What gives you confidence in the coaching staff?

[b_gann]

He doesn't make puzzling clock management decisions. His play selection has been incredible. We lost our top RB and receivers, have had a patch work OL all season and we are 21st in the nation in PPG. We were 108th last year. We are averaging two more touchdowns a game this year vs last season. The scheme/play calling has been excellent.

He's doing a great job, but my point still stands. As we improve and continue to get better, he's made some odd decisions on play calls and clock management in games. I'm not sure how you can dispute that? He's killing it at about everything else though. I'm tickled with the season so far. There has to be a reason his record has been poor in one score games. I think it comes down to the decisions like when to manage clock, penalties, etc. Those are issues he's had before and has had some here. Either way, still our best coach since Lane.

 

[Remy]

They have to put a product on the field by year 3 that beats one of UGA, Bama, and/or UF. If they can't do that, find somebody who can. Announce that fish or cut bait requirement at end of year 2.

 

[perico]

Man, just read the story of Brandon Burlsworth.

I remember listening to sports radio that night when it broke that Burlsworth had been killed in a car accident.

You see a lot of these stories. ESPN owns the patent for at least 1 sob story on Gameday each week for the past 30 years, but Burlsworth was different. I remember him being profiled on ESPN during the 1998 season and he had so much class on and off the field that it was impossible not to root for him.

Ive seen so many of those ESPN sob stories that I’ve become skeptical half the time (paging Manti Tao playing in memory of his “dead” girlfriend, or Pete Carroll turning some poor blind kid into some sort of team mascot). Burlsworth was different. I respected the hell out of him when he was still alive as a player, and his death was one of the few that really hit me hard.

 

[VolsFan-TX]

One thing I appreciate is not cringing every time the coach opens his mouth. I found it painful listening to Pruitt’s “aights”.

 

[turnuptheVOLtage]

What give me concern

Close games were a bit of an Achilles heel for Heupel his last year at UCF. Are the Pitt and Ole Miss games due to depth, a continuance of the 2020 trend, or some combination of the 2? Too early to tell on this.

Too many penalties for my liking. A bit undisciplined at times. Again, this is a UCF trend as well.

The thought process of naming Milton the starter.

What gives me hope

The team comes out and looks prepared at the beginning and end of halves. Coaches make their money in this timeframe and he has done well in this aspect for the most part.

Assembled a decent staff even with the awful timing of the hire date

Team has bought in. Unlike 2018 where the team quit the last 2 games, this team has bought in so far.


Overall, the preparation of this team far exceeds the prior regime. There are a couple of concerns but more confident now than I was at the end of 2018 season.

We’ve had few offensive penalties. This system is so different than what the players were running before.. I was expecting a ton of false starts.

 

[jarnol32]

Heupel’s ability to call plays for his personnel. Hooker is a read half the field quarterback and Heupel makes him look good.
The players want to play hard for him, and there is a positive energy coming off the program.

 

[VolunteerNut]

This staff coaches players UP! Doesn't matter talent level they coach them up. Milton is a lost cause, sorry don't mean to trash the kid but he's not a smart QB, hooker on the other hand is.

 

[volinSmyrna]

For me, it's all about excuses. Maybe I have missed them or am just numb from the last 11 years. CJH doesn't b.s. (Dooley), offer fake platitudes/nonsensical sayings (Butch), or make every excuse in the book as to why his team isn't performing (Pruitt). To me, that alone, is refreshing. Sure he is heavy on the coaching press conference clichés, but I'll take that over shower etiquette, 5-star hearts, and a'ights every single day. It's just comforting to have an actual adult in charge of our program for the first time in a decade and a half. Whether he succeeds or not is up in the air and will play out over the next few years, but this one definitely feels different.

 

[BigOrangeTailgate]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not an expert and don't break down film after the games but I'm very optimistic about the entire coaching staff. I don't really see a weak link when it comes to coaching guys up. To me our guys seem to know where to line up and what their assignment is. That in and of itself is a big improvement to me. Overall I'm more optimistic about the next few years than I have been since Kiffin and even then some of that excitement seemed hollow. My only real concern now is the NCAA and how badly it handicaps our recruiting and roster rebuild.

 

[Boca Vol]

I think the play-calling has been very good this year. Execution seems to be coming around which is nice to see.

Also, the game isn't over once the opponent scores 21` points as in recent years. That's refreshing.

 

[sjt18]

They have to put a product on the field by year 3 that beats one of UGA, Bama, and/or UF. If they can't do that, find somebody who can. Announce that fish or cut bait requirement at end of year 2.

I agree. I like Heupel, his leadership, his approach, and his style of football MUCH more than anything we've seen since 2007.

But the reality remains. If he doesn't produce results that indicate significant progress then recruits won't come. If recruits stop coming... it stops being a matter of if but when he has to be fired.

 

[vols72]

To me it's the game plan and in game adjustments. This team always seems prepared and dosen't quit. It's nice to see hasn't been that way for awhile

 

[sjt18]

For me, it's all about excuses. Maybe I have missed them or am just numb from the last 11 years. CJH doesn't b.s. (Dooley), offer fake platitudes/nonsensical sayings (Butch), or make every excuse in the book as to why his team isn't performing (Pruitt). To me, that alone, is refreshing. Sure he is heavy on the coaching press conference clichés, but I'll take that over shower etiquette, 5-star hearts, and a'ights every single day. It's just comforting to have an actual adult in charge of our program for the first time in a decade and a half. Whether he succeeds or not is up in the air and will play out over the next few years, but this one definitely feels different.

I still pity Dooley. He took a job having no idea what he was getting into. Fulmer had run the roster into the ditch with poor recruiting and discipline. Kiffin did UT no favors but left Dooley pretty much the best players he would have. Dooley doesn't have the talent to be a good HC... but he was underwater with no chance of success from the moment he signed the contract.

Jones was an empty suit.... a used car salesman. It worked early in recruiting which carried him a couple of years until recruits got wise to his schtick and realized he couldn't coach.

Pruitt is just a negative guy. He threw players under the bus. He indirectly blamed them by saying "we have to coach them better" which really meant... THEY screwed up. He's just not a leader that can get guys to believe in a vision and then dedicate themselves to it. Position coach? Sure. Not a HC.... ever. Heupel convinces guys they can do... Pruitt convinces them they can't. Biggest difference between the two. Both are good in their own rights with "schemes". Also, Heupel doesn't consider it a "business" in the same since Pruitt does. Pruitt made it something to be suffered through. Heupel makes it something that's an integral part of a great life.

 

[BanditVol]

I still pity Dooley. He took a job having no idea what he was getting into. Fulmer had run the roster into the ditch with poor recruiting and discipline. Kiffin did UT no favors but left Dooley pretty much the best players he would have. Dooley doesn't have the talent to be a good HC... but he was underwater with no chance of success from the moment he signed the contract.

Big disagreement on Dooley's talent level. Fulmer brought in the no. 3 class in the country in 2007. We haven't been higher since. The 2009 class was 10th in spite of Kiffin abandoning us. It's true that 2018 was only 35th with all the turmoil, but it was sandwiched between two very good classes.

Dooley had plenty of talent. If you doubt that, look at even the 2012 roster. Tyler Bray landed on an NFL roster, Hunter and Patterson went in the first two rounds, and every single OL ended up on an NFL roster in 2014 (they were juniors in 2012), although a couple never made it past IR or the practice squad.

Dooley sucked because he had a losing record...at La Tech (!) and was....wait for it. 4-8 the year we hired him. People either don't pay attention to that, or have forgotten it. But. We hired a FOUR AND EIGHT MID MAJOR COACH....at the ****ing University of Tennessee, which at the time had the second highest number of SEC championships, SEC win percentage, and Nattys in the SEC.

Dooley was a historically bad hire. The worst hire of modern times at UT (might find a worse one in the 1893-1925 era, but maybe not). I would say he was probably the worst SEC hire of the last 20 years, let alone worst Tennessee hire. Please don't try to use talent as an excuse for him, it simply doesn't add up.

I will concede that discipline was lax, but only in 2008. Cut was a strict disciplinarian and kept a lot of the guys in line till he left in 2007. It has often been said, but if Cut had stuck around, Fulmer likely would have survived 2008.

 

[sjt18]

Big disagreement on Dooley's talent level. Fulmer brought in the no. 3 class in the country in 2007. We haven't been higher since. The 2009 class was 10th in spite of Kiffin abandoning us. It's true that 2018 was only 35th with all the turmoil, but it was sandwiched between two very good classes.

Dooley had plenty of talent. If you doubt that, look at even the 2012 roster. Tyler Bray landed on an NFL roster, Hunter and Patterson went in the first two rounds, and every single OL ended up on an NFL roster in 2014 (they were juniors in 2012), although a couple never made it past IR or the practice squad.

And the problem was depth and mostly on D. Remember how many of the guys you're talking about plus Maggitt and AJ started as Fr? Who was the returning QB the year Dooley took over? Who were the top two RB's? Who were the SEC level DT's on the roster?

Dooley sucked because he had a losing record...at La Tech (!) and was....wait for it. 4-8 the year we hired him. People either don't pay attention to that, or have forgotten it. But. We hired a FOUR AND EIGHT MID MAJOR COACH....at the ****ing University of Tennessee, which at the time had the second highest number of SEC championships, SEC win percentage, and Nattys in the SEC.

Dooley was a historically bad hire. The worst hire of modern times at UT (might find a worse one in the 1893-1925 era, but maybe not). I would say he was probably the worst SEC hire of the last 20 years, let alone worst Tennessee hire. Please don't try to use talent as an excuse for him, it simply doesn't add up.

I will concede that discipline was lax, but only in 2008. Cut was a strict disciplinarian and kept a lot of the guys in line till he left in 2007. It has often been said, but if Cut had stuck around, Fulmer likely would have survived 2008.

Nope. That dishonor belongs to Jones.... while recognizing that all three of the last hires were historically bad for different reasons. People give Jones a pass because of a couple of good years. But that only happened when the stars aligned and there were a couple of classes loaded with talented homers and legacies... talent that he subsequently squandered.

Can you imagine where UT might be now had Heupel had guys like Hurd and Barnett essentially drop into his lap?

 

[butchna]

I remember listening to sports radio that night when it broke that Burlsworth had been killed in a car accident.

You see a lot of these stories. ESPN owns the patent for at least 1 sob story on Gameday each week for the past 30 years, but Burlsworth was different. I remember him being profiled on ESPN during the 1998 season and he had so much class on and off the field that it was impossible not to root for him.

Ive seen so many of those ESPN sob stories that I’ve become skeptical half the time (paging Manti Tao playing in memory of his “dead” girlfriend, or Pete Carroll turning some poor blind kid into some sort of team mascot). Burlsworth was different. I respected the hell out of him when he was still alive as a player, and his death was one of the few that really hit me hard.

Selfishly, I had been looking forward to him protecting Peyton the next season for the Colts. Great human story ended too soon.

 

[volinSmyrna]

And the problem was depth and mostly on D. Remember how many of the guys you're talking about plus Maggitt and AJ started as Fr? Who was the returning QB the year Dooley took over? Who were the top two RB's? Who were the SEC level DT's on the roster?


Nope. That dishonor belongs to Jones.... while recognizing that all three of the last hires were historically bad for different reasons. People give Jones a pass because of a couple of good years. But that only happened when the stars aligned and there were a couple of classes loaded with talented homers and legacies... talent that he subsequently squandered.

Can you imagine where UT might be now had Heupel had guys like Hurd and Barnett essentially drop into his lap?

I know this board has had this discussion ad nauseum over the last several years. I think I am splitting hairs a bit here, but...the worst "hire" was by far Dooley. The worst "coach" belongs to Lyle hands down. I blame Dooley for 3 major things.
1. Not recruiting any OL his last year
2. Hiring Sunseri
3. Spending so much freaking time looking over blueprints/plans for the new building he let his main responsibilities grossly lag. He is ultimately responsible for everything in the program. For example, he maybe should have made sure his team, offensive line specifically, was actually completing their workouts.

Now to the trumpet player. He was in so far over his head, it wasn't even funny. Mismanaging the roster, mismanaging games, not relating to players, being an overall toolbag. He squandered a generational recruiting class (that ANY UT coach would have had) and did absolute garbage with it. Yes, his team beat UGA and UF in the same year....they also followed that with USC and Vandy losses.

Circling all the way back, the main blame goes squarely to Hamilton. If he had just tagged Kippy with the Interim tag and done a legit coaching search in 2011, I think we would have not had to suffer what we suffered through these last 10 years.

 

[BanditVol]

And the problem was depth and mostly on D. Remember how many of the guys you're talking about plus Maggitt and AJ started as Fr? Who was the returning QB the year Dooley took over? Who were the top two RB's? Who were the SEC level DT's on the roster?


Nope. That dishonor belongs to Jones.... while recognizing that all three of the last hires were historically bad for different reasons. People give Jones a pass because of a couple of good years. But that only happened when the stars aligned and there were a couple of classes loaded with talented homers and legacies... talent that he subsequently squandered.

Can you imagine where UT might be now had Heupel had guys like Hurd and Barnett essentially drop into his lap?

Jones had a winning record at Cincinnati. Dooley had a losing record at La Tech. There is no comparison!

And yes, that is fun to contemplate.

 

[volinSmyrna]

And the problem was depth and mostly on D. Remember how many of the guys you're talking about plus Maggitt and AJ started as Fr? Who was the returning QB the year Dooley took over? Who were the top two RB's? Who were the SEC level DT's on the roster?


Nope. That dishonor belongs to Jones.... while recognizing that all three of the last hires were historically bad for different reasons. People give Jones a pass because of a couple of good years. But that only happened when the stars aligned and there were a couple of classes loaded with talented homers and legacies... talent that he subsequently squandered.

Can you imagine where UT might be now had Heupel had guys like Hurd and Barnett essentially drop into his lap?

I would love to have seen Heupel with that '16 roster. Can you imagine the fun he would have had with Kamara?

 

[Vol865]

Pro: Team plays hard, Offense way better already, defense flies around, staff seems very genuine

Con/area for concern: situational playcalling/decision-making (ex: being conservative/predictable, punting on 4th&1 from the 50, etc.), defense gives up easy plays more often than I'd like

Hoping when we get some more guys most of this sorts itself out. Could've put recruiting in the last category but I don't think that's fair yet.

 

[Vol8188]

They seem to be getting the most out of this roster and despite all the personnel loses between the transfer portal and recruiting class, they’ve fielded a more competitive and exciting team than the last staff.

 

[sjt18]

Jones had a winning record at Cincinnati. Dooley had a losing record at La Tech. There is no comparison!

And yes, that is fun to contemplate.

I wouldn't call thinking about any of the 3 too much "fun".

Jones followed Kelly coming off a 12-1 season. Kelly never lost more than 3 games at Cincy. Jones prompted went 4-8 vs the only schedule he would face there where the majority of opponents had winning records.

Dooley replaced Bicknell who went 2-10 in the previous season and left the roster and program in bad shape.

Neither should have been hired. I just have more sympathy for Dooley who was more like a puppy caught in a dog fight.... and by the end of year 2 he knew it.

 

[sjt18]

I would love to have seen Heupel with that '16 roster. Can you imagine the fun he would have had with Kamara?

Really all of them. Malone? Hurd? Dobbs!

Imagine John Kelly in Evan's role. Even some of the guys way down the list at WR would have gotten opportunities. There was an absolute ton of talent on that team.

And on D... wow. That would be fun with Banks' D.

 

[volinSmyrna]

Really all of them. Malone? Hurd? Dobbs!

Imagine John Kelly in Evan's role. Even some of the guys way down the list at WR would have gotten opportunities. There was an absolute ton of talent on that team.

And on D... wow. That would be fun with Banks' D.

Oh man....John Kelly never got enough love.

 

[BanditVol]

Circling all the way back, the main blame goes squarely to Hamilton. If he had just tagged Kippy with the Interim tag and done a legit coaching search in 2011, I think we would have not had to suffer what we suffered through these last 10 years.

100% agreement on that.

On Lyle vs Dooley, sorry wins matter and Jones had far more. He also won two conference titles at Cincy. Dooley didn't sniff anything like that success. Jone's recruiting classes were good, but not really better than what we had from 2007-09 IMO, it was about comparable. And yes, Lyle got a lot of mileage out of legacies, but Barnett wasn't a legacy was he? (and there are other examples).

I think the butt-hurtedness of saying Lyle was worse is just because he was more recent, and probably because of his arrogance in pressers. Never did admit to doing anything wrong.

Dooley was FOUR AND EIGHT AT LA TECH. Also never had a winning season at UT. Lyle got us to the top ten.

Having said that, I do DISLIKE Lyle more than any other former coach, including even Kiffin. He went to bammer basically just to troll us and rub the buyout in our faces IMO. I. Will. NEVER! forgive that ******* for that.

To say nothing of the fact that he apparently doesn't have any self esteem. There is the infamous pic of him smoking the cigar after bama beat Tennessee, and a bammer player tweeted "he finally gets to smoke a cigar!". Right. Because HE couldn't beat bama, so he joined them in celebrating a defeat of his old team. Who does that! What a LOSER.