In this edition of The Rearview, we really do take a look back……with all the talk about what should/would/could be expected of Lane Kiffin and Co.’s 1st year at Tennessee, I thought I would take a look back at some notable 1st years with some of college football’s more well known coaches and programs. Not that I think the results will be exactly similar to each one, but, I do think it prudent to look at some other 1st years at least in an effort to show that it did turn out OK for all involved in the end.
We’ll start with Nick Saban. At LSU, his first year resulted in an 8-4 season, with a win in the Peach Bowl. This season wound up being pretty good, but did have a bit of a roller coaster feel to it as LSU got blasted by Auburn and Florida, and lost to UAB as well. The next year they went 10-3 and two years later they won a National Title. And since St. Nick has started his 2nd stint in the SEC, his first year at Bama noted 6 wins, 6 losses, including a loss to the University of Louisiana-Monroe. How often do you think Alabama has lost to a team with a hyphen in the name? In year two, he had the Tide ranked #1 for a large part of the year, playing for an SEC title and in the Sugar Bowl. So in two 1st years at SEC schools, St. Nick has gone 14-10.
Urban Meyer’s 1st year at Florida wound up 9-3 with a win in the Outback Bowl. One of the better 1st years out there, he inherited a pretty talented offense with the likes of Chris Leak and Dallas Baker. They did lose to a Steve Spurrier led South Carolina, which ironically kept Florida out of the SEC title game that year. But the season had to be considered a resounding success as Florida did defeat Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State. They’ve won 2 SEC and National Titles since then.
Mark Richt’s 1st season at UGA wound up 8-4, but was notable because they beat Tennessee in the “hob nailed boot” game. They also beat Ga Tech for the first time in 4 years. They lost the Music City bowl that year, and went on to win the SEC the next year, and win a Sugar Bowl.
Steve Spurrier went a remarkable 9-2 in his first year at FL, and would have won the SEC except for those ineligible players….(cheating went on at Florida? Who knew?). We all know how Spurrier’s tenure at Florida wound up. 6 SEC titles, a Heisman Trophy winner and a National Title. At South Carolina, he went a modest 7-5 in his first year, but for a program like that, success is success.
Mack Brown went 9-3 with a win in the Cotton Bowl in his 1st year at Texas, and until this past decade championships had eluded him. Yet, each year, Mack has put 9 and 10 win teams on the field, capturing a national title in 2005. Mack’s biggest problem though, was……
Bob Stoops. He went 7-5 in his first year at Oklahoma, won a national title in his 2nd. They’ve played for 3 more national titles and won the Big 12 6 times, and played in 7 BCS games all totaled up. Pretty good.
Pete Carroll went 6-6 in his 1st season at USC, and lost the Las Vegas bowl. A fairly inauspicious start to what would soon turn out 3 Heisman Trophy winners, 7 straight Pac 10 titles and back to back National Championships.
Jim Tressel went 7-5 in his 1st year at Ohio State. Then went on to win 5 Big 10 Titles, a National Title, play for 2 more national titles and play in 6 total BCS Bowls. And more important that all of that, he’s owned Michigan while in Columbus.
So, what you have is a mixed bag. Some started off great. Some not so great. But for each one they made their mark with what they did over time. I don’t think anyone would really argue that these guys are not at least good, if not great, coaches. Their results speak for themselves, even if in year one, it left some scratching their heads.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I think if given some time, Kiffin and this staff will bring in recruits that will help Tennessee get back to competing at the top levels of the SEC again.
I just don’t think 2009 is the stick we should be using to do the measuring.
That said, I don’t think it unreasonable for us not to win 8 games this year. One thing that’s not shown on the list above is a guy that had a losing season. There are no Gerry Dinardo’s or Brad Scott’s or Mike Dubose’s for a reason.
So, as the off season continues and we wind it down to the Orange and White game, let’s just keep it in perspective. In the SEC, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Go Vols.