Can anyone name a more inept athletic department considering the resources.

[Sudden Impact]

Texas, Kentucky, Florida, Ohio St, and Memphis. Did you forget those games?

add Kansas

 

[GOATeric14berry]

Alabama's ad is pretty bad honestly

 

[GOATeric14berry]

So would Harvard's coach a good hire for us

 

[TOP]

Don't bother, he's an Auburn fan now.

I want to see Pearl be successful but that's it.

I don't like Auburn or their fans(at least in football).

I'm not going to watch Auburn games unless it's on TV or I'm bored. If they end up being successful, I'll probably watch them a little bit more. But I'll also watch Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis, Kentucky etc. when they're in the top 25 and playing other top 25 teams. For the record, I hate all of those teams listed. I'll watch some Auburn games if Pearl turns them into a top 25 team which I think I will. In no way will I pull for Auburn or am I fan of them. I still do like Pearl. At the very least, I'm happy he ended up at Auburn and not Alabama. If Pearl ended up at Alabama and they sucked, I'd laugh and I'd probably dislike him if they're successful, which the probably would be.

But nope... I'm only a fan of one team in every sport. When it comes to college, I consider Tennessee one team(football, basketball, baseball). I'm glad when the Vols do well in other sports like tennis or swimming or whatever. Those sports don't really interest me though. In the end, I hope Pearl does well but I'm only a fan of Tennessee's athletic programs.

 

[golf437]

I'd say we have more of an inept fan base.

You are right. Excellent post.

 

[Fijivol72]

Yeah, I've been saying it for years. It's amazing to me that Dave Hart is essentially given a pass here for presiding over the worst years in our athletics history. At what point does he no longer get to blame Mike Hamilton for everything?

But maybe the AD is just a reflection of the fans? What other major program would hire an AD who was fired from his previous AD position and comes from (and maintains deep, significant ties with) your most bitter rival? What other major program has 4 straight years of losing football seasons and still gets 80-90,000 into their stadium game after game? Where else would a program coming off 6 straight NCAA tournaments as nothing lower than a 9 seed, be happy getting to 1 play-in game in 3 years?

Until the fans refuse to accept failure and mediocrity, there's bound to be more of it.

Agree completely.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Why do you think Tennessee had input on where BP went? Tennessee didn't "let Bruce go" anywhere.

 

[TOP]

You are right. Excellent post.

To each their own.

I think we have an inept coach until he actually accomplishes something.

6 seasons of coaching and this is the first time he has made the tournament... as a play in game.

If he can beat Iowa and Mass, I'll have a little faith in him. I'm on the fence of whether or not that deserves another year. If he loses to Iowa, he should be fired on Thursday.

If he beats Duke and gets to the Sweet 16, I'm okay with him coming back for another season. Not giving him an extension though until I see his 4th season.

If that makes me inept, okay. I'm just basing my opinion on facts and the fact is, Martin's only tourney appearance took him 6 seasons and it's a play in game. If it's anything like the NIT, he'll lose in the first round. All of those are facts. You can follow blindly, I did for two and a half seasons with Dooley. By the time we lost to Florida, I knew he should be gone and quit on him. I wanted the team to do well and be proven wrong but at some point you have to realize the obvious. Dooley sucked and so far, Martin has too. I want the team to do well so I don't see why it's wrong with believing the coach isn't very good, considering his track record isn't good. That's just a fact. But if facts are inept, I'll gladly accept to be called inept.

 

[dxhman]

Here is how utterly insane the OP is...
Let's fire a coach who got into the NCAA tourney and showed W-L improvement every year thus far....
Let's hire an ex coach who was fired and has a show cause through August.....
If we don't then Dave Hart is a failure....

What a riot!!!@@##:dance2::dance2::dance2::dance2:

 

[lilesrt]

It boggles the mind. Let's recap

Dickey Years

1. Essentially fire Majors in the middle of the season following heart surgery allowing a coup from Fulmer splintering the fan base. Worked out great with a Natty, but not handled well at all.
2. Hired Wade Houston, Kevin Oneill, and Jerry Green

Dickey Retires
1. An alleged "National" search for the most qualified AD replacement to lead a top 5 athletic department as far as revenue and on the field success turns. Except there was no national search. Mike ****ing Hamilton hired

Hamilton Years
1. Fires Delmonico - Most successful baseball coach in Tennessee History - 3 (2?) college world series
2. Hires Todd Raleigh - unmitigated disaster
3. Fires Fulmer - Still a good decision in my mind, but could not have been botched any worse. Either 2 years earlier or 1 year later
4. Hires Kiffin - no words necessary
5. Hires Dooley - again no words
6. Hires Bruce - even the sun shines on a dog's ass every now and then
7. Fires Bruce - Most successful basketball coach in recent history, possible ever in a short amount of time. Allows internal AD and Chancellor to hang Bruce out to dry
8. Hires Cuonzo - completely unqualified for the position
9. Hires Serrano - appears to a good hire
10. Allowed the academic side to overtake the AD making it more difficult to win in all sports

Hart Years
1. Fires Dooley - no question the right move
2. Hires Butch - botched the entire process, but results matter. However this is a hold b/c Butch has not won a thing yet. I think we are all optimistic.
3. Allowed Bruce to got to an SEC school. This is an indictment of our AD. You could not allow this. This will undercut our program for years to come. Cuonzo now HAS to be the answer, b/c all success will be measured against Bruce.

And of course let's not forgot all the arrests, scandals, NCAA probation, punishments, lawsuits (from the joining of men's and women's programs), the firing of Pat Summitt, etc.

How did Dave Hart "botch" the Butch Jones hire? He systematically went through his options. IMO, hiring the best candidate we could have asked for. I'd take Butch Jones over Charlie Strong all day long. As far as John Gruden is concerned, the guy would have left Tennessee given any legitimate form of success anyway. Dave Hart has done and is doing a fine job.

 

[TennaciousD957]

Hart offered the job to Gundy and Strong and was turned down by both prior to offering Butch. The hire was "botched" only if you believe that Butch was a better hire than either Gundy or Strong. IMO Butch was a much better option than Strong.

Now did Hart luck out and Butch turns out to be a homerun? The jury is still out. I am as excited about Butch as anyone, but results will be measured only on the field in the end and the jury is still out.

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

I want to know what exactly justifies this complete and total meltdown about our AD. There's no question things were handled badly before Hart got here, but I think there are reasons for optimism that things are turning around.

He hired Butch Jones, which most people seem relatively pleased with to this point. And he didn't fire Cuonzo Martin, a coach whose record has gotten better every year he's been here and who made the NCAA tournament. We Vol fans seem to invent these fantastical scenarios of Jon Gruden coming to coach our football team and Bruce Pearl returning to coach our basketball team, things which have extraordinarily slim chances of happening, and then we get mad at the athletic department for not going along with our completely unrealistic dream scenarios.

Dave Hart was not going to fire Cuonzo Martin after the regular season ended as it did -- it simply wasn't going to happen. And as for Bruce, I love the guy just as much as anyone and would LOVE to have him back, but people have got to see the kind of pickle the AD was in.

This is just getting ridiculous.

Did you pay any attention during the hiring process that led us to Jones?

Pearl going to another school was foregone conclusion in my mind but Hart has done nothing but sit on hands as a very mediocre coach quickly approaches lame duck status next season.

 

[TOP]

Here is how utterly insane the OP is...
Let's fire a coach who got into the NCAA tourney and showed W-L improvement every year thus far....
Let's hire an ex coach who was fired and has a show cause through August.....
If we don't then Dave Hart is a failure....

What a riot!!!@@##:dance2::dance2::dance2::dance2::dance2:

What will be your thoughts if Martin loses to Iowa or Mass and then next season misses the tournament or loses in the first round. He'd be fired I assume. In the meantime, Pearl has turned Auburn into a top 25 team. If that scenario occurred, what would be your thoughts?

I don't know what Martin's ceiling is until I see it. So far, his ceiling is missing the tournament for 5 straight seasons and a play in game in his 6th season. Pearl's history is a national championship in division 2. That team was a piece of junk when he took it over and turned it into a power house. He was 2 for 4 in making the NCAA tournament at UW-Milwaukee which was another piece of crap program when he took over. Took them to the Sweet 16. Then he came to Tennessee and made the tournament all 6 seasons he was here. He took us the farthest we've ever been to the Elite 8 and was 1 point away from final 4. And let's be honest... we might have made a second Elite 8 if refs didn't screw us against Ohio State both times we played them when Oden was there. They'd call non-existent fouls in favor of Oden until they put Ohio State over the top. He got Tennessee to #1, beat Kentucky, Memphis and Florida consistently and beat #1 Kansas with half a roster. How can you blame people for preferring Pearl over Cuonzo? Look at their track record. Facts are facts.

I'm gonna be really sad if Pearl turns Auburn into a top 25 program and we lose to Iowa or Mass and have another mediocre season next year. Pearl is a proven winner. What has Martin proven? With Pearl off the market, I'm all in on Cuonzo. I have no attachment to any other coach. With that being said, he needs to do something or I want another coach. Simple as that. I see nothing wrong with not believing in a coach that's never won anything. You're free to but I'm not going to until he shows he can win. He has yet to show he can win. Let's see it.

 

[TOP]

Hart offered the job to Gundy and Strong and was turned down by both prior to offering Butch. The hire was "botched" only if you believe that Butch was a better hire than either Gundy or Strong. IMO Butch was a much better option than Strong.

Now did Hart luck out and Butch turns out to be a homerun? The jury is still out. I am as excited about Butch as anyone, but results will be measured only on the field in the end and the jury is still out.

I would have taken Gundy over Butch and Strong. But I would have taken Butch over Strong. Butch has been successful at two different programs. And while Strong had a great record at Louisville, they barely ever played anyone good and scraped by a lot of poor teams. A win is a win but I don't know. The competition he faced was really poor and he struggled with really bad teams. He'd beat bad teams by 3 points regularly and barely ever played anyone good. Other than Florida which was really impressive, I'm not sure he really beat anyone good. And the Florida game, is that a fair way to assess a coach? You don't get that much time to prepare for games week to week during the regular season. Some coaches might shine when they have more time to prepare while struggling to prepare on a weekly basis.

Idk... I don't like Gundy but between the three I'd go Gundy, Butch and then Strong. It doesn't matter now though because Butch's teams consistently improved season to season and I believe the trend can continue with the Vols.

 

[Boca Vol]

I would have taken Gundy over Butch and Strong. But I would have taken Butch over Strong. Butch has been successful at two different programs. And while Strong had a great record at Louisville, they barely ever played anyone good and scraped by a lot of poor teams. A win is a win but I don't know. The competition he faced was really poor and he struggled with really bad teams. He'd beat bad teams by 3 points regularly and barely ever played anyone good. Other than Florida which was really impressive, I'm not sure he really beat anyone good. And the Florida game, is that a fair way to assess a coach? You don't get that much time to prepare for games week to week during the regular season. Some coaches might shine when they have more time to prepare while struggling to prepare on a weekly basis.

Idk... I don't like Gundy but between the three I'd go Gundy, Butch and then Strong. It doesn't matter now though because Butch's teams consistently improved season to season and I believe the trend can continue with the Vols.

You do realize the stuff you said about Strong easily applies to Jones as well as they coached in the same conference! One of Butch's conference champions lost to Toledo!

I'm not saying that to be anti-Butch but it's a pot calling the kettle black scenario you present.

 

[jcvet33]

How can you blame Hart for Auburn hiring Pearl? Martin is still our coach and isn't even done with the season yet. Do we just fire Martin after receiving a NCAA tournament bid? I don't think any AD does that.

Martin should have been fired mid season. An interim hired pending Pearl's return

 

[TOP]

You do realize the stuff you said about Strong easily applies to Jones as well as they coached in the same conference! One of Butch's conference champions lost to Toledo!

I'm not saying that to be anti-Butch but it's a pot calling the kettle black scenario you present.

That would be true if we're just talking Cincy and Lousiville in the Big East. I also included that he was successful at Central Michigan. Louisville was Strong's first coaching gig. He was successful but he scraped by in doing so. Butch consistently improved two different programs while Strong as only coached one. For that reason, I trust Butch a little more since you can see his teams consistently improving at two different programs. Strong very well could be a better coach but I like the fact that Butch was a head coach at two programs that improved.

In the end, it will be harder to see who is the better coach. The SEC is a tougher conference than the Big 12(at least at the moment) and as awesome as our facilities and stadium are, Texas is virtually unmatched. That state is the mecca of football. So, if Butch is more successful than Strong, he's obviously better. But if Butch does really well and Strong does better, it would be harder for me to flat out say Strong is better because as of today, he's playing in a weaker conference and has an easier recruiting base. Though if you go by recruiting rankings, Butch was amazing this class. We'll see how that translates. I do think it's easier to recruit to Texas than Tennessee though and that Butch has to face tougher teams in the SEC than Strong does in the Big 12.

 

[Boca Vol]

That would be true if we're just talking Cincy and Lousiville in the Big East. I also included that he was successful at Central Michigan. Louisville was Strong's first coaching gig. He was successful but he scraped by in doing so. Butch consistently improved two different programs while Strong as only coached one. For that reason, I trust Butch a little more since you can see his teams consistently improving at two different programs. Strong very well could be a better coach but I like the fact that Butch was a head coach at two programs that improved.

In the end, it will be harder to see who is the better coach. The SEC is a tougher conference than the Big 12(at least at the moment) and as awesome as our facilities and stadium are, Texas is virtually unmatched. That state is the mecca of football. So, if Butch is more successful than Strong, he's obviously better. But if Butch does really well and Strong does better, it would be harder for me to flat out say Strong is better because as of today, he's playing in a weaker conference and has an easier recruiting base. Though if you go by recruiting rankings, Butch was amazing this class. We'll see how that translates. I do think it's easier to recruit to Texas than Tennessee though and that Butch has to face tougher teams in the SEC than Strong does in the Big 12.

I agree with your post here. I was referring to your previous post about the level of competition, etc. They were pretty much the same between Cincy and Louisville.

 

[KBVol]

It boggles the mind. Let's recap

Dickey Years

1. Essentially fire Majors in the middle of the season following heart surgery allowing a coup from Fulmer splintering the fan base. Worked out great with a Natty, but not handled well at all.
2. Hired Wade Houston, Kevin Oneill, and Jerry Green

Dickey Retires
1. An alleged "National" search for the most qualified AD replacement to lead a top 5 athletic department as far as revenue and on the field success turns. Except there was no national search. Mike ****ing Hamilton hired

Hamilton Years
1. Fires Delmonico - Most successful baseball coach in Tennessee History - 3 (2?) college world series
2. Hires Todd Raleigh - unmitigated disaster
3. Fires Fulmer - Still a good decision in my mind, but could not have been botched any worse. Either 2 years earlier or 1 year later
4. Hires Kiffin - no words necessary
5. Hires Dooley - again no words
6. Hires Bruce - even the sun shines on a dog's ass every now and then
7. Fires Bruce - Most successful basketball coach in recent history, possible ever in a short amount of time. Allows internal AD and Chancellor to hang Bruce out to dry
8. Hires Cuonzo - completely unqualified for the position
9. Hires Serrano - appears to a good hire
10. Allowed the academic side to overtake the AD making it more difficult to win in all sports

Hart Years
1. Fires Dooley - no question the right move
2. Hires Butch - botched the entire process, but results matter. However this is a hold b/c Butch has not won a thing yet. I think we are all optimistic.
3. Allowed Bruce to got to an SEC school. This is an indictment of our AD. You could not allow this. This will undercut our program for years to come. Cuonzo now HAS to be the answer, b/c all success will be measured against Bruce.

And of course let's not forgot all the arrests, scandals, NCAA probation, punishments, lawsuits (from the joining of men's and women's programs), the firing of Pat Summitt, etc.

Agree with the majority of your points, not all, but how was Hart supposed to keep Bruce from going to an SEC school short of hiring him? We have a coach who's about to play in the NCAA tourney.... couldn't exactly fire him last week right in the middle of their season ending run. And let's be honest, as much as many of us wanted Bruce back here, it wasn't gonna happen. Bruce was on the open market and could've gone anywhere.... Hart had no control over that.

 

[Boca Vol]

Agree with the majority of your points, not all, but how was Hart supposed to keep Bruce from going to an SEC school short of hiring him? We have a coach who's about to play in the NCAA tourney.... couldn't exactly fire him last week right in the middle of their season ending run. And let's be honest, as much as many of us wanted Bruce back here, it wasn't gonna happen. Bruce was on the open market and could've gone anywhere.... Hart had no control over that.

Come on, KB. We're UT! lol:

 

[TOP]

I agree with your post here. I was referring to your previous post about the level of competition, etc. They were pretty much the same between Cincy and Louisville.

I agree. Cincy and Louisville both played in the Big East so they're on a similar playing field. Though, Cincy does have one of the smallest stadiums in the country I believe. I think Cincy is probably a tougher job than Louisville. That's irrelevant though and I agree they were playing in the same conference. I was just including that Butch has improved two different programs and for that, I would take him over Strong. If it was the other way around, I'd take Strong. I just like that Butch has a little more of a track record. It makes me a little more confident in his ability to turn programs around.

 

[UT's#1Fan]

Hart should have reached out to Pearl prior to him accepting the job at Auburn. It's clear Conzo is not the guy that's going to get it done here.

 

[TennaciousD957]

Agree with the majority of your points, not all, but how was Hart supposed to keep Bruce from going to an SEC school short of hiring him? We have a coach who's about to play in the NCAA tourney.... couldn't exactly fire him last week right in the middle of their season ending run. And let's be honest, as much as many of us wanted Bruce back here, it wasn't gonna happen. Bruce was on the open market and could've gone anywhere.... Hart had no control over that.

A savvy AD would have at least kept Bruce on the burner to see what happens tomorrow night against Iowa (and against UMass with a win). Keep him on the line for 4 days. I am sure Auburn was in a hurry to get it done, but they would have waited for Bruce. Maybe Bruce told Hart to **** off. If so he had no control. I have heard differently, but but who really knows the truth.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

Hart should have reached out to Pearl prior to him accepting the job at Auburn. It's clear Conzo is not the guy that's going to get it done here.

Awesome, you've put Auburn as one of your teams now.

Piss off.

 

[VolAllen]

Hart should have reached out to Pearl prior to him accepting the job at Auburn. It's clear Conzo is not the guy that's going to get it done here.

You better not say things like that around here! People here don't like logical thoughts!