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How does a place like Tennessee fall this far?
Posted on 9/4/19 at 11:57 am
Posted on 9/4/19 at 11:57 am
Almost all the SEC schools have enough athletic pedigree to claim, if not "elite", then at least "well above average" status.
Almost all have resources well above average.
How does a place like Tennessee, a program historically above average in an above average conference, reach a point where the ineptitude on the field is matched only by the dysfunction off it?
How do you not just reach a point of cleaning house, but instead continue to put faith in icons of the past? No matter how good that 1998 Natty looks on the shelf, the Fulmer Mafia just seems like a cancer.
Side note: I got curious enough to look up when each school in the SEC had a sustained bad spell. One losing season happens all the time. Back to back losing seasons is a different thing.
The last time each school posted a second losing season in a row:
Alabama: 1957
Arkansas : 2018
Auburn: 1999
Florida: 1979
Georgia: 1963
Kentucky: 2015
LSU: 1999
Miss. St.: 2009
Missouri: 2016
Ole Miss: 2011
S. Car.: 2016
Tennessee: 2018
Texas A&M: 2009
Vanderbilt: 2018
Almost all have resources well above average.
How does a place like Tennessee, a program historically above average in an above average conference, reach a point where the ineptitude on the field is matched only by the dysfunction off it?
How do you not just reach a point of cleaning house, but instead continue to put faith in icons of the past? No matter how good that 1998 Natty looks on the shelf, the Fulmer Mafia just seems like a cancer.
Side note: I got curious enough to look up when each school in the SEC had a sustained bad spell. One losing season happens all the time. Back to back losing seasons is a different thing.
The last time each school posted a second losing season in a row:
Alabama: 1957
Arkansas : 2018
Auburn: 1999
Florida: 1979
Georgia: 1963
Kentucky: 2015
LSU: 1999
Miss. St.: 2009
Missouri: 2016
Ole Miss: 2011
S. Car.: 2016
Tennessee: 2018
Texas A&M: 2009
Vanderbilt: 2018
This post was edited on 9/4/19 at 12:06 pm
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Posted on 9/4/19 at 11:59 am to Ag Zwin
It’s hard to beat out power houses like vanderbilt and memphis for instate kids
ETA: forgot about MTSU!!
ETA: forgot about MTSU!!
This post was edited on 9/4/19 at 12:01 pm
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:01 pm to Ag Zwin
By letting boosters too close to the program. Kind of similar to the way TAMU has for years.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:03 pm to Ag Zwin
quote:LINK
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The Tennessee Athletic Department reported a budget deficit of nearly $6.5 million for the 2018 fiscal year, thanks partly to hefty buyouts for former football coach Butch Jones and athletic director John Currie.
The school reported revenues of $143.55 million and expenses of just over $150 million for the period stretching from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018. The information was obtained through a public records request and first reported by the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:03 pm to MaroonNation
quote:
By letting boosters too close to the program. Kind of similar to the way TAMU has for years.
I think this is it. Their HBC searches should be a reality TV show. They are in a very tough spot right now.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:04 pm to Ag Zwin
Tennessee shouldn’t be dropping games to Georgia Southern but it’s hard to see them becoming a national player in today’s landscape. They are surrounded by Alabama, Georgia and Clemson all thriving. Auburn isn’t at that level but they also recruit that area with success. Tennessee won’t be real good again until at least 2 of those other programs take a significant step back. That doesn’t look likely anytime soon.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:04 pm to Ag Zwin
quote:
The last time each school posted a second losing season in a row:
You're only being accurate if you consider a losing regular season regarding A&M.
We went 4-8 in 2008 and 6-7 in 2009.
As far as the original question, if you have a toxic booster & AD climate, you'd better have a superstar coach or it gets REALLY bad. Case in point, A&M during academic year 2004:
Football: 4-8, including 77-0. None of the losses were close and it could have easily been 3-9 or worse. (Blew a 21-0 lead vs. Utah and won 28-26 when a 2 point conversion failed). It was so bad that the 12th Man was starting at Middle Linebacker.
Basketball: Melvin Watkins Minimum Opus, 7-24 overall (0-17 in conference)
This post was edited on 9/4/19 at 12:07 pm
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:05 pm to TT9
So you're saying Georgia States gonna have to break a few legs to get paid.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:05 pm to CGSC Lobotomy
quote:
You're only being accurate if you consider a losing regular season regarding A&M.
We went 4-8 in 2008 and 6-7 in 2009.
Missed that. Corrected.
MaroonNation is right, though. Our BMA's had definitely gotten too entrenched by the time we reached the Fran-Sherm years. Kind of like when Bear had to come in a clean house in the 50's.
On the other hand, these are the guys who bought us Jimbo. Double-edged sword, I guess.
This post was edited on 9/4/19 at 12:09 pm
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:06 pm to CGSC Lobotomy
Thank you for your honesty
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:06 pm to LouisvilleKat
quote:pretty much.
So you're saying Georgia States gonna have to break a few legs to get paid.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:09 pm to Ag Zwin
We have done this thread each day now since Saturday.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:12 pm to Hailstate15
quote:
Thank you for your honesty
There's no way to spin how bad it was.
We went from a glorified bean counter who didn't care about the results on the field as long as the games were sold out and neglected basketball completely (Wally Groff) to an individual who brought up every sport except football at the expense of football and preferred games not be televised to "force" more attendance (Bill Byrne) to a complete idiot who campaigned against his employer when on the baseball selection committee, bought an invitation to the CBI to "manage expectations" in basketball and blamed everyone else but himself for Sumlin's extension after the fact (Eric Hyman) to probably the best AD in the SEC (Scott Woodward).
Bjork's impact remains to be seen.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:17 pm to Ag Zwin
Let's be honest here. Were they ever elite? They have two AP titles and only two SEC championships since SEC expansion. Elite programs don't take decades off. Their metrics of being a "blue blood" come from the period where black people couldn't play. They weren't the best SEC team in the 80s or 90s either. Maybe they are close to their natural baseline.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:25 pm to CGSC Lobotomy
quote:
Bjork's impact remains to be seen.
Not at Ole Miss.
I still can't believe you guys hired him.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:27 pm to Ag Zwin
I think they should hire Les Miles. He could turn around that program. Probably wont win anything, but they need a complete change of culture.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:37 pm to WorkinDawg
quote:
Not at Ole Miss.
I still can't believe you guys hired him.
Shrimp Boat flamed out at Ole Miss.
Maybe it's less the people that came from there, and more the "there".
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:38 pm to Ag Zwin
Too many hands in the pot.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:39 pm to Ag Zwin
God is punishing East Tennesseans for turning their back on him and instead relying on OxyContin and Methamphetamine.
Posted on 9/4/19 at 12:43 pm to Ag Zwin
Ole Miss is guilty of the same thing. That why they still vilify David Cutcliff to this day. He told all these frickers wanting to buy influence to go pound sand and stop trying to assist him in recruiting
Unfortunately for Aggie, Bjork cranked it up to levels never seen before.
Unfortunately for Aggie, Bjork cranked it up to levels never seen before.
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