re: Is it reasonable to expect Tennessee football to turn around?

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Interesting

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Very. Auburn also has 7

Do this for an even timespan. Say.........beginning of SEC integration, 1967. It's an even 50 years.

Tennessee has the same problem as Mizzou, bad in-state talent. Actually, Tennessee is worse than Missouri most years in that department. It's hard to make a consistent living on out-of-state talent, especially when the states you are trying to recruit against have top notch programs.

Throwing money and coaches at the problem really hasn't done anything, either.

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Tennessee has the same problem as Mizzou, bad in-state talent. Actually, Tennessee is worse than Missouri most years in that department

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Lol what? Tennessee produces considerably more talent than Missouri and VOLS actually sign a big chunk of them unlike yins.

Can Georgia turn it around? You lost to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt last year.

UT had as AD’s Coach Woodruff ( 1963 to 1985) Coach Dickey (1985 to 2002)

Both coached at Florida.

Note that recurring word – Coach.

In 2003, UT promoted from within and hired Mike Hamilton as AD. . Mike Hamilton was once "National Association of Athletic Development Directors Fundraiser of the Year." He didn’t have a fricking clue about running an athletic department. He wasn't happy with Coach Fulmer.

Seeing and hiring bright shiny thing Lane Kiffin, he failed to see a host of clues that should have been very important.

Kiffin had been 'all up in' the Reggie Bush scandal, which was about to burst onto the scene. It was at that exact time also bruited about that Peter Carroll would be jumping ship to the NFL. This should have said to even a mediocre AD -- "If I hire Kiffin, I better include a really big buy out clause lest he jump back to dream job and program at USC." Kiffin had been there something like 5 years. And nice as Knoxville is, it is no L.A.

Instead, our cracker jack fund raiser approved a buy out of only $800K. The stars aligned for Kiffin and against UT. Kiffin did in fact leave K-town on a day's notice. Some third party paid the $800K.

After a flurry of activity best left unrelated, our cracker jack Fund Raiser AD enticed the always perfectly coiffed Derek Dooley to UT. Dooley suffered through the predictable 3 year tenure of the unqualified blowhard and left - with UT buying HIM out. BUT - Hamilton learned his lesson! Dooley had a huge buy out, in the neighborhood of $4,000,000.

Yep, UT just recently finished up paying the last monthly payment to Dooley of, as I recall $108,000/month for 4 years.

That is why UT hiring Hamiton's former protégé Currie – also a great fund raiser – is so disturbing.





UT was the 7th program to win 700 games. It remains in the top 10 or 12 in all time victories. One of the secrets of that is that UT has not failed to win at least 4 games a year since 1924, where Bammer, UF, Auburn all have at least one season with no victories at all. Along with the forfeits, vacated wins and so forth. I don't believe UT has ever been on more than probation.

I would argue that since 2003, the UT administration hasn’t really cared much about winning athletics. And the administration could GAF less about the Vol Nation. I think they are like a lot of baseball team owners -- they can scrimp on getting the best players and still make lots of money.

I just bet the UTAD wine and cheese parties are really awesome.

ETA:

"On June 7, 2011, Mike Hamilton resigned from his position as the athletic director at the University of Tennessee following months of pressure stemming from numerous issues including sanctions levied against the Tennessee basketball program and numerous head coaching changes in the school's major sports. Hamilton's poor leadership, arrogance, and financial mismanagement are viewed by many as the main reason the Vols football program hit an all-time low during his tenure, from which it has not recovered. Hamilton's duties as an AD were tested when he decided to fire longtime Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer. Fulmer was one of Tennessee's winningest head coaches at the time of his dismissal and although many called for his firing after two losing seasons in four years there were also many in his support. Hamilton chose Lane Kiffin as Tennessee's next head coach in December 2008. Many did not believe Kiffin to be the best hire as there were other highly rated potential candidates at the time not to mention Kiffin's controversial history with past coaching jobs. Hamilton's decision would be disastrous as after only one season at Tennessee Kiffin resigned to take the same job at the University of Southern California. Due to a poorly written contract, Kiffin only owed Tennessee $800,000 upon leaving. [5] Hamilton controversially hired Derek Dooley following Kiffin's departure, despite his losing record at Louisiana Tech.


The pressure would come to a boil in March 2011 when in the middle of the NCAA's investigation into sanctions against basketball coach Bruce Pearl and but one day before the team was scheduled to face the Michigan Wolverines in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Hamilton announced that Pearl's status as coach going into the game was not certain and at season's end he would be evaluated. Hamilton was scrutinized for making this statement before the team played in the tournament as the pressure it would put on the team may have been the deciding factor in their lopsided 30-point loss to the Wolverines the following day. On the Monday following the game Pearl was dismissed from Tennessee and not soon after Hamilton announced his resignation. Even though Mike Hamilton should not have received any "buyout" with a resignation, University of Tennessee Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek provided him over $1.3 million in severance, to the confusion and surprise of many."[6]

LINK

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Other than Nebraska's near mirror image drought, I don't think many other Top 20 programs have ever experienced a drought like this. Most people have declared Nebraska's program past the point of no return. Why are people hesitant to say the same thing about Tennessee? If a program has what it takes to come back and be a Top 15 program, then it wouldn't be taking nearly two decades for it to happen.... maybe its just not going to happen.

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Thing is, all signs are pointing up. We have a had a decent couple of years after our worst years ever. Talent in Tennessee is increasing at an incredible pace and it's in Middle Tennessee which is huge for UT.

Tennessee made the mistake of making a couple of bad coaching hires. It's really just that simple. We have everything it takes and we're just one good coaching hire away. If Lyle Jones can win 9 games in back to back seasons here, then a competent coach could dominate

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So we can:
Laud UT for not getting caught

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And send a thank you to Roy Kramer for covering your arse while at the same time doing everything possible to undermine Alabama.

note: Funny how Tennessee ain't so great now that Kramer isn't there running interference for you.

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Laud UT for not getting caught

And send a thank you to Roy Kramer for covering your arse while at the same time doing everything possible to undermine Alabama.

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Boo fricking hoo. Find some credible sources for your innuendo. It might sooth your butt hurt.