Tennessee a Tier 3 job

#151
#151
Rickyvol77 said:
A generation? We’ve been ranked in the top ten at some point 9 times since 2000. Not our usual standards but hardly a generation.
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Yep, close to a generation. Being ranked in the top 10 is nice. Sh*tting the bed is worse. UT hasn't been relevant in a long time. Our last "good" team (2007) got destroyed by a decent UF team and a sh*tty Bama team.
 
#152
#152
Boca Vol said:
Yep, close to a generation. Being ranked in the top 10 is nice. Sh*tting the bed is worse. UT hasn't been relevant in a long time. Our last "good" team (2007) got destroyed by a decent UF team and a sh*tty Bama team.
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2015 and 2016 were pretty good outside of coaching. And honestly if Dooley hadn’t had the worst defense in UT history, 2012 should’ve won 9-10 games as well
 
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#153
#153
While it's fun to speculate on how much location and access to fertile recruiting territory matters, I'm convinced that by far the most important element in success for a college football program is the coach. If you have the culture and resources combined with the right coach then you're going to win a lot. Places that prioritize football like USC, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, FSU, could be revived overnight by the right coach. Obviously you can find culture conducive to success at many universities but others probably will never have the right combination of culture and commitment.

Nick Saban is winning big at Alabama and while Alabama certainly has the commitment to football, it's not exclusive to them. Nick Saban would produce similar results at Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Texas A&M and maybe even South Carolina. Was Clemson an elite job before Dabo? It certainly wasn't viewed that way. It was a good football school with a winning tradition but nobody would have said elite. With the right coach they recruit the country and have elite talent. Florida is a great job but they haven't been close to reaching their potential since Urban left.

The idea that Tennessee is a worse job now than it was 20 to 30 years ago is laughable. There is more available talent instate and in surrounding recruiting areas amenable to UT than at any point in history. The facilities are elite. The money is elite. The SEC champion is the de facto favorite to win the national title and the East isn't exactly loaded. It's not a stretch to say that the Tennessee job has never been more appealing on a national level.

It's the coach. Everything else is secondary.
 
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#154
#154
Hyperion said:
While it's fun to speculate on how much location and access to fertile recruiting territory matters, I'm convinced that by far the most important element in success for a college football program is the coach. If you have the culture and resources combined with the right coach then you're going to win a lot. Places that prioritize football like USC, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, FSU, could be revived overnight by the right coach. Obviously you can find culture conducive to success at many universities but others probably will never have the right combination of culture and commitment.

Nick Saban is winning big at Alabama and while Alabama certainly has the commitment to football, it's not exclusive to them. Nick Saban would produce similar results at Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Texas A&M and maybe even South Carolina. Was Clemson an elite job before Dabo? It certainly wasn't viewed that way. It was a good football school with a winning tradition but nobody would have said elite. With the right coach they recruit the country and have elite talent. Florida is a great job but they haven't been close to reaching their potential since Urban left.

The idea that Tennessee is a worse job now than it was 20 to 30 years ago is laughable. There is more available talent instate and in surrounding recruiting areas amenable to UT than at any point in history. The facilities are elite. The money is elite. The SEC champion is the de facto favorite to win the national title and the East isn't exactly loaded. It's not a stretch to say that the Tennessee job has never been more appealing on a national level.

It's the coach. Everything else is secondary.
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No superlative HC, no chance for success.
 
#155
#155
Hyperion said:
While it's fun to speculate on how much location and access to fertile recruiting territory matters, I'm convinced that by far the most important element in success for a college football program is the coach. If you have the culture and resources combined with the right coach then you're going to win a lot. Places that prioritize football like USC, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, FSU, could be revived overnight by the right coach. Obviously you can find culture conducive to success at many universities but others probably will never have the right combination of culture and commitment.

Nick Saban is winning big at Alabama and while Alabama certainly has the commitment to football, it's not exclusive to them. Nick Saban would produce similar results at Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Texas A&M and maybe even South Carolina. Was Clemson an elite job before Dabo? It certainly wasn't viewed that way. It was a good football school with a winning tradition but nobody would have said elite. With the right coach they recruit the country and have elite talent. Florida is a great job but they haven't been close to reaching their potential since Urban left.

The idea that Tennessee is a worse job now than it was 20 to 30 years ago is laughable. There is more available talent instate and in surrounding recruiting areas amenable to UT than at any point in history. The facilities are elite. The money is elite. The SEC champion is the de facto favorite to win the national title and the East isn't exactly loaded. It's not a stretch to say that the Tennessee job has never been more appealing on a national level.

It's the coach. Everything else is secondary.
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I love you.
 
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#156
#156
VolInNW said:
Seems about right. I do think Nebraska has a few more years before they sink into Minnesota status, but they need to start coming back. A storied program, and the 1995 team is still the best overall team I’ve ever seen, but their disadvantages in recruiting and conference mismatch makes it a real danger they are going to disappear as a relevant program.

We almost did, and may still, but our location is much better and we aren’t shifting into the ACC or some other conference mismatch.
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The conversations about recruiting territory matter for Nebraska. Even though it seems like they've stalled out I wouldn't give up on their program. The difference between Nebraska and Minnesota is that people in Nebraska are college football fanatics. The drive to succeed in football will always be there and that matters a great deal. I don't think their setup in the Big 10 West is that bad. It's a division they can win with some degree of regularity as long as they take care of their business.

I do wonder whether it was a wise decision to leave the Big 12. I know they felt like they weren't getting a fair shake with Texas but they were certainly one of the three schools that mattered a lot to the health of the Big 12. I'm not sure why they think their situation would be better in the Big 10 which will always be Ohio State/Michigan dominated in terms of perception. Nebraska had a sweet deal in the Big 12 North division and had consistent exposure in the state of Texas which seems like a place Nebraska should be able to recruit very well under the conditions of having a good coaching staff and playing many games in Texas. You can't really do that as a Big Ten school.
 
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#157
#157
I personally demand a double like feature on this site! If Freak does not make it happen I will boycott and start a fire!
 
#158
#158
Rickyvol77 said:
A generation? We’ve been ranked in the top ten at some point 9 times since 2000. Not our usual standards but hardly a generation.
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Good job of being selective with the context of your stat. I'll go ahead give you the whole facts to go along with the half truth in your reply. Since 2000 Tennessee has been ranked in the top 10 ten 9 times, BUT hasn't finished a season with fewer than 3 losses except for 2001 when they had 2 losses. Being ranked in the top 10 for a week is cool and all, but means nothing if you finish with 3 losses or more. Tennessee really hasn't been relevant in about a generation and hasn't played in a "top tier" bowl since the Fiesta in '99.
 
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