Football record this millennium..

#51
#51
BernardKingGOAT said:
I can see why you think that, but I doubt he had that kind of unilateral power. I'm not sticking up for Hamilton by any means because he was certainly out of his element as AD.

As for Fulmer, our 2 SEC championships and 1 natty weren't solely because of him, as you suggest above. If that's the case, 3 of our 4 losing seasons of the past 30 years were because of him. 2 as coach and 1 because he made the worst hire of all time on the hill. Any NCAA action against us is his fault as well
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Your data is a bit off.

The Vols have suffered 9 losing seasons in the past 20 years (going out to 30 doesn't increase that at all, thanks to Fulmer). Hence, our "Dark Ages."

- 2 while Fulmer was head coach (out of 16)
- all 3 under Dooley
- 2 belong to Butch (of 5)
- and 2 of Pruitt's 3 seasons.

But it's not like we'd never had losing seasons before (Johnny Majors had 3, Doug Dickey had 1, Bowden Wyatt had 2, and so on). They were just never concentrated in so close a time period. Eight of the 9 losing records happened in just 13 seasons. Hence, again, our "Dark Ages."

If you're trying to be negative, you can blame a whole lotta things on Phillip Fulmer. Bama fans love to, that's for sure. On the flip side, if you're trying to be positive, you can give Fulmer credit for a great deal as well.

Traditionally, and for good reason, the head coach is typically given full credit for what goes right in his tenure (and full blame for what goes wrong).

That means a reasonable person tips his or her hat to Phillip for our most recent national title and two SEC crowns, as well as a very, very respectable win rate (.745, if memory serves). And likewise puts the blame at his feet for the beginning of our Dark Ages (though if the AD hadn't fired him, one assumes they might never have become so dark--but that's another discussion).

Hamilton was a horrible AD. Probably the worst we've ever had. Because the Dark Ages involved a series of blundered coaching decisions, you can blame him for instigating our general malaise between 2008 and 2020 (even though he was gone by 2011, having fired Fulmer, hired Kiffin, and hired Dooley). He can take that blame even without us letting Fulmer, Kiffin, Dooley, Jones, or Pruitt off the hook for their results.

Thank goodness all that mess is in our rearview mirror, and we have a pair of stalwarts in Dan White and Josh Heupel.

Go Vols!


p.s. Just five Tennessee head football coaches have never suffered a losing season (only counting those who coached two or more years). In reverse chronological order, they are: Josh Heupel, Bill Battle, Robert Neyland, John Barnhill (Neyland's excellent stand-in during World War II) , and J.A. Pierce way back in the late 1890s, our first decade with a football program.

p.p.s. Most folks mark the Dark Ages as the 13 years between 2008 and 2020 (Fulmer's last season coaching through the firing of Pruitt). In one way, that doesn't involve Fulmer very much. Just one season as coach. In another way, though, it is all tied up with him, because his coaching and AD stints bookend the malaise. He started it and contributed to its painful conclusion, you might say.
 
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#53
#53
VFL-82-JP said:
Your data is a bit off.

The Vols have suffered 9 losing seasons in the past 20 years (going out to 30 doesn't increase that at all, thanks to Fulmer). Hence, our "Dark Ages."

- 2 while Fulmer was head coach (out of 16)
- all 3 under Dooley
- 2 belong to Butch (of 5)
- and 2 of Pruitt's 3 seasons.

But it's not like we'd never had losing seasons before (Johnny Majors had 3, Doug Dickey had 1, Bowden Wyatt had 2, and so on). They were just never concentrated in so close a time period. Hence, again, our "Dark Ages."

If you're trying to be negative, you can blame a whole lotta things on Phillip Fulmer. Bama fans love to, that's for sure. On the flip side, if you're trying to be positive, you can give Fulmer credit for a great deal as well.

Traditionally, and for good reason, the head coach is typically given full credit for what goes right in his tenure (and full blame for what goes wrong).

That means a reasonable person tips his or her hat to Phillip for our most recent national title and two SEC crowns, as well as a very, very respectable win rate (.745, if memory serves). And likewise puts the blame at his feet for the beginning of our Dark Ages (though if the AD hadn't fired him, one assumes they might never have become so dark--but that's another discussion).

Hamilton was a horrible AD. Probably the worst we've ever had. Because the Dark Ages involved a series of blundered coaching decisions, you can blame him for instigating our general malaise between 2008 and 2020 (even though he was gone by 2011, having fired Fulmer, hired Kiffin, and hired Dooley). He can take that blame even without us letting Fulmer, Kiffin, Dooley, Jones, or Pruitt off the hook for their results.

Thank goodness all that mess is in our rearview mirror, and we have a pair of stalwarts in Dan White and Josh Heupel.

Go Vols!


p.s. Only six Tennessee coaches have never suffered a losing season (only counting those who coached two or more years). In reverse chronological order, they are: Josh Heupel, Bill Battle, Robert Neyland, John Barnhill, John Bender (but he did go 3-3-3 one year, heh), and J.A. Pierce way back in the late 1890s, our first decade with a football program.

p.p.s. Most folks mark the Dark Ages as the 13 years between 2008 and 2020 (Fulmer's last season coaching through the firing of Pruitt). In one way, that doesn't involve Fulmer very much. Just one season as coach. In another way, though, it is all tied up with him, because his coaching and AD stints bookend the malaise. He started it and contributed to its painful conclusion, you might say.
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I was all for Fulmer when he got the job. I lost some respect during the 2005 season, and it wasn't because we were struggling. It was more about his behavior, as he became defensive and thin skinned whenever he was being asked about the issues. The post firing presser, with Vicky in tow, was nothing more than a self serving "woe is me" fest. He was also a horrible AD for bringing in that hill jack as our HFC
 
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#54
#54
BernardKingGOAT said:
I can see why you think that, but I doubt he had that kind of unilateral power. I'm not sticking up for Hamilton by any means because he was certainly out of his element as AD.

As for Fulmer, our 2 SEC championships and 1 natty weren't solely because of him, as you suggest above. If that's the case, 3 of our 4 losing seasons of the past 30 years were because of him. 2 as coach and 1 because he made the worst hire of all time on the hill. Any NCAA action against us is his fault as well
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It was just some luck and being unlucky. His two best non NC years, no one was going to beat Nebraska in ‘95 or Miami in ‘01. Injuries and QB woes during some of those years held him back, too.

He has been the greatest coach since Neyland and we have the hardware to show it!
 
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#55
#55
#1fulmerite said:
It was just some luck and being unlucky. His two best non NC years, no one was going to beat Nebraska in ‘95 or Miami in ‘01. Injuries and QB woes during some of those years held him back, too.

He has been the greatest coach since Neyland and we have the hardware to show it!
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Yep. Too bad he didn't know how to rebuild
 
#57
#57
Voldog1998 said:
Fulmer held on to Randy Sanders too long, Cutliffe came in and bailed Fulmer out for a couple of years then after he left you saw what happened. Cutliffe was the key ingredient to Fulmer’s success and his best teams and offenses from 93-98.
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Fulmer was a great recruiter and players' coach. I truly believe he and Cutcliffe were the perfect "good guy, bad guy" combo. Cutcliffe was somewhat of a disciplinarian. When he came back in 2006, he stated in an interview that he has never seen so many talented, yet undisciplined players. Not long after his arrival, he made it clear to Ainge that his earring wasn't acceptable at team functions
 
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#58
#58
Until CJH brings home a couple of SECC and a NC (which I hope he does), Fulmer will be the best we have had in most of our lifetimes!

He deserves a statue outside of Neyland stadium!
 
#59
#59
#1fulmerite said:
Until CJH brings home a couple of SECC and a NC (which I hope he does), Fulmer will be the best we have had in most of our lifetimes!

He deserves a statue outside of Neyland stadium!
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No, he does not deserve a statue. He needs to be a little more inconspicuous around the university
 
#60
#60
Voldog1998 said:
Since 2000 our record in football is 167 wins to 121 losses with 15 Bowl appearances and 3 SEC EAST division titles in 2001, 2004 and 2007 we have won 10 plus games 5 times in 2001,2003,2004, 2007 and 2022. We have posted 14 winning seasons and 9 losing ones since 2000.
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So we sucked for 18 of those years. WTH???
 
#61
#61
To each his own, but if I were choosing decades to reminisce on for my favorite team, it wouldn’t be the era that includes the worst stretch in the history of the team.
 
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#62
#62
Voldog1998 said:
Fulmer held on to Randy Sanders too long, Cutliffe came in and bailed Fulmer out for a couple of years then after he left you saw what happened. Cutliffe was the key ingredient to Fulmer’s success and his best teams and offenses from 93-98.
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also..........dudes with the name Shuler and Manning didn't hurt.
 
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