Was Majors done wrong?

#27
#27
Hank Bukowski said:
I do believe this. Fulmer brought home the only national championship of my lifetime and I will always respect him for that alone. But I recall getting sick to my stomach reading about how he completely stabbed Majors in the back. Snake in the grass is right.
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You took the words out of my mouth.
 
#28
#28
Hacksaw said:
By today's standards? No.

Of course, everyone was thrilled to have a legend come back to lead the Vols, especially on the heels of Johnny's national championship season at Pitt. Expectations were through the roof. But in his first 6 seasons as UT's head coach, we were just barely above .500. What coach nowadays would survive that?

We were patient (partly because it was a different time and partly because it was Johnny). Better times followed, but we always seemed to disappoint just when we thought we were putting it all together. Something seemed different with Fulmer at the helm during Johnny's absence. And when Johnny came back, the spark seemed to be absent again.

It sucks the way it all went down, but I don't think it was unfair. It just was what it was.
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Fair point
 
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#29
#29
GBO2011 said:
Can I just say, Coach Majors, and Coach Fulmer, are two respected legends at Tennessee. I had the honor of meeting Coach Majors before he passed away, but what the hell are we doing here. Are we trying to push a storyline 30 years later, 5 years after the Coach in question passed away? What’s done is done, there’s no changing it, and both have had an indescribable impact on the university.
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It's the offseason. We got to kill the time some way
 
#30
#30
Johnny came back home after winning a national championship at another school. He was on top but came home when called. This was a a coaching change you dream about, not just your normal former player thing, a former player and from the favorite UT Majors family deciding to leave a loaded team to turn around his alma mater. He deserved more time to get a championship at UT. The fact they attacked him while having heart issues just complicates this fact. He said he deserved better and I believe him without knowing the details.
 
#36
#36
YES - Johnny was WRONGED...by the Heisman committee !!!
He absolutely should have won it over Hornung.

As far as the coaching tenure at UT, as others have said, it's complicated.
Did Fulmer do some maneuvering in the background to become head coach? - YES, but did he do it with the intent of it being that year...who knows, perhaps not?
Would Majors have been asked to leave had he not went 2-3 after Fulmer going 3-0 that year? Likely not...if Majors would have carried the continuity and went 4-1 or even 3-2, it may be a different conversation we are having today.
Would Majors have been better off handing Fulmer the reigns as OC and be "Acting" HC the rest of that season? Sure, he might have been around another year or two and the transition to Phil would have been smoother...would Phil have stuck around and not taken another job? Who knows...

End of the day, some see Fulmer as the bad guy that snaked his boss out of a job.
Some see Fulmer as the guy that saved a program stuck in the doldrums and took that next step forward.
Some see Johnny as the bad guy that was clinging on too long and likely would have never delivered that coveted NC trophy.
Others see Johnny as the guy that was building towards something special and a consistent winner.
It's all about perspective and we will likely never all the comings and goings and dealing that happened at that time.
 
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#37
#37
CJM brought his end upon himself He is a true Vol legend that had his issues.

There is little doubt that CPF took this profram places Johnny wouldnt have.
 
#39
#39
#1fulmerite said:
Came across this video and looking back, wondered if he was done wrong. Seems at that time, most Vol fans wanted Fulmer to take over due to his success earlier in the season.

Not commenting Fulmer versus Majors but, wondering if he was done wrong. Seems many thought Fulmer’s end wasn’t handled well either.
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As one of the few in this forum that actually saw Johnny play I have all the respect in the world for what he did for the University as a player and coach. BUT he was an arrogant egomaniac who in the end was hoisted on his own petard by his hubris and complete unawareness of his tenous situation after losing 7 in a row to Alabama including at least 3 games where he had equal or superior talent.

If you are the HC at Tennessee and lose 7 in a row to the Tide you don't go out and call your bosses out in public. He left Dickey and the Johnsons(Joe and Bill) no choice but to let him go. I have criticized Fulmer in the past but the only way he knifed Johnny in the back was by beating Florida and UGA with the same team Johnny lost to Arkansas, USC and Alabama with. Ironically Johnny and Bill Johnson were teammates on the undefeated 56 team. I dont think Bill was working behind the scenes to screw over his old teammate.

My understanding was Johnny was off the sauce during this time. There is some speculation that the heart medication he was taking affected his behavior.

Paul Hornung didn't deserve the Heisman in 56 but far and away the best player that year, and maybe all time, was Jim Brown of Syracuse who was denied the trophy since he was black.
 
#40
#40
Vol423 said:
Really? What were the good baseball team's thoughts on the matter?
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They were extremely confident that Coach Majors died with scar tissue in his back from a 4" knife.

The wound appeared to be consistent with some type of blade used to make donuts.
 
#41
#41
jacksonvol24 said:
Absolutely. Phil was working on getting Johnny’s job before John got to the hospital. CFP was a snake in the grass. John Majors deserved better.
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He did deserve better, but just like Spurrier famously said, after about 10-12 years somewhere it's about time to move on... We were in a situation, not unlike Fulmers last years, where we were wanting a higher level of winning. Regardless of how it went down, Fulmer did elevate our winning...and was in right place at right time, and Johnny was a true legend, but was wearing thin on UTAD and fans, IMO.
 
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#42
#42
VOLtaism said:
Johnny came back home after winning a national championship at another school. He was on top but came home when called. This was a a coaching change you dream about, not just your normal former player thing, a former player and from the favorite UT Majors family deciding to leave a loaded team to turn around his alma mater. He deserved more time to get a championship at UT. The fact they attacked him while having heart issues just complicates this fact. He said he deserved better and I believe him without knowing the details.
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I feel like this is something that needs to be said that no one has thought about: I think part of the reason why the team went on the three game losing streak, is because the locker room was a bit divided. You had players who felt like Fulmer was the better coach from that three week stretch or so that Fulmer filled in, and then you had players who were recruited by Majors and were willing to run through a wall for him
 
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