker
#144
Border Vol

Border Vol

Vol Fan In Deep South Georgia
#144
Joined
Dec 25, 2020
Messages
1,434
Likes
2,569
#144
Backwards K said:
Vols should have hired him when they hired Bill Battle. There were no restrictions on recruiting at that point. Doug Dickey left UT at the top of the SEC and Johnny would have brought in 125 freshmen every year and weeded them out.

Johnny had an uncanny ability to lose games his teams should never have lost. Plenty of examples of losing to Ga Tech, Duke, & Army. Heck, he didn't complete the end of the year tri-fecta of Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Vandy until 1985. No coach could have survived the first 7 years that he had at UT.
Click to expand...
My all-time head scratcher loss for UT was the 1981 21-10 loss to 3-8 Kentucky in Lexington in Fran Curci's last season. Tennessee might have went to the Gator Bowl,Liberty Bowl,Tangerine Bowl,Peach Bowl or Bluebonnet Bowl in 1981 with an 8-3 record.
 
Likes: Backwards K
#145
G

GUNTERSVOL

VOL FROM BIRTH
#145
Joined
Dec 30, 2017
Messages
1,023
Likes
869
#145
1972 Grad said:
Without Clint Stoerner, we still wouldn't have won one.
Click to expand...
Gosh I can't help myself every time I hear this That play would not have been necessary if the refs had properly executed the penalty on Arky a couple of minutes earlier when the snap went over their punters head rolled back inside the ten and he kicked it off the ground backwards through the endzone. We were awarded a safety and they kicked us deep and we turned it over just before the fumble play. We got an apology letter a couple of days later because the proper call would have been a half the distance penalty from the 8 or so with loss of down and our ball. With Cheese I like our chances to score from there. We might not have held the lead but we would have been in the lead.

Sorry, I cannot help myself. One of those nerve things.
 
Likes: Border Vol
#146
U

USAFgolferVol

Well-Known Member
#146
Joined
Dec 15, 2019
Messages
3,953
Likes
1,885
#146
GUNTERSVOL said:
Gosh I can't help myself every time I hear this That play would not have been necessary if the refs had properly executed the penalty on Arky a couple of minutes earlier when the snap went over their punters head rolled back inside the ten and he kicked it off the ground backwards through the endzone. We were awarded a safety and they kicked us deep and we turned it over just before the fumble play. We got an apology letter a couple of days later because the proper call would have been a half the distance penalty from the 8 or so with loss of down and our ball. With Cheese I like our chances to score from there. We might not have held the lead but we would have been in the lead.

Sorry, I cannot help myself. One of those nerve things.
Click to expand...
With most seasons like UT's was that season, some great breaks are required along the way to complete an undefeated slate. Few times in modern history have we seen a team so good that not one game was in question at any point throughout the season. We've had better teams, but none who made all the right plays at the most critical time
 
Likes: Border Vol
#149
V

Volle

Well-Known Member
#149
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
Messages
662
Likes
691
#149
Backwards K said:
Vols should have hired him when they hired Bill Battle. There were no restrictions on recruiting at that point. Doug Dickey left UT at the top of the SEC and Johnny would have brought in 125 freshmen every year and weeded them out.
Click to expand...
Actually the SEC had a limit of 135 at that time I believe. That still was too high to prevent Bama from stocking the bench with players that could have started at other schools. I believe that’s why GaTech left the SEC, so they could sign an unlimited number of prospects.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store




Sponsors
 

Top