I Use to Loathe This Johnny Major's Saying.

#2
#2
He never said that. Johnny is the reason UT is where it is today. Excuse me, where it was in the late 90's!
 
#3
#3
Geez, can't agree with that one. I want a dominant program where any loss is stunning and extremely hard to take. Lot of respect for JM in general, but we had a lot of mediocre years when he was coach.
 
#4
#4
If he ever said that, it was early in his tenure. At the end of his time as UT's coach, our standards were higher than that. The last time that would have been acceptable to say would have been in the 1983-84 time period. After the SEC title in '85, we might accept a 9-2 season, but we expected to have a shot at winning every game.

One of Johnny's problems was that one of the "2" always seemed to be Alabama. :mad:
 
#5
#5
I was in school from 86-90 and we were pretty bad in 86 (7-5) and 88 (5-6). I don't recall being as good as we were in 87 (10-2-1) and 89 (11-1), but I do remember losing to Bama all 4 years and getting beat like a drum in 3 of them.

Source: Tennessee Game by Game Results

But, back to the original post....9-2 will do just fine about now, don't you think?
 
#8
#8
Sowbug2000 said:
I was in school from 86-90 and we were pretty bad in 86 (7-5) and 88 (5-6). I don't recall being as good as we were in 87 (10-2-1) and 89 (11-1), but I do remember losing to Bama all 4 years and getting beat like a drum in 3 of them.

Source: Tennessee Game by Game Results

But, back to the original post....9-2 will do just fine about now, don't you think?
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You got there a couple years after I left - '81-'83 was 1 pretty good year (beat Bama) sandwiched by two mediocre years (maybe 4 losses each?).

But, OK, a couple of 9-2 years about now enroute to what I said above would do fine...
 
#9
#9
Think about how many national titles we would have if those losses to Bama and UF were wins back in the day.....Wow
 
#10
#10
munsterlander said:
You got there a couple years after I left - '81-'83 was 1 pretty good year (beat Bama) sandwiched by two mediocre years (maybe 4 losses each?).

But, OK, a couple of 9-2 years about now enroute to what I said above would do fine...
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Agreed, we have to work back up....realistically, it is going to take a few years to get back to 9+ wins, IMHO.

GBO and GCDD!! :clapping:
 
#11
#11
Majors left the program loaded with talent for Fulmer, I still feel like Majors got screwed when he had his heart attack and Fulmer got the job imo. I always loved Majors as a coach, much respect for him.
 
#13
#13
swiperboyfan said:
Majors left the program loaded with talent for Fulmer, I still feel like Majors got screwed when he had his heart attack and Fulmer got the job imo. I always loved Majors as a coach, much respect for him.
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Ohhhh.... so he left???
 
#14
#14
Clearly, Majors starting the turnaround for the Vols program, but Fulmer 'took it to the next level' exactly as he promised he would.

It just didn't stay there. But with this latest hiring decision, there is a decent chance that we won't see 9-2 until the next Majors is hired.
 
#15
#15
swiperboyfan said:
Majors left the program loaded with talent for Fulmer, I still feel like Majors got screwed when he had his heart attack and Fulmer got the job imo. I always loved Majors as a coach, much respect for him.
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It was 6 years after Majors was gone that UT won their NC. More than enough time for Fulmer to have had to stand on his own two feet recruiting-wise.

Lost to Bama every year from '86 to '92.

5-6 in '88.

'85 with the Sugar bowl thumping of the U is something I'll always remember, and I'm glad JM returned. But I don't get the re-writing of history and fixation on JM as the overwhelming superior to the currently not-in-vogue CPF. It was Fulmer that started a 8 year or so win streak against 'Bama starting in '95, and finally got us the NC in '98. Not JM. Over comparable tenures (16 and 17 years), Fulmer's winning percentage is significantly better.

Of course it was trending in the wrong direction, and I'm not a Fulmerite still pining for his return - I think a change was needed. But I want something far better than the .645 JM achieved over his 16 years.
 
#18
#18
actually, i'd say that neyland built the program (multiple NC and SECC, winning % >80 lifetime). after neyland UT football looks like a sine wave, taking a dive before

doug dickey rebuilt the program, 2 SECC 1 NC in 6 years.

bill battle started a downturn, 3 10 win seasons initially but ending with 2 5 loss seasons. no losing seasons, however.

johnny took 10 years to win an SECC, then followed it up with ties for a couple more while mixing in sub .500 performance as well as a season that started 0-6.

CPF started out like dickey, 2 SECC 1 NC in 6 years but then went majorbattle on us.
 
#19
#19
munsterlander said:
...
'85 with the Sugar bowl thumping of the U is something I'll always remember, and I'm glad JM returned. But I don't get the re-writing of history and fixation on JM as the overwhelming superior to the currently not-in-vogue CPF. It was Fulmer that started a 8 year or so win streak against 'Bama starting in '95, and finally got us the NC in '98. Not JM. Over comparable tenures (16 and 17 years), Fulmer's winning percentage is significantly better.

Of course it was trending in the wrong direction, and I'm not a Fulmerite still pining for his return - I think a change was needed. But I want something far better than the .645 JM achieved over his 16 years.
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To underscore your point: the Sugar Bowl ('86 actually for the bowl game itself) was Ken Donahue's victory. The second half of that season was the only time JM loosened up enough to let the defense do what it could nearly always have been doing. (And the two ties which cost them the national title were vintage JM.)

I'm afraid that Majors is the "tradition" we've decided to aim for, though. (Hope I'm wrong.)
 
#21
#21
papatomany said:
To underscore your point: the Sugar Bowl ('86 actually for the bowl game itself) was Ken Donahue's victory. The second half of that season was the only time JM loosened up enough to let the defense do what it could nearly always have been doing. (And the two ties which cost them the national title were vintage JM.)

I'm afraid that Majors is the "tradition" we've decided to aim for, though. (Hope I'm wrong.)
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no kidding.

just imagine what might have been if CJM had loosened up with some of the offensive firepower that he had (pickens, macrae, webb, robinson, gault, harper).
 
#23
#23
munsterlander said:
Geez, can't agree with that one. I want a dominant program where any loss is stunning and extremely hard to take. Lot of respect for JM in general, but we had a lot of mediocre years when he was coach.
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Actually, Majors mediocrity was in his first five years. After that, his record improved fairly dramatically, with the exception of the poor start in the 86 season. Contrast that to the former regime of PF and the exact opposite is true. His first nine or ten years were outstanding, and his last seven or eight were mediocre. Majors was improving and Fulmer was declining. Thus, "watching the film," is no longer relevant, nor present.
 
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