Coaching Comparison

[Rocky Top T]

Pruitt as HC or Fulmer as AD? Which was worse?

Got no time for either! They both are terrible!!!

 

[Hacksaw]

Worst hire was Kiffin. That impudent snake torpedoed Fulmer’s solid recruiting class and replaced them with thugs. Hamilton - who screwed the pooch hiring Lane compounded the mistake with Dooley - but given the circumstances Dooley was about as good as wanted the job. Lesson number 1 - if you fire a hall of fame coach without a sound succession plan- and particularly turn over a major program to an immature brat - the downfall and incidental damage may last for decades.

This is patently obvious. Whoever succeeded Fulmer needed to have one overriding responsibility above all else: to right the ship and avoid any further instability in the program while we recovered from the effects of Fulmer's departure. He didn't need to have 10-win seasons right out of the gate. He didn't even need to be the long-term answer. He just needed to provide stability during the transition. He needed to be a caretaker.

And Kiffin did exactly the opposite of that. He made a commitment to us and he knew the disastrous effect it would have when he left after one season. This is why we've been wandering in the wilderness for the past decade-and-a-half, folks. It all started with Kiffin. Everything else that happened was just dominoes falling.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

I disagree. I think if the USC hiring process didn't melt down Kiffin would have worked out fine. He has proven to be a good head coach.. he followed his heart into an even bigger (at the time) dumpster fire at USC than was at UT.

Then again I think any coach would have had issues here during that era. Honestly I think once the rest of the administration turned over we were finally ready to move forward. If we'd say hired Huepel instead of on of the others I have a feeling the results wouldn't have been what we see now.

I can not agree with that. Kiffin may have been a decent coach, but I doubt he would have ever been in the top 6 coaches we have had at Tennessee. The other loser coaches we hire didn't have a chance. First, they were not good coaches when they were hired. Secondly, they would have never gotten the support from the Administration that we now have, even if they had lucked up and won a few games. I believe Heupel has the know, personality, experience, and the support all the way up through the Universities's President. We are in the best shape we have been in 20 years.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

I disagree. I think if the USC hiring process didn't melt down Kiffin would have worked out fine. He has proven to be a good head coach.. he followed his heart into an even bigger (at the time) dumpster fire at USC than was at UT.

Then again I think any coach would have had issues here during that era. Honestly I think once the rest of the administration turned over we were finally ready to move forward. If we'd say hired Huepel instead of on of the others I have a feeling the results wouldn't have been what we see now.

How do you explain his USC meltdown and the last half of this season at Ole MIss? It is no secret I have no use for those with his moral credentials leading college programs. Did HE or did HE not try to get the AU job? It is one thing to sit back and be wooed, it is another to seek another position. I know the Bear SEC incest worked out, but any others? Sloan? DiNardo? Nutt? Oh, Dickey? Memory loss after that. Got anything?

Yep, I do not like the guy and would have had to walk away during his stay had he be rehired. I can not attack a UT coach under any circumstances. I am sure it would not have stayed long. Ole Miss has a history of dealing with this level of human. Cut was the exception and they did not value integrity then either. What a list.... Tubberville (best of the lot), Orgeron, Nutt, Freeze and now Kiffin.... How could anything possibly go wrong with that list.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Some of the very same folks who routinely (and correctly) assert that "a head coach is his win-loss record, results are all that matters at the end of the day," those same folks will twist their thoughts and the facts into pretzels in order to avoid giving Fulmer any credit at all.

It astounds me, every time I see it. And we see it all the time on these boards.

The man won a whole heck of a lot over a period of 16 years. He didn't win any titles with "Johnny's recruits" or "Johnny's winning culture," Nope, by the time Fulmer was winning titles, Johnny had already been gone half a decade. Not a single player remained who played for Johnny Majors. Plenty of time over those years for the program culture to go south if Fulmer wasn't an inspiring leader to both the players and the assistant coaches.

A 75% win rate. 152-52. A national crown. Two SEC crowns.

A coach is his win-loss record. Phillip Fulmer was the second (or third, if you're a John Barnhill admirer) best head coach in Tennessee history.

But watch his detractors find ways to say he isn't. Amazing.

Go Vols!

With the passage of time, Josh may exceed his achievements, but I would currently and solidly rank Fulmer as Tennessee’s second-most successful head coach. With respect to those who criticize Fulmer for the reasons you cited above, I contend that Barnhill’s achievements, due to no fault of his own, should be regarded with far more questions.

With Neyland’s departure to serve in World War II, Barnhill inherited a team that had compiled a 31-2 record over the previous three years and finished 2nd, 2nd, and 4th respectively in the AP. Robert Neyland - Wikipedia. You simply can’t inherit a better situation than that.

Furthermore, college football during the second World War is intrinsically problematic from an analytical perspective. Many of the best players at most universities were called into service, which undoubtedly contributed to some degree to the extraordinary success that Army achieved then. The Black Knights won back-to-back national championships in 1944 and ’45, outscoring their opposition 916-81 in 18 games. Nevertheless, Earl Blaik was, undoubtedly, an excellent coach. His post-World War II teams finished the regular season ranked in the top ten on six occasions.

By contrast, Barnhill became Arkansas’ head coach in 1946 and, in four seasons, compiled a pedestrian 22-17-3 record, so what can one really conclude about Barnhill? Would he have ultimately turned out to be a prequel to Bill Battle…if the General had not returned to Tennessee?

 

[pimo1]

How do you explain his USC meltdown and the last half of this season at Ole MIss? It is no secret I have no use for those with his moral credentials leading college programs. Did HE or did HE not try to get the AU job? It is one thing to sit back and be wooed, it is another to seek another position. I know the Bear SEC incest worked out, but any others? Sloan? DiNardo? Nutt? Oh, Dickey? Memory loss after that. Got anything?

Yep, I do not like the guy and would have had to walk away during his stay had he be rehired. I can not attack a UT coach under any circumstances. I am sure it would not have stayed long. Ole Miss has a history of dealing with this level of human. Cut was the exception and they did not value integrity then either. What a list.... Tubberville (best of the lot), Orgeron, Nutt, Freeze and now Kiffin.... How could anything possibly go wrong with that list.

I'm not saying he would have been better than Huepel or is a better coach. Only time will tell that. But I think had he not left for USC the crap we went through with the clown show that came after wouldn't have been as bad. Ole miss had a bad we ond half to their season sure but I'd trade the record of ole miss in his time there for the record we had at UT during that same period of time and he did it with arguably less talent in a harder division. His coaching record is a tally really good.

At USC he was 28-15
At FIU he was 26-13
Ole Miss 23-13of his 11 seasons as a head coach he went to bowls 7 of those years. Othe 4 years he didn't? USC wasn't qualified for 2 they won 10 and 8 games those 2 years. He was fired the third time from USC with a 3-2 record and his second year at FIU they missed a bowl but won 10 or more games his other 2 years.

I'm pretty sure he could have done similar here at UT in that time. We went to how many bowls in that time period? Had how many 10 win years?

I am not saying I would prefer Kiffin over what we have now. But I do think he would have been more successful than those other coaches and would probably still be coaching here had he not left. In a way him leaving was a good thing long run. We ended up in a good spot.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

I'm not saying he would have been better than Huepel or is a better coach. Only time will tell that. But I think had he not left for USC the crap we went through with the clown show that came after wouldn't have been as bad. Ole miss had a bad we ond half to their season sure but I'd trade the record of ole miss in his time there for the record we had at UT during that same period of time and he did it with arguably less talent in a harder division. His coaching record is a tally really good.

At USC he was 28-15
At FIU he was 26-13
Ole Miss 23-13of his 11 seasons as a head coach he went to bowls 7 of those years. Othe 4 years he didn't? USC wasn't qualified for 2 they won 10 and 8 games those 2 years. He was fired the third time from USC with a 3-2 record and his second year at FIU they missed a bowl but won 10 or more games his other 2 years.

I'm pretty sure he could have done similar here at UT in that time. We went to how many bowls in that time period? Had how many 10 win years?

I am not saying I would prefer Kiffin over what we have now. But I do think he would have been more successful than those other coaches and would probably still be coaching here had he not left. In a way him leaving was a good thing long run. We ended up in a good spot.

Ok, I guess I will have to live with him paying the price for the classlessness of his parting shots at UT, instructing about a dozen EE's already on campus, to not go to class the next day to start their UT clock, with his loss of the USC job and now the humbling end of this season at UM highlighted by his epic play calling in the recent bowl. I will hope the trend of losses vs real competition continues.