Perspective: UT is tied with Vandy as the worst SEC team since 2005.

[Aesius]

Since 2005, UT has had 3 winning seasons (2006, 2007, 2009). Every other SEC program except Vanderbilt has had at least 4 since then.

Granted, we never had 2-10 seasons like MSU, OM, Vandy, or UK, but is there really a difference between 5-7 and 2-10?

Winning seasons for each SEC team since 2005 (with losing seasons in parentheses):

1. LSU: 9
2. Alabama: 8 (2006, not counting DQs due to sanctions)
3. Florida: 8 (2013)
4. Georgia: 8 (2010)
5. South Carolina: 8 (2006, went 6-6 but weren't selected for a bowl game)
6. Missouri: 8 (2012)
7. Auburn: 7 (2008, 2012)
8. Texas A&M: 6 (2005, 2008, 2009)
9. Mississippi State: 6 (2006, 2008, 2009)
10. Arkansas: 5 (2005, 2008, 2012, 2013)
11. Ole Miss: 4 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011)
12. Kentucky: 4 (2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
13. Vanderbilt: 3 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)
14. Tennessee: 3 (2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)

Some of those losing seasons for SEC teams also include 6-7 seasons with bowl losses. If you include those, as making a bowl game is an accomplishment and losing it rarely matters in the long run, TN sits alone at 3 "winning" seasons, while almost every other program below 5 moves up by one.

It's time to accept the reality that this program is, and was for nearly a decade now, an SEC cellar dweller. It's hard for me to accept it, but it's a fact.

The good news is that Butch Jones is a capable coach who is recruiting his ass off to get us out of this mess. The fact that some are calling for his head, or the heads of his assistants, when our program is an absolute DUMPSTER FIRE, is ludicrous.

We can't afford to fire anyone...monetarily or consistency wise. Butch Jones and Dave Hart would be wise to give this entire staff 4-5 years to get the wheels rolling again before even considering axing anyone.

 

[HvilleCommando]

More proof that teams with recruiting success and coaching stability win big..

We've had mediocre recruiting and by far the worse coaching stability of them all... Therefore we sit at the bottom.

 

[GoBigOrange86]

Well, this post is a real pick-me-up.

 

[Aesius]

Well, this post is a real pick-me-up.

Ha!

The idea struck me after seeing MSU beat Ole Miss. I know MSU has had some decent success under Mullen, so I was curious about their record since our true downfall began.

What I found was shocking, although not unexpected.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Yes, there is a big difference between 2-10 and 5-7. If you calculate winning percentage for this period (see I-A Winning Percentage 2005-2012), we still don't have much to brag about, but at least we're 63rd nationally, whereas Mississippi State, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Vandy are 72nd, 75th, 86th and 91st, respectively.

On the other hand, I completely agree with respect to giving Butch 4-5 years to right the ship. His situation is quite comparable to what Johnny Majors inherited when he came home and his record for his first four years was 21-23-1 (Johnny Majors Coaching Record | College Football at Sports-Reference.com). Because of its tradition, Tennessee is not a terribly difficult program to maintain but, because of its historically weak instate recruiting base, it is a difficult program to rebuild.

 

[Aesius]

Yes, there is a big difference between 2-10 and 5-7. If you calculate winning percentage for this period (see I-A Winning Percentage 2005-2012), we still don't have much to brag about, but at least we're 63rd nationally, whereas Mississippi State, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Vandy are 72nd, 75th, 86th and 91st, respectively.

Do you feel better about a 5-7 season over a 2-10 season? Do recruits look more favorably on teams that are 5-7?

I would rather have gone 0-36 during Dooley's tenure and have a bowl game lined up right now than have the "almost acceptable" losing records he posted each year and be sitting at home in December again.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

I can't speak for recruits' perception but 5-7 falls squarely within the realm of mediocrity; 2-10 or 1-11 will get you ranked in the "armpit of college football," territory inhabited for decades by the likes of Kansas State, Northwestern and Vanderbilt. I am not happy about 5-7 seasons either, but at least we are still tied with Ohio State as the only teams to never lose eight games in a single season. And I dare say that our schedule has typically been tougher than Ohio State's. Even Florida had an 0-10-1 campaign (1979) and Alabama went 0-10-0 in 1955, scoring only 48 points all season. We have had a very rough stretch of years recently but things can always get worse. Sometimes they can get a lot worse.

Please note that I am in complete agreement with you regarding the timeframe that Butch should be allowed. Firing a coach in knee-jerk fashion every three years is the surest way to sentence our program to wandering in the "wilderness" of college football.

Incidentally, a 36-game losing streak would set a new NCAA record for that category, eclipsing Northwestern's 34-game streak from 1979-1982. That is not a category for which I want to see Tennessee listed in the NCAA record book.

 

[CWGvol]

Sucks but it happens.... If it makes you feel better, had you done this in 2007 or 08. It would show bamer as one of the worst teams. For the elite, it's just a matter of getting the right people in place, and we are elite.

 

[f77f00]

It is hard to see UT as a bottom tier SEC program, but that is what have become. We have the facilities, the tradition, the crazy fan base, and a long history of being a winning program but this slide towards irrelevancy in the SEC is going to be hard to pull out of.

Jones and crew better start turning this around and in a hurry. Those stats make me sick honestly.

 

[General Jack]

This thread makes me want to vomit.

Because of the truth within it.

 

[Vol_Maul]

It is hard to see UT as a bottom tier SEC program, but that is what have become. We have the facilities, the tradition, the crazy fan base, and a long history of being a winning program but this slide towards irrelevancy in the SEC is going to be hard to pull out of.

Jones and crew better start turning this around and in a hurry. Those stats make me sick honestly.

Almost an entire decade of garbage could prove quite damaging in the ESPN era. UT hasn't been remotely good since 2006 and 2007 (Thank you, David Cutcliffe!), and hasn't been a true contender since a few months after 9/11. Alabama went through something similar, but they mostly did theirs during what amounts to a different era and had the Saban media bump to pull them up to the top almost immediately.

 

[FLVOL_79]

Kinda makes firing Fulmer look stupid..

 

[governmentmule]

2006 Season
Record: 9-4 Fulmer

2007 Season
Record: 10-4 SEC Championship Game Fulmer

2009 Season
Record: 7-6 Kiffen

it does kinda of look dumb now

 

[Cartervol]

Worst leadership in the SEC. Goes hand in hand.

 

[General Jack]

Kinda makes firing Fulmer look stupid..

Kind of makes you wish Fulmer hadn't gotten lazy and complacent.

 

[VolFootballlover]

When Vandy Hires a good game changing Coach,with a tiny Stadium,Tiny facility's and a 3rd of UT's Football recruiting budget and turns that program around . It makes you wanta puke that we settle for the 5th,6th best Coach at UT. Franklin would have Tennessee Bowling every year! And I hate him!

 

[volfan411]

When Vandy Hires a good game changing Coach,with a tiny Stadium,Tiny facility's and a 3rd of UT's Football recruiting budget and turns that program around . It makes you wanta puke that we settle for the 5th,6th best Coach at UT. Franklin would have Tennessee Bowling every year! And I hate him!

I cannot stand him either but he is exactly the type of coach a program that is rebuilding needs. He is high energy and really gets the most out of his roster.

 

[KBVol]

More proof that teams with recruiting success and coaching stability win big..

We've had mediocre recruiting and by far the worse coaching stability of them all... Therefore we sit at the bottom.

Recruiting? Haven't you seen the thread where about half the guys in there say that recruiting really doesn't matter much, only taking your 2 and 3 star players and coaching em up? Evidently, you can just scoop up some frat kids from intramurals and win 8-9 if you can "coach em up".

Hell, there's even a guy that swears, over and over and over again, that we're more talented than every other team in the SEC, except for maybe, maybe I tell ya, Alabama and perhaps LSU. But Florida, SCar, Georgia, Mizzou, Auburn, certainly Vandy.... not even close. Heck, throw in Oregon while you're at it.

On a serious note, you're absolutely right. This program needs not good, but great recruiting classes and coaching stability by a staff that can develop players to get this train back on track. UT should err on giving Jones and staff more time, not less.

 

[Volnut]

And what is even more depressing is that we cannot turn to BB for some consolation (See losing to UTEP last night)!!

 

[FLVOL_79]

Kind of makes you wish Fulmer hadn't gotten lazy and complacent.

Makes me wish he hired an O coordinator that came from a school with lower academic standards thus being able to easily coach SEC smart players..

 

[FLVOL_79]

Recruiting? Haven't you seen the thread where about half the guys in there say that recruiting really doesn't matter much, only taking your 2 and 3 star players and coaching em up? Evidently, you can just scoop up some frat kids from intramurals and win 8-9 if you can "coach em up".

Hell, there's even a guy that swears, over and over and over again, that we're more talented than every other team in the SEC, except for maybe, maybe I tell ya, Alabama and perhaps LSU. But Florida, SCar, Georgia, Mizzou, Auburn, certainly Vandy.... not even close. Heck, throw in Oregon while you're at it.

On a serious note, you're absolutely right. This program needs not good, but great recruiting classes and coaching stability by a staff that can develop players to get this train back on track. UT should err on giving Jones and staff more time, not less.

Wouldn't work. Frat kids would be obsessed with playing QB under center..

 

[butchball13]

Truth punch.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

Why is 2005 the cutoff point? Why not measure all the SEC games played? Why start @ a time that paints us in a negative light? Felt the need to make people feel as bad as you do OP? Just curious...

 

[tm3]

Worst leadership in the SEC. Goes hand in hand.

This is the root cause.

And UT is not going to sniff the upper tier again until it changes.

 

[Aesius]

Why is 2005 the cutoff point? Why not measure all the SEC games played? Why start @ a time that paints us in a negative light? Felt the need to make people feel as bad as you do OP? Just curious...

Because I think 2005 is when the true decline began. And I was there to witness it -- the loss to Vandy. At the time, I was a casual UT fan, so the loss didn't hit me as hard, but I knew something wasn't right.

2005 is also around the time that the SEC began its rise to dominance. Almost every program has improved since then (MSU, OM, USC, Vandy, Bama), or at least maintained its position as a contender.

Only UK and UT have actually gotten worse since 2005.

My point of this thread wasn't to make people feel bad. It's just a reality check as to where we stand. Consistency is the key for the program for the next few years. Once that has been achieved (and I believe that this staff is fully capable of at least taking us bowling every year once they get their players), we can start talking about hiring different coordinators.