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?

#153
#153
i2amavol said:
I have watched Tennessee sports for over 50 years now. It has taken me a while to figure it out completely, but we have had a lack of proper leadership at the top. We probably have a good AD now, who has a good relationship with the football head coach.

I think it is overlooked, but I think the fire to win starts with feeling like you are appreciated, and that you are at a place where there is a winning attitude everywhere you look. Maybe our new AD is not the person we need, but the signs seem to point to it.

Having said all that, all we can do is let it play out. If we have picked the right person for the job, there is no reason why Tennessee cannot compete at the highest levels.

Is Heupel the right coach for the job? I really do not know. Most of my lifetime, the winners usually had really good defenses, and maybe a good offense too. However, a lot of people are breaking that mold a bit now. So, we will see.
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Good post and I agree.
I do think we are in the “age of the offense”.
Targeting calls, running backs being able to lead with there heads but defenders can not, lack of offensive line holding calls, and up tempo offenses, have swung the pendulum in the O’s favor……
 
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#156
#156
knox-townVOL said:
I wouldn’t lump Georgia into a powerhouse nor one of the teams with “Good coaching.”

Kirby magically recruits at a frequent national championship level without the title to support it. In his career at Georgia, he’s lost games to Butch Jones, Derek Mason, Will Muschamp, and Jim McElwain.

He’s also lost to GA Tech, barely squeaked by KY a few times, barely squeaked by Nichol’s State, and even with this 5* talent across the board has had some abysmal offensive under him.

His inability to coach is just masked by the fact that somehow a huge chunk of the best HS players in the country would rather go play for him and not win a Natty, than play for a school that will.
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Valid points, but he's doing something right:
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Just about everyone is losing to Alabama these days...
 
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#157
#157
Until the Administration and Board of Trustees decides that the football program is important, no. Tennessee Football has become Ole MIss and it will be that way until some priorities are changed.
 
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#158
#158
DaddyChad said:
Bama was a hot bag of crap before Saban got there. Tennessee can come back, just need the right guy.
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Maybe but they still didn't have the SEC Championship drought we've had. They sucked but we've been worse longer than they were. And yeah we need the "right guy" and we've been hearing that like 13 years now and supposedly we had the "right" guy 4 times in said 13 years.
 
#159
#159
Honestly, no. Not in the terms of a traditional powerhouse. I blame it on the current landscape of football.

I think our more likely scenario is if we have a tenure like Gus at Auburn. Our best most likely scenario is having a slightly more successful tenure than Gus.
 
#161
#161
BigOrangeFanatic said:
The potential has always been there and will continue to be there to have a program that can compete for the Eastern division, but the administration, boosters, power brokers are all idiots and as long as things remain the same there, we will continue to be irrelevant.
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exactly
 
#162
#162
If we're talking perennial CFP participant like Clemson/OSU/OU, no. because our schedule is a lot tougher. We get three teams every season for which those teams do not have comparable opponents. And just for fun, we occasionally get aTm, LSU or Auburn. If those three had our schedule, they're probably not making the CFP regularly either. It is extremely difficult.

Got to get to where we are solid 9-10 wins/year and then catch lightening in a bottle (2019 LSU) to break through in a year where we win the SECCG and get into the CFP.

Solid, yes, maybe even semi-powerhouse (see aTm/UGA for the last few years, but those two have recruiting advantages), but not like the big four (left Alabama out of the initial three because Saban is the G.O.A.T. and they are not declining until he retires).
 
#163
#163
BeardedVol said:
If we're honest with ourselves, when in the modern era of CFB were we ever a "powerhouse" by any definition?

In the last 30 years we have a 3 division titles, 3 conference titles, and 1 National Championship. Hell, if you go back 50 years, you are only adding 2 more conference titles to that list.
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🙄
 
#164
#164
VolsSportsFan said:
Maybe but they still didn't have the SEC Championship drought we've had. They sucked but we've been worse longer than they were. And yeah we need the "right guy" and we've been hearing that like 13 years now and supposedly we had the "right" guy 4 times in said 13 years.
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Bama got it right, we continue to get it wrong. Remember if Bama got who they wanted at the time they never get saban. They wanted Rich Rod at the time. We’ve been plagued by a combination of incompetence and bad luck.
 
#165
#165
Something will have to drastically change with college football overall. It's just set up right now where the same teams year in and year out will dominate. UT could certainly hit a Clemson like streak but for that to happen, Clemson or Bama would have to fall which neither are set up to do anytime soon.
 
#168
#168
JRich said:
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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Correct, in our best years, Uga and Bama were down. Our major rival was UF/spurrier. We need to take the time to build our program (Like Kentucky) for a few years and sustain 8/9wins. If CJH Can't get us over the hump of 8/9wins, this stability will attract a top coach.
 
#169
#169
We suck now but it can change in an instant with a good coach. With our resources, we don't need a Nick Saban to sustain 9-10 win seasons. Coach JH just needs to be a decent coach to "succeed" here.

I am optimistic. Unlike Butch at Cincinnati who lost to better competition, Coach JH seems to compete well against better competition.
 
#170
#170
JRich said:
Valid points, but he's doing something right:
View attachment 368821
Just about everyone is losing to Alabama these days...
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UGA probably has the most favorable recruiting situation in all of CFB except maybe USCw. Not only does GA HSFB produce a ton of talent... a LOT of them grow up UGA homers. Their lack of championships historically is pathetic.
 
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#172
#172
In 2 years UT will be in the top 3 of the east. From there only time will tell, but there is a good chance the Vols will be winning some big games.
 
#174
#174
Not going to happen with Smart, Saban, Mullen, Kiffin & Fisher all in the league. Once Fisher and Saban step down, we will see the playing field leveled. Need to start winning again then those wins will result in better recruiting classes. No more legacy classes to lean on. This will be tough sledding the next 3 to 4 years.
 
#175
#175
I'm thinking that relevant/respectable is within reach, but how do we get a leg up on the the usual suspects? Maybe when Saban steps away, when UF, UGA, TX AM, LSU, misstep, but it's tough in this league. What can we offer to pull talent away from Florida, Texas, California, as their larger populations naturally produce commensurate numbers of prep stars?

If we can just begin to win more than expected, setting the bar to 6, 8, 9+ win seasons, then more kids will gravitate to a winning program. It will just take time to climb the ladder and recreate the once-prestigious Tennessee brand.
 
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