zidanefan
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Scroll to bottom for TL;DR version...
I always end up watching UT late Saturday night or sometime Sunday, via DVR. While perusing the board this afternoon after watching yesterday's win, I saw this thread and thought, "Wow, that's a serious case of fandom blurring the line between fantasy and reality." It made me think back to all the threads on here since I've joined that were focused on Tennessee's prestige, status, and what we "deserve" in a head coach based on "who we are" as a football program.
So, here are a few thoughts certain to rustle some people's pantaloons.
Let's begin with facts:
The last time Tennessee won the east was 2007. And, let's face it... we fell backwards into that one.
The last time we beat a team ranked in the Top 10 was 2006.
The last time Tennessee won a national title was 1998. 20 years ago. Let that sink in.
These facts alone should indicate that we are not a national power anymore. But, wait, there's more!
The Coaching Carousel
Each successive coaching search has been bigger circus than the last.
Fulmer getting fired and Kiffin getting hired was okay, even understandable. Some people clearly weren't pleased because he was young, arrogant, and brash. But, he was an "up and comer" who had a great offensive mind, had just had a stint as an NFL HC, and was bringing a great staff. With a traditional staple of UT football on his way out the door, Hamilton gambled on Kid Football.
When Kiffin left in the middle of the night, we got Dooley. He was not the first choice for HC, and many, many people called it out as a bad hire. However, Hamilton's back was against the wall, and we moved forward. Until we began moving backward. Dooley then proceeded to urinate all over the program, in more ways than one, and we sank really, really low.
After Dooley was dismissed, Hart proceeded to offer the job to multiple candidates, none very impressive, but all of whom turned us down. The most conspicuous was Strong who left us at the altar to remain at Louisville. Then we got Butch Jones as head coach, the man who was Dooley's signature win at UT while Jones was at Cincinnati.
(A little aside here, but it warrants mentioning because we're talking about progressively amateur coaches being hired each time: Did anyone hear Daniel Hood's interview in which he said that when Jones arrived at UT, Hood and several defensive players had to alert him to the line-up tell that allowed them to animalize his Cincinnati team? Let that sink in for a minute. But, I digress...)
Then Butch is fired after losing all of his SEC games, and we proceed to lose the rest of our SEC games, a feat not accomplished by any other UT HC in the history of the school. This began Grudenpalooza, Part Deux. Now, I'm not going to run an entire timeline. Most of us remember this pitifully embarrassing debacle. But the quick synopsis is:
Gruden (I know, I know, he was never coming), Kelly, Frost, Mullen are named.
Then we hired Schiano.
Then we unhired him.
And then we went after Gundy, and got him a healthy raise.
And then we went after Campbell, and Cutcliffe, and Brohm, and Doreen (!!!), and Leach.
And then we fired Currie.
And then we hired Fulmer.
And then we proceeded to look at Tee.
And Mel Tucker.
And Steele.
And I think Sumlin was in there somewhere, even though he'd just been fired for not being able to cut it at A&M.
<Takes a deep breath>
Then, we hired Jeremy Pruitt.
So, what does all this mean?
Tennessee does not have a healthy administration.
It doesn't have a healthy athletic department.
It doesn't have a healthy relationship with its boosters.
And, largely because of all this, it hasn't had a good head coach in over a decade. The level of disfunction on display during this coaching search was at a surreal level. If Hollywood made a satirical film about a college football program, it couldn't be any more crazy than UT is.
It's time that everyone continually posting that UT is a "national football power" and "Top 10 job nationally" recognizes this.
Is there any good news?
Yes. Having said all that, I think I see actual game day coaching in Pruitt and his staff. I think there appears to be true player development. I'm pretty sure I saw them just beat a team they weren't supposed to beat. Let me say that again: we beat a team we weren't supposed to beat yesterday. That's a good thing.
The Auburn win was a good win, because it was a win. But, it was also a good win because it came against an SEC opponent. An SECW opponent at that. A ranked, SECW opponent, in fact. It's been a loooooooong time and a lot of UT HC's since that happened. And the offense looked pretty darn good against a good SEC defense.
Yes, Auburn has issues, had turnovers, etc... but, we won. In Auburn.
Let's try to enjoy it, shall we?
TL;DR version:
Tennessee is not a national power, and we haven't been for sometime. <Dodging pitchforks> The good news is, we just might have a real head coach. Finally.
I always end up watching UT late Saturday night or sometime Sunday, via DVR. While perusing the board this afternoon after watching yesterday's win, I saw this thread and thought, "Wow, that's a serious case of fandom blurring the line between fantasy and reality." It made me think back to all the threads on here since I've joined that were focused on Tennessee's prestige, status, and what we "deserve" in a head coach based on "who we are" as a football program.
So, here are a few thoughts certain to rustle some people's pantaloons.
Let's begin with facts:
The last time Tennessee won the east was 2007. And, let's face it... we fell backwards into that one.
The last time we beat a team ranked in the Top 10 was 2006.
The last time Tennessee won a national title was 1998. 20 years ago. Let that sink in.
These facts alone should indicate that we are not a national power anymore. But, wait, there's more!
The Coaching Carousel
Each successive coaching search has been bigger circus than the last.
Fulmer getting fired and Kiffin getting hired was okay, even understandable. Some people clearly weren't pleased because he was young, arrogant, and brash. But, he was an "up and comer" who had a great offensive mind, had just had a stint as an NFL HC, and was bringing a great staff. With a traditional staple of UT football on his way out the door, Hamilton gambled on Kid Football.
When Kiffin left in the middle of the night, we got Dooley. He was not the first choice for HC, and many, many people called it out as a bad hire. However, Hamilton's back was against the wall, and we moved forward. Until we began moving backward. Dooley then proceeded to urinate all over the program, in more ways than one, and we sank really, really low.
After Dooley was dismissed, Hart proceeded to offer the job to multiple candidates, none very impressive, but all of whom turned us down. The most conspicuous was Strong who left us at the altar to remain at Louisville. Then we got Butch Jones as head coach, the man who was Dooley's signature win at UT while Jones was at Cincinnati.
(A little aside here, but it warrants mentioning because we're talking about progressively amateur coaches being hired each time: Did anyone hear Daniel Hood's interview in which he said that when Jones arrived at UT, Hood and several defensive players had to alert him to the line-up tell that allowed them to animalize his Cincinnati team? Let that sink in for a minute. But, I digress...)
Then Butch is fired after losing all of his SEC games, and we proceed to lose the rest of our SEC games, a feat not accomplished by any other UT HC in the history of the school. This began Grudenpalooza, Part Deux. Now, I'm not going to run an entire timeline. Most of us remember this pitifully embarrassing debacle. But the quick synopsis is:
Gruden (I know, I know, he was never coming), Kelly, Frost, Mullen are named.
Then we hired Schiano.
Then we unhired him.
And then we went after Gundy, and got him a healthy raise.
And then we went after Campbell, and Cutcliffe, and Brohm, and Doreen (!!!), and Leach.
And then we fired Currie.
And then we hired Fulmer.
And then we proceeded to look at Tee.
And Mel Tucker.
And Steele.
And I think Sumlin was in there somewhere, even though he'd just been fired for not being able to cut it at A&M.
<Takes a deep breath>
Then, we hired Jeremy Pruitt.
So, what does all this mean?
Tennessee does not have a healthy administration.
It doesn't have a healthy athletic department.
It doesn't have a healthy relationship with its boosters.
And, largely because of all this, it hasn't had a good head coach in over a decade. The level of disfunction on display during this coaching search was at a surreal level. If Hollywood made a satirical film about a college football program, it couldn't be any more crazy than UT is.
It's time that everyone continually posting that UT is a "national football power" and "Top 10 job nationally" recognizes this.
Is there any good news?
Yes. Having said all that, I think I see actual game day coaching in Pruitt and his staff. I think there appears to be true player development. I'm pretty sure I saw them just beat a team they weren't supposed to beat. Let me say that again: we beat a team we weren't supposed to beat yesterday. That's a good thing.
The Auburn win was a good win, because it was a win. But, it was also a good win because it came against an SEC opponent. An SECW opponent at that. A ranked, SECW opponent, in fact. It's been a loooooooong time and a lot of UT HC's since that happened. And the offense looked pretty darn good against a good SEC defense.
Yes, Auburn has issues, had turnovers, etc... but, we won. In Auburn.
Let's try to enjoy it, shall we?
TL;DR version:
Tennessee is not a national power, and we haven't been for sometime. <Dodging pitchforks> The good news is, we just might have a real head coach. Finally.
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