Has any other "elite" program fallen this far?

#27
#27
Buffalo.jpg

They were going to hire Jones until we called ... Enough said
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#28
#28
The sad part is I can remember growing up down here and hearing about Ga Tech being a national power and thinking how foreign that seemed. Now I realize that's me talking to my kids about Tennessee football. It's been that long.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#29
#29
The sad part is I can remember growing up down here and hearing about Ga Tech being a national power and thinking how foreign that seemed. Now I realize that's me talking to my kids about Tennessee football. It's been that long.

I'm 27 so I'm just old enough to have been a fan and get to watch Tennessee win a championship and be dominant when I was young. Kids growin up now unless their parents taught them to be Tennessee fans I don't see any reason why they would choose to be a Vols fan on their own.
 
#33
#33
Penn State has been pretty bad for 20 years. Check out their schedule this year: It is laughable. I think they beat army by a 7 points today. I think they play two good teams all years.

Michigan has been pretty weak for several years, if not longer.

As someone else noted, both LSU and Bama were pretty bad in the 90s, especially lsu. But bama had a long stretch of mediocrity. Texas a&m was not very good for a long time. The problem in the SEC is that when you are down it is hard to get back up because the other teams are good. This isn't the big 10.
 
#36
#36
If you take out the Ivy League schools UT is 9th all time in wins. I know Alabama went through a couple of mediocre patches , but has any other historically dominant program fallen as far and stayed down for as long as we have? The only one I can think of that comes close is Texas right now, and they don't even compare. It has been 17 years since we won a conference championship, and it doesn't look like we are turning it around anytime soon.

Nebraska....is the first program to come to mind...but I don't think they have sunk to our depths....
they fired Solich because he went 9-3....and I don't think they've had a 9 win season since....

Miami....they are not very good....
Va. Tech....they are not very good....
Penn State....they are not very good..wait for their record at the end of the year...
Michigan went thru two coaches before getting their guy in Harbaugh.....
 
#37
#37
Vanderbilt has. Remember Robert Neyland was hired here with the express orders to beat Vandy
 
#38
#38
Believe me, I'm old enough to feel your pain...from McKay/JR1...to embarrassment and ridicule....till Pete Carroll. Almost 20 years!

Vols have a great tradition, sent more players to the NFL than any team in the SEC. You'll be back.
 
#39
#39
Texas, Miami, Nebraska, and Colorado comes to mind.

That's a solid list. I don't care how many games Nebraska has won in the past few years. They are as irrelevant as anybody on that list.

Michigan, too. Although they actually have a real coach now.
 
#42
#42
I don't see how we ever become relevant again. We hire the bargain guy and we always get bargain wins. Until we hire a big name and big game head coach then we will continue to be like this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#43
#43
The sad part is I can remember growing up down here and hearing about Ga Tech being a national power and thinking how foreign that seemed. Now I realize that's me talking to my kids about Tennessee football. It's been that long.

My daughter was born in '01 and went to her first game in '08. All she knows is what we have right now. The sad part is that she cheers louder than I do on gameday.
 
#45
#45
Elite? Ask the administration if they think this is a elite program.. They act like we're the little sisters of the poor they way they hire.
 
#46
#46
Yes, lots of programs have and it just takes the right pieces to fall in place to turn it around.
 
#47
#47
UT would have been much better off if they had just kept Fulmer and rode it out until they could let him go the right way and not be rushed into making the wrong hire time and time again.

Strike 3. We're out....
 
#49
#49
Of all the schools mentioned, Colorado is the only one that matches us for sustained suckage. All the others have actually beaten a rival and had a good season in the past 8 years.

Thing is Colorado isn't really a historically elite program. Not like us. Not one of the top ten winningest of all time.

What we're experiencing is wholly unique. Perfect storm of administrators from our rivals, bargain hunting boosters, and truly inept coaches.
 
#50
#50
Wow...

Just staying in the SEC: Alabama (pre Saban), Florida (pre and post Meyer), Georgia (the 90's were rough)

Elsewhere, and some of these are still works in progress: USC, Michigan, Penn St, UCLA, Florida St (rebounded now), Miami, Texas, Oklahoma. All of the big elite programs have had down periods that lasted a pretty good while. I mean Alabama who dominates everyone's attention now, absolutely sucked butt for the 90's and 00's.

Nebraska doesn't count ... yet. They have won 9+ games almost every season, they just are no longer mortal locks for National Championships anymore. Someone else said it, and I will reiterate that I would give anything to "suck" that bad. However, with what was one of the most boneheaded hires (I'd say worse than Dooley even), they are quickly going to be longing to "suck" that bad again as well.
 
Last edited:
Advertisement



Back
Top