How bad does UT (or you) want to win?

#52
#52
njvols said:
We aren't too far removed from realizing that at decade of 4-5 win seasons is possible if you have the wrong coach. JH has elevated us. Even going a slightly unpleasant 8-4 is an upgrade drastically from where we were. Would take 2-3 years of really bad stuff going on for us to change. JH is elevating talent...we're not going to out talent UGA/Bama, etc, but if we can out talent most of the rest and win on scheme with strong QB play, we'll be fine. It's going to be a LONG time before we start crying b/c we only win 9-10 games in a season. I'm happy we're at least semi relevant from where we've come from. It's a process.
Click to expand...
I don't disagree with you, and please understand I wasn't talking about Heupel, just Jimbo Fisher. I think Heupel has done a good job here. I think there are some things he needs to address, and hopefully he will do so.
 
  • Like
Reactions: njvols
#53
#53
I posted this in the Doom and Gloom thread, but its fitting here as well.....

Entitlement runs deep in the world, and VolNation is no different. Just fire everyone, until we get instant gratification and a Natty, and the second we don't fire that guy too! In the last 15 years, 7 coaches have won the National Championship, Smart, Saban, Dabo, and Meyer, being the only repeats, with outliers of Ed O, Jimbo, and Chizik who had loaded teams. Finding lightning in a bottle is harder than it seems. Would VolNation be more happy with a Jim Harbaugh type record, where we win games each year (in a laughable conference), but never break through, or a coach (any) who has us competitive each year, breaks through and wins the East in year 6, but drops a dud of a season (8-4) here and there, but wins a championship and goes 151-52 in his 17 year tenure? Spoiler.... that second coach was Fulmer, and we ran his ass out of town too...and was the last time we had any resemblance of winning football for a sustained period of time. There is no point in even looking to next year at this point, with the nature of college football and NIL and the portal, this team very likely, will end up a whole lot different roster wise, than what you are predicting now. Time will tell what direction we go. Take a breath, relax, and soak in the fact that we aren't the least bit concerned with losing to Candy, and enjoy the last few weeks of college football. The 2024 $hit show will be here before you know it!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mtnvol80
#54
#54
volfan_28 said:
That would be ideal, but unrealistic IMO.

That would basically be a return to the glory days of 89-04, which we are 20 years removed from. It would be equivalent to what Florida did with Spurrier in the 90s or what LSU did with Miles in the mid 2000s. I don't think it's accepting mediocrity to admit that we don't have the recruiting base to pull that off. Mediocre is 7 wins, IMO. 9 is good. 10 or more is great. I don't think we have the recruiting base to be consistently great. JMO.
Click to expand...

I completely dismiss this line of thinking. UT has the resources and brand recognition to be elite, it all boils down to willingness to do what it takes. Besides TN HS football is producing better players than it was in 89-04, take that and the fact we have traditionally recruited on a national scale and the excuse of small recruiting base doesn't fly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Woodlawn VOL
#57
#57
Some of you seem to forget about the NCAA sanctions and reduced scholarships and how a lot of players bailed. You want miracles overnight.

I am tired of starting over. It is time to give a coach a chance to build something here. If you are not willing to do that - then get used to being in the middle to the back of the pack in the SEC for a very long time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stewart6600, butchna and rgvol
#58
#58
ftsandersvol said:
We should be a staple in the 12-team playoff structure. Anything less should be considered unacceptable.
Click to expand...

And I think we will be a staple in the 12-team playoff. The bar right now is to be in the SEC title game with a chance at being one of the four. With a 12-team playoff, the bar drops.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Woodlawn VOL
#60
#60
volfan102455 said:
Some of you seem to forget about the NCAA sanctions and reduced scholarships and how a lot of players bailed. You want miracles overnight.

I am tired of starting over. It is time to give a coach a chance to build something here. If you are not willing to do that - then get used to being in the middle to the back of the pack in the SEC for a very long time.
Click to expand...

I think 6-7 years is an ample enough chance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WOKI and Woodlawn VOL
#61
#61
UTFranklinVol said:
Yeah but Fulmer was clearly out of gas after 17 years. Not the same as a guy in year 6 who hadn't done brilliantly but who hadn't done poorly either.
Click to expand...

he might have had just a little bit more gas to avert the 15 years that followed after all he had Tahj Boyd and Bryce Petty committed. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: bpalmer28
#62
#62
volfan102455 said:
And I think we will be a staple in the 12-team playoff. The bar right now is to be in the SEC title game with a chance at being one of the four. With a 12-team playoff, the bar drops.
Click to expand...

The bar drops but is raised right back up as we now have to compete with Georgia, Bama, LSU, Texas and Oklahoma on a yearly basis for that SEC title and throw in Florida if they ever come back.
 
#63
#63
volfan102455 said:
Some of you seem to forget about the NCAA sanctions and reduced scholarships and how a lot of players bailed. You want miracles overnight.

I am tired of starting over. It is time to give a coach a chance to build something here. If you are not willing to do that - then get used to being in the middle to the back of the pack in the SEC for a very long time.
Click to expand...
Nobody is calling for us to start over tho.
 
#65
#65
UTFranklinVol said:
First let me just state clearly I am in no way calling for any of our coaching staff to be fired before people start belly aching. With that said...

Jimbo Fisher just got fired with a 6-4 record and is owed 3x more money than any coach who has ever been fired $76M.

He has had 1 losing season (5-7)
Has an overall record of 45-25 (.643 win %)
Has beaten all of his division rivals at least once
Beat #10 Arkansas, #8 LSU, #6 LSU #4 Florida and #1 Bama
Won the Orange Bowl

That certainly got my attention and got me thinking.

So, would UT ever fire a coach that did that? Forget about how much money owed. Would UT feel so strongly about winning that they would let THAT coach go? I think being in the SEC with two new good teams coming into the league we are in a whole new world of compete-now and win-now.

I'll hang up and listen.
Click to expand...
The amount of money they gave him up front came with the expectations that were higher than normal. That salary screamed " you must win and win big". He would have already been fired if not for the huge buy out promised him . The final straw was he was able to get recruit$ there, but not win the big games much less a championship.
 
#66
#66
HollowaytoSeivers said:
As a matter of fact, yes. Bill Battle was HC at Tennessee from 1970-1976, finishing with a 59-22-2 record, a winning percentage of .723. And Coach Battle never had a losing record; his worse record being 6-5 in his last season. He also coached the Vols in five bowl games, going 4-1. This is a considerably better winning percentage than Jimbo had at A&M.

Now, there's more to this than meets the eye. Coach Battle's teams won 10 or more games in this first three seasons, leading to a sparkling 31-5 record. After five seasons, his record was still an excellent 46-12-2. His teams then went 13-10 in his last two seasons, with no bowl appearances. The two biggest factors to Coach Battle's being forced out after 1976 was: 1) No SEC championships, despite a glittering record. 2) A steady decline in the team's wins and losses, due in part, to questionable coaching decisions, so-so recruiting, and the team facilities falling into poor shape. A possible third reason was that Coach Battle had played college football at the Vols biggest rival, Alabama, which like with Pruitt, was more than the fanbase could handle.
Click to expand...
It was said around the time Battle was let go, that someone sent a U-Haul truck to his home. Anyone else hear this ? confirm ?
 
#68
#68
I want wins but I think a good program is important. I always think about Pat Summit and how much respect she brought to UT and basketball in general. I know she was a winner but she also ran a program that graduated students and developed girls into mature confident women. I want to see the football program to have that same respect and so far it appears that Heupel is doing a pretty good job.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stewart6600, volfan102455 and stonesk
#69
#69
LWSVOL said:
they fired a coach that won a NC and had a 152-52 record. So yes, they would fire a coach like that.
Click to expand...
One of the criticism of Fulmer was he would often have top 5 recruiting class but it didn't translate into a Natty except in 98. Same thing happened to Fisher. I remember many fans upset with Fulmer with a 10-2 record
 
#70
#70
Volfan8282 said:
Had no faith that he would ever compete with Saban or Meyer. Letting him go wasn’t the mistake. Unfortunate events and bad hires were the undoing.
Click to expand...

wasn't my point. but maybe he would have done better than the 46-74 SEC record the others had.
 
#71
#71
volfeeva said:
One of the criticism of Fulmer was he would often have top 5 recruiting class but it didn't translate into a Natty except in 98. Same thing happened to Fisher. I remember many fans upset with Fulmer with a 10-2 record
Click to expand...

how many Nattys has Tennessee had in the last 81 years? I've always wondered why people expected more. Not the history for Tennessee as their Natty's have really been spaced out since Neyland. Well. we've had one.

When do you expect the next one?
 
  • Like
Reactions: volfan102455 and Mtnvol80
#73
#73
volfan102455 said:
And I think we will be a staple in the 12-team playoff. The bar right now is to be in the SEC title game with a chance at being one of the four. With a 12-team playoff, the bar drops.
Click to expand...
Given this is the last year of the 4-team playoff, that’s not going to happen.
 
#74
#74
volfeeva said:
One of the criticism of Fulmer was he would often have top 5 recruiting class but it didn't translate into a Natty except in 98. Same thing happened to Fisher. I remember many fans upset with Fulmer with a 10-2 record
Click to expand...

Winning a National Championship is a double edge sword. When a team wins one, there is part of the fan base that then expects it to happen year after year or every few years. When it doesn't happen, they go to the 'fire the coach' mentality and start a cycle of trying to find that coach that will take them back to that point. UGA right now is on the top, but at some point, the championships will stop, and the natives will grow restless and then UGA will go through the same cycle that other schools who have been there are going through (and I hope it starts this coming Saturday at Neyland). Bama went through the cycle when Bryant left until Saban. There are on the verge of starting the cycle again.

If you look at the SEC - Tennessee is still second with 6. UGA is sitting at 4.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top