Question for you old timers

#2
#2
No. Doug Dickey had built us into a top 10 program. Doug should never have left. Turned his back on us then sucked his way into the AD job after tanking at Florida. Johnny was coming home. (Mistake by Johnny he was on top of the world at Pitt and they still love him. Sometimes it's not smart to go home!!!!!! JMHO
 
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#3
#3
Mose Phillip's Watch said:
Do you think Tn would have keep Bill Battle as head coach if Johnny Majors wasn't so successful at Pitt ? His record wasn't that bad

Just a little before my time
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No. If Dickey had stayed as coach, he likely would’ve rivaled the Bear through the 1970s and won a NC. Majors could’ve replaced Dickey in the 1980s
 
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#4
#4
I’m not an old timer, but while Battle’s overall record wasn’t bad, the program was clearly slipping. I can’t speak to whether or not he would have gotten another year or two if Majors hadn’t been so successful at Pitt, but I think it’s pretty clear that Battle wasn’t going to be in Knoxville much longer either way.
 
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#5
#5
@Mose Phillip's Watch there were other issues occurring off the field at that time. Had social media been around then, Knoxville would have been really popping. Battle's daughter got caught up in some things and one of them involved a football player, which at that time, was not kosher. He was on his way to having a cup named after him before they named it after Fulmer.
 
#6
#6
No, Battle's last team was senior dominated with great players like the late Andy Spiva at LB, Mickey Marvin at OG, Stanley Morgan and Larry Sievers at WR, etc yet they finished limping home with a 6-5 record. Tennessee admin really didnt want to get rid of Battle but the program had fallen so far (Remember Tennessee had won 2 of the last 3 SEC championships, had the Bear on the run and was pretty much the top program in the SEC when Dickey left) from Battle's first 11-1 season #4 ranking. I dont think even if Majors hadnt been successful at Pitt that Colonel Elam and Woodruff could have sold Battle to the fan base. Who knows who would have been a candidate. Bowden & Switzer were rising stars then and that was always Woodruff's method of operation.
 
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#7
#7
Mose Phillip's Watch said:
Do you think Tn would have keep Bill Battle as head coach if Johnny Majors wasn't so successful at Pitt ? His record wasn't that bad

Just a little before my time
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NO, Battle lived off of Dickey's recruits except for maybe Condridge. Bill Battle was in over his head but I did like the guy but being liked won't win football games. I feel the same way about Heupel, I like him but it all boils down to winning or losing. This is a great football program an historic program that has fallen on hard times but we aren't alone in that. Look at Nebraska an Florida State or Michigan. Heck back in the day no one even paid any attention to teams like Clemson an Tennessee enjoyed more success against Alabama than any other program. We were the only program that had multiple wins over Bama. I'm getting old and I want to see this program rise again to the top because that's where we should be.
 
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#8
#8
volsknx said:
@Mose Phillip's Watch there were other issues occurring off the field at that time. Had social media been around then, Knoxville would have been really popping. Battle's daughter got caught up in some things and one of them involved a football player, which at that time, was not kosher. He was on his way to having a cup named after him before they named it after Fulmer.
Click to expand...

An idiotic, unnecessary post.
 
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#9
#9
Rickyvol77 said:
No. If Dickey had stayed as coach, he likely would’ve rivaled the Bear through the 1970s and won a NC. Majors could’ve replaced Dickey in the 1980s
Click to expand...

I'd like to think this. The 1970 team Dickey left Battle was loaded. The '70 team beat Bama for the fourth win in a row over the Gumps, tying the series at 24 wins each. Many boosters and supporters stopped donating money by the mid 70's. How do I surmise that? As an invited walk on in August of '78, I can tell you the facilities were terrible. Gibbs Hall was close to being a dump. Weight room facility as well. Neyland needed all kinds of repair and updates. Our history may have played out much better if Woodruff had hired anyone other than a 28 year old Bama grad.
 
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#10
#10
Mose Phillip's Watch said:
Do you think Tn would have keep Bill Battle as head coach if Johnny Majors wasn't so successful at Pitt ? His record wasn't that bad

Just a little before my time
Click to expand...

I really liked CBB, I attended 2 camps with him, a good guy and funny. I took a lot of changes back to my school that we put in place, mainly on defense. He was big on technique and hard work. His offense was ahead of its time, he thought lighter and faster could beat out the big and slow guys and it worked. I believe he was the youngest HC of his time, and he is a Bama Guy.
 
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#14
#14
Also, how did yall take the news of them putting the power T on the helmet back in the day? Was there an uproar about changing tradition?
 
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#15
#15
volsknx said:
@Mose Phillip's Watch there were other issues occurring off the field at that time. Had social media been around then, Knoxville would have been really popping. Battle's daughter got caught up in some things and one of them involved a football player, which at that time, was not kosher. He was on his way to having a cup named after him before they named it after Fulmer.
Click to expand...
At the time Battle was hired as coach in 1970, he had 2 boys, ages 6 and 2...A daughter was born later but after he left UT, I believe...
 
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#17
#17
No. (a) he was from Alabama; (b) he could not beat Alabama (1-6) or Auburn (2-5).

I was not that old at the time, but my friend across the street was an Auburn fan and I had to listen to his crap all the time. So, I remember the situation from the perspective of a 12-year old and from my Dad who bled orange. He would throw the newspaper in the trash on Sunday morning when they lost (then dig it out to read by the end of the day).
 
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#18
#18
I love Coach Battle.......a great man.

But I’m not sure they would have kept him much longer. That 6-5 season was bad. If he had turned it around in ‘77, yea, maybe. Battle with Streater would have been better than Johnny with Streater.
Would have been interesting
 
#20
#20
I was born in 1965 but I studied the history of UT football. If you will watch a video called 100 years of Volunteers Col. Tom Elam explains what happened when Dickey left. Other trustees including Col. Elam wanted to go with Majors then but the AD at the time Bob Woodruff wanted to hire Battle. Elam’s reasoning was , if we ( the trustees ) go with Majors we will need to fire the AD and that is the last thing I want to do so we need to go with Battle. In my opinion this is the biggest mistake in UT football . Majors would have never let the program go down like Battle. Majors would have kept it at the top and UT may very well have been the dominant program in the SEC and not Alabama.
 
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#21
#21
BigOrange#11 said:
I was born in 1965 but I studied the history of UT football. If you will watch a video called 100 years of Volunteers Col. Tom Elam explains what happened when Dickey left. Other trustees including Col. Elam wanted to go with Majors then but the AD at the time Bob Woodruff wanted to hire Battle. Elam’s reasoning was , if we ( the trustees ) go with Majors we will need to fire the AD and that is the last thing I want to do so we need to go with Battle. In my opinion this is the biggest mistake in UT football . Majors would have never let the program go down like Battle. Majors would have kept it at the top and UT may very well have been the dominant program in the SEC and not Alabama.
Click to expand...

Yep, this all day.
 
#22
#22
They would not have kept Battle.Moving trucks were sent to his house.He was a halfway decent coach,but the recruiting and coaches around him,including himself, had slipped and gotten Fulmeresque(ala2000's).Coach Majors was the man for Tennesssee at that time.He knew he had work to do,take a while and get it right.Plus,Johnny loved him some UT Vols.
 
#23
#23
Nope. CBB’s winnings were heading south. And quickly.

Go VOLS
 
#25
#25
As I recall, BB was not hugely popular among the Vol faithful. As long as his win-loss record was good he was accepted. When that slipped, and he couldn’t beat Bama, he became less and less accepted. When you listened to his interviews, he came across as not real bright but actually he was very much the opposite. He was an excellent business man.
 
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