re: Who (or what) broke the Tennessee football program?

Yeah, Dooley put that program into a nosedive that appears to be uncorrectable. At this point, they need to just hit something hard so they don't limp away from the crash site.

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broke

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this, their athletic department doesn't have the funds go after a big name coach, thus irrelevant.

Pretty simple.

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Who (or what) broke the Tennessee football program?

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He crossed the REC mafia. Never do that.

Since that 05 South Carolina game the only seasons I entered with any optimism at all were 09 and 16 and 09 had nothing to do with the current roster. When you play about 2 full seasons of meaningful games in 15 years it’s pretty hard to get off the mat. I doubt Tennessee ever will have a good football team again.

Coaching searches are the only fun part of being a fan and all have ended in huge disappointment outside of the Kiffin hire.

If Fulmer ever steps foot on the sideline again I will go from apathy to actively cheering against them.

Nothing is worse on recruiting than the hot seat , some schools keep their coaches on the hot seat , Miles and Coach O so far have won despite of it at LSU !

I mean, this is legit sad. I never thought I'd ever feel one ounce of sympathy for the fighting Davy Crocketts, but this is serious man. We have fully broken these people. Guys, if you see a Vol wandering around looking for a fix, pat him on the back and say "hey buddy it's gonna be ok". Even though it's not.

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We went down in increments, with several losses standing out as turning points

2001 LSU knocked us from to natty contention to just another good team

2005 Vandy (streak ender) knocked us from good to mediocre

2008 Wyoming knocked us from mediocre to fricking garbage tier

With Lyle we gradually build up a facade of a program and got up to an almost-good level...

Then 2016 S Carolina knocked us back to mediocrity

And the 41-0 loss to UGA in 2017 knocked us back to total shite tier where we’ve been ever since.

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Today, John Currie is UT's AD. 

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No. And considering the very public and embarrassing nature of how his tenure at UT ended I don't know how you think he's still the AD. On the other hand, you're absolutely right about how our shitty AD's have made shitty hires. Taking a chance on Kiffin with the staff he brought in MAY be a forgivable offense, though I still think turning down Patterson at the time was a big mistake. However, panicking and hiring Dooley when Kiffin left was incredibly foolish considering Dooley had zero time to salvage the recruiting class anyway, would never have been considered for the job under any other circumstances, and Kippy Brown was willing and able to serve as interim HC for the following season.

All of that is to say that's what makes this whole thing so fricking frustrating as a fan. You can look at isolated decisions/circumstances and maybe justify a thing or two that on its face seems pretty bad. But when you look back and see nothing but horrible decision after horrible decision it's maddening. There is absolutely something broken behind the scenes (Haslams are a good place to start), and until whatever the frick that is gets fixed, UT will continue to be an unmitigated debacle.

The political infighting and backstabbing turmoil among UT's BOT, Admin, AD, etc. -- No quality in-demand HC candidates want to sign up for that BS when they have other suitors and options. Whether hiring a president, an AD, or football HC, the power grabbing, casualties, etc. clearly illustrate the root cause of their football program's demise. As long as that environment continues, UT will likely remain in the pit of misery. UT's problem comes from witin.

-Since 2005 Tennessee is 1-13 against Florida.
- Since 2007 Tennessee is 0-12 against Alabama.
- Since 2010 Tennessee is 2-7 against Georgia.
- Since 2016 Tennessee is 0-3 against Vanderbilt & South Carolina.
- Since 2019 Tennessee is 0-1 against Georgia State.
Don't know, but they are broken.