General Neyland why he was so good

#1
govols105

govols105

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#1
i would like to discuss why volnationers think Neyland was so good. imo i think it is because of his preparation, his knowledge of the game and warfare strategics, and one of the most important things in that he always hired former players as his assistant coaches. why was this last thing i mentioned so important? because these players understood the system, what it meant to be a vol, and knew neyland and what he expected. thoughts?
 
#2
#2
Was trained by the best military in the world and instilled that training on our Vols. I'd be more interested if his coaching style would work today with how big college football's gotten.
 
#5
#5
He's widely regarded as the best defensive mind ever at the college level. Named as the all century defensive coach. Hell, some of his peers felt he was the best coach ever.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say he could have adjusted his style of play to fit today's game and still been a beast of a coach. I know, way to step out on that ledge, right???
 
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#9
#9
I think Neyland would do just fine today. I think his teams would look similar to Saban's.
And I do not think he would have any trouble beating Mr. Saban's teams.
 
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#10
#10
All this conjecture reminds me of those old SNL Ditka skits.

Who would win between a team of little Vols coached by a little Neyland and a regular sized Saban coached Tide team? Da Vols.
 
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#11
#11
govols105 said:
i would like to discuss why volnationers think Neyland was so good. imo i think it is because of his preparation, his knowledge of the game and warfare strategics, and one of the most important things in that he always hired former players as his assistant coaches. why was this last thing i mentioned so important? because these players understood the system, what it meant to be a vol, and knew neyland and what he expected. thoughts?
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All of the above. Plus, I think he was very innovative. If he were here today starting as a young new coach, I think he'd figure out a way to dominate again.
 
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#17
#17
99gator said:
The era had a lot to do with it

John wooden couldn't do today what he did when he coached
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Would Neyland post a shut out in half of the games he coached in today. NO. Would Wooden win that many NCAA championships in a row. NO. But both would be very good coaches in any era.

Talk to any of the players who played for the General and you can tell the amount of respect (and fear) they had for him. He was meticulous in his planning and in preparing his teams to succeed. He was a great motivator and a winner.
 
#18
#18
Maybe no one told him that Tennessee had lots of recruiting disadvantages or that he could just blame his predecessor for everything
 
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#19
#19
Backwards K said:
Would Neyland post a shut out in half of the games he coached in today. NO. Would Wooden win that many NCAA championships in a row. NO. But both would be very good coaches in any era.

Talk to any of the players who played for the General and you can tell the amount of respect (and fear) they had for him. He was meticulous in his planning and in preparing his teams to succeed. He was a great motivator and a winner.
Click to expand...

Didn't say he wouldn't be successful.

The level of success had a lot to do with the era.

Same with saban. Saban might not have 3 of his 4 national titles if they weren't in the bcs era
 
#20
#20
Neyland was a tough, smart, disciplined, demanding coach . Pat Summit had the same qualities, but both enjoyed a lot of success while coaching in a different era. They were ahead of their time. They raised the bar, but other schools caught up in time.

I had the pleasure of knowing one of Neyland's players. Leonard Coffman was a fullback and nose guard on the undefeated, unscored on 1938 Vols, and also a starter in 1939 and 1940. He had that toughness that came from Neyland. He had a ton of respect for Neyland, but not a warm, fuzzy feeling. Neyland was Vince Lombardi, Woody Hayes, and Bear Bryant before they existed. He would be in jail if he coached today.
 
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#21
#21
Anyone having this debate needs to read "Football as a War Game: The annotated journals of General R.R. Neyland." Not only is it a must read, but is a great looking coffee table book.

Football as a war game: The annotated journals of General R.R. Neyland: Andy Kozar: 9780972674904: Amazon.com: Books

I think it would also elucidate some of the finer points that made him a great coach. One thing that surprised me was his idea of scheduling and how he was criticized for a weak schedule. His main philosophy was to put "breathers" between the tougher games. In other words, he scheduled cupcakes between the tough games to give his guys confidence and let them heal. That has been cited as one reason he wasn't credited with more titles.

It truly is fascinating, seeing his notes and sketches in his own writing. His idea of using military discipline and tactics in football is credited with truly elevating the game. If memory serves, he also saw the punter as the best offensive weapon on the team. Interesting stuff that most people take for granted now, but was revolutionary at the time.
 
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#24
#24
oregonvol said:
Maybe no one told him that Tennessee had lots of recruiting disadvantages or that he could just blame his predecessor for everything
Click to expand...

I would have liked to have heard Neyland's excuses during "Year Zero"

I would like to remind th OP to make sure to use Capital letters when spelling Neyland or Tennessee or THE GENERAL
 
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