Knife to a gunfight......

[Mallicoat]

Give the guy a change. My god guys. I like you love my tennessee vols. We must stand behind our coach until he proves us wrong.

 

[tnlacombe]

Gruden is 0-0 as a college coach. There were no guarantees. I never understood the Gruden or bust mentality. Recruiting edge, likely, coaching edge who knows.

I agree, our fan base was so intent on getting Gruden that it wouldn't have mattered if we hired Jesus Christ some of them was not going to be satisfied

 

[bigorange#1]

Anyone that puts Les Miles above Steve Spurrier on coaching tiers shouldn't be taken seriously.

Amen to that....miles is not on the 1st or 2nd tier....he just happens to be the coach @ a place that has alot of talent and so much talent it's hard to screw it up!

 

[governmentmule]

I'd rather look at it as taking a baseball bat to a knife fight,one good swing is all you need

 

[Orange Blazer]

.

 

[WhiteRhino]

Yep, we did it again. Brought a butter knife to the SEC gunfight.

1st Tier Nick Saban, Les Miles

2nd Tier Steve Spurrier, Mark Richt

3rd Tier Kevin Sumlin, Will Muschamp,
Bret Bielema

4th Tier Gary Pinkel, Dan Mullen, James Franklin,
Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn,
Butch Jones, Mark Stoops

None of the fourth tier coaches will ever compete for the SEC title. And that's just the way it is. Obviously the program itself (not just the HC running it) has a lot to do with it, but UT cemented it's place for years to come. Sad, but true.

WEEEE another MENSA candidate shows his incredulous knowledge of all things football!!1 We are truly blessed!

 

[Vols5150]

I will concede that SOS should not be on a lower tier. Point taken.

 

[chef3531]

Yep, we did it again. Brought a butter knife to the SEC gunfight.

1st Tier Nick Saban, Les Miles

2nd Tier Steve Spurrier, Mark Richt

3rd Tier Kevin Sumlin, Will Muschamp,
Bret Bielema

4th Tier Gary Pinkel, Dan Mullen, James Franklin,
Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn,
Butch Jones, Mark Stoops

None of the fourth tier coaches will ever compete for the SEC title. And that's just the way it is. Obviously the program itself (not just the HC running it) has a lot to do with it, but UT cemented it's place for years to come. Sad, but true.

You lost me when you put Bret Bielema above ANY of the "4th Tier" coaches in your little list. Mark Richt? Good winning percentage, but the man wastes more talent than Fulmer did at the end of his tenure here. Bielema was 23-1 against the Big Ten doormats, and sub 500 against everyone else. Coach Jones has been a winner everywhere he's been, I don't see him being 4th tier in ANY conference.

 

[VOLup2uous]

I thought the same thing when the Bucs hired Greg Schiano and I think so far he's doing a great job.. I say once again let's give him a chance.. I also wanted Gruden but he hasn't proven anything in the SEC... Go Vols and Welcome to you Coach Butch!!!

 

[petebee50]

I heard Bama was looking for new fans....

Bama will take anybody. The only team with lower academic standards is ole miss. So these negavols will fit in just fine.

 

[volswillrise12]

I love it when the fanbase makes judgements based on neither factual or real evidence can the guy coach one f****** game first? Urban Meyer and Nick Saban didn't come in an SEC environment first----they were in the Mountain West and Big 10. Brian Kelly and Kevin Sumlin weren't in big conferences either. The sense of entitlement is just amazing.

 

[Remy]

Well if Butch is a knife and we're in battle together, then we'll just have to get to whittlin' extra fast. I build my teammates up not knock 'em down. Take us to the promised land Butch!

 

[volbrawler]

Nick Saban was 43-26-1 before he came to the SEC.. or was where he was at perfectly acceptable to have a winning record. Good coaches have good records outside of the SEC all the time, and they can translate that to the SEC.

 

[TD10EYEC]

Support our coach or GTFO. Saban nor Miles coached in the SEC before they came here.

No one has to support the coach just because he's the coach now. IMO , they could have walked out some fool in the smokey mascot uniform and said here's our new coach and you "sheep" would still be right there drooling at the mouth saying the same things you said when dooley was hired.. Your the same people that buy everything the Gov sells you and reelect a no good pres. Some people are so blind and foolish it truly scares me.. side note , he's not saban or miles! Oh , look they have 1 thing in common.... He must be awesome too! My god....smdh!

 

[rclaytons13]

No one has to support the coach just because he's the coach now. IMO , they could have walked out some fool in the smokey mascot uniform and said here's our new coach and you "sheep" would still be right there drooling at the mouth saying the same things you said when dooley was hired.. Your the same people that buy everything the Gov sells you and reelect a no good pres. Some people are so blind and foolish it truly scares me.. side note , he's not saban or miles! Oh , look they have 1 thing in common.... He must be awesome too! My god....smdh!

You do realize Saban was not always Saban right. I mean I keep hearing people say "He's No Les Miles, Hes No Nick Saban", he hasnt had the chance to be them yet!! Hes had a winning record where ever hes been. Tennessee fans need to wake up and realize the level of irrelevence we have been at over the last 10 years. We do have Tradition and great history but were not Alabama, were not Notre Dame, hell were not even Michigan. And just because we think Tennessee is the Mecca of all college athletics, its really not in terms of some of the other GREAT programs. And Even those programs Ive mentioned have taken thier turns being irrelevent. With that being said I think we made a good, solid hire, And No I didnt say that when Dooley was hired. (Deff didnt say that when the President was hired). Just though id find Mr Sabans record for you if you havent seen it anywhere. And by the way he didnt start out winning National Championship, heck he barely made bowls!

Year School G W L

1990 Toledo 11 9 2
1995 Michigan State 12 6 5 Independence Bowl-L
1996 Michigan State 12 6 6 Sun Bowl-L
1997 Michigan State 12 7 5 Aloha Bowl-L
1998 Michigan State 12 6 6
1999 Michigan State 11 9 2
2000 Louisiana State 12 8 4 Peach Bowl-W
2001 Louisiana State 13 10 3 Sugar Bowl-W
2002 Louisiana State 13 8 5 Cotton Bowl-L
2003 Louisiana State 14 13 1 Sugar Bowl-W
2004 Louisiana State 12 9 3 Capital One Bowl-L
2007 Alabama 13 7 6 Independence Bowl-W
2008 Alabama 14 12 2 Sugar Bowl-L
2009 Alabama 14 14 0 BCS Championship-W
2010 Alabama 13 10 3 Capital One Bowl-W
2011 Alabama 13 12 1 BCS Championship-W
2012 Alabama 13 12 1
Overall 214 158 55 1 .741 12.93 3.81 W-L-T adjusted to 153-55-1 by NCAA (more)
Toledo 11 9 2
Michigan State 59 34 24
Louisiana State 64 48 16
Alabama

 

[straferockefeller]

The saddest part of this hire for me is that ARKANSAS has managed to hire considerably bigger names for their last two coaches than UT. Why? Arkansas gets Petrino / Tennessee gets Dooley...Arkansas gets Bielema / Tennessee gets Jones. Either Tennessee, for some reason, is less attractive to potential coaches than Arkansas, who faces LSU and Alabama...OR, the hiring efforts of UT have been deficient. For clarity, I'm not suggesting Bielema is a home run hire, but he is undeniably more highly regarded than Jones. From my perspective, it appears as though Arkansas' AD has simply been more determined. Why?

 

[tastycar]

Support our coach or GTFO. Saban nor Miles coached in the SEC before they came here.

Idiot...now you gtfo

 

[sjt18]

Yep, we did it again. Brought a butter knife to the SEC gunfight.

1st Tier Nick Saban, Les Miles

2nd Tier Steve Spurrier, Mark Richt

3rd Tier Kevin Sumlin, Will Muschamp,
Bret Bielema

4th Tier Gary Pinkel, Dan Mullen, James Franklin,
Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn,
Butch Jones, Mark Stoops

None of the fourth tier coaches will ever compete for the SEC title. And that's just the way it is. Obviously the program itself (not just the HC running it) has a lot to do with it, but UT cemented it's place for years to come. Sad, but true.

I got an idea.... why don't we let him coach a couple of SEC games before classifying him.

The "sad but true" thing is fans with your defeatist attitude do not deserve a winning program. Why not just shut up and let the guy work? If he fails then maybe UT will find someone in 2 or 3 years that you think of as upper tier.

BTW, what would you think of a coach who was 28-21 in the Big 12 having never finished higher than third in his division? Or maybe what would you think of a coach who had 4 consecutive seasons in the Big 10 with at least 5 losses having finished no higher than 5th?

You wouldn't want either coach, right?


YOU just rejected Les Miles and Nick Saban.

 

[Herman Hickman]

Yep, we did it again. Brought a butter knife to the SEC gunfight.

1st Tier Nick Saban, Les Miles

2nd Tier Steve Spurrier, Mark Richt

3rd Tier Kevin Sumlin, Will Muschamp,
Bret Bielema

4th Tier Gary Pinkel, Dan Mullen, James Franklin,
Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn,
Butch Jones, Mark Stoops

None of the fourth tier coaches will ever compete for the SEC title. And that's just the way it is. Obviously the program itself (not just the HC running it) has a lot to do with it, but UT cemented it's place for years to come. Sad, but true.

Neither man in your first tier was considered first tier when they initially entered the SEC.

My fear isn't Butch Jones. With 1990s-level support, he would survive and thrive.

I don't know that he's going to get that from Chancellor Smails.

 

[sjt18]

Either Tennessee, for some reason, is less attractive to potential coaches than Arkansas, who faces LSU and Alabama...OR, the hiring efforts of UT have been deficient. For clarity, I'm not suggesting Bielema is a home run hire, but he is undeniably more highly regarded than Jones. From my perspective, it appears as though Arkansas' AD has simply been more determined. Why?

From my perspective.... Arkansas fans don't turn their back on their team when things go poorly. They don't start condemning a coach after their first year when they took over a train wreck.

Bielema looks like a good hire for them. I am surprised they got him away from Wisconsin. I don't know if Jones is a good hire or not. He's got a pretty good resume. Of course, I am not one of the fools acting as if I KNOW what he will do at UT.

 

[tm3]

This is pretty much where I stand today. Over the past 10 years I've invested thousands of dollars, and countless hours attending games, and all the other trappings that go with following and supporting a college football team. I'm pretty much at a crossroads wondering why I continue to care SO much and spend so much of my money when it's become readily apparent that the people who are actually in a position to guide this program don't give a rats ass whether this team wins or loses.

If the line has been drawn in the sand by the administration that UT is going to go after the academic goals that Cheek has put forth, athletics be damned, that's fine. I can't really argue with that because at the end of the day UT is an ACADEMIC institution. However, come off this nonsense of charging exorbitant prices for a s*** product. If the decision has been made that we are going to be a 21st century Vanderbilt, where academics is everything and athletics are a distant, distant, distant second, at least have the decency to be upfront with your fanbase. The way this coaching search played out it's starting to look like they don't even work too hard to mask the fact that they aren't even willing to try anymore.

I am here to give you a big amen, bro.

I tried to be optimistic about the hire of our ex coach while you pointed out the reality of his suckitude, and I have to admit that you were right.

This hire of our future ex coach speaks volumes and all I can do is vote with my wallet, which starts for 2013.

 

[straferockefeller]

So, are you suggesting that the reason that bigger name coaches have been hired at Arkansas is because of fan loyalty...if so, it's a decent answer, but I don't think it is as significant as the hiring efforts themselves. I've been to Fayatteville. No one wants to be there! How are they out-hiring UT???

 

[vol_in_ar]

From my perspective.... Arkansas fans don't turn their back on their team when things go poorly. They don't start condemning a coach after their first year when they took over a train wreck.

Bielema looks like a good hire for them. I am surprised they got him away from Wisconsin. I don't know if Jones is a good hire or not. He's got a pretty good resume. Of course, I am not one of the fools acting as if I KNOW what he will do at UT.

are you kidding me, Arkansas fans used the FOIA to get cell phone records for a coach, to try and prove an affair, and also flew a plane over the stadium dragging a banner saying Fire Nutt

 

[Herman Hickman]

are you kidding me, Arkansas fans used the FOIA to get cell phone records for a coach, to try and prove an affair, and also flew a plane over the stadium dragging a banner saying Fire Nutt

The affair was secondary. The main reason for the FOIA were the actions of a Nutt-hugger named Theresa Prewitt, whom Nutt used to harass and threaten Mitch Mustain and his family.

Prewitt did this from her state office while on the clock, in violation of Arkansas law.

Nutt was offended by some remarks Mustain made about him in a book about the Springdale football team. Even though Mustain ended up committing to Arkansas, Nutt engaged in a vendetta against this player, encouraged the seniors to get in on the act, and punished anyone else associated with Springdale on his team (Malzahn, Cleveland, and Williams).

Arkansas fans had good reason to despise Nutt. And like our situation with Dooley, there were always people around defending every move he made until it became obvious he wasn't going to be around much longer.

 

[mpfvol]

Butch has won more games with less talent lets see what he can do at UT with top 20 talent or better before we judge him GBO!