Tennessee doesn't have the players to make Mike Leach successful from day one. He'd probably do a good job there, but Tennessee fans don't have the patience to wait that long for success.
Fulmer out at TN
- Thread starter BryceC
- Start date
leach might not be being compensated very well right now, but you have to believe he will get a bump in pay after this season.
I think it's ridiculous that Fulmer is being run out of Knoxville. I realize that Tennessee fans have very exacting standards for their football team. However, those expectations don't correspond with any sense of reality. I'm not saying they shouldn't expect to be a Top 25 or maybe even Top 10 program on almost a yearly basis. But when Tennessee fans grumble after their team wins 9+ games, posts a winning record in the tough SEC, wins a bowl game, and finishes the season among the top 12 teams in the national polls on a regular basis, they are absolutely delusional about how good they think the program should be.
Tennessee fans generally hold the name of Fulmer's predecessor, Johnny Majors, in reverence. I find this rather odd considering that Fulmer has had considerably more success at Tennessee than Majors ever did. Compare Fulmer's 150-51 career record to Majors' 116-62-8 record at Tennessee. Not only that, but Fulmer won a national title, something Majors never did at Tennessee.
I think Fulmer is essentially a victim of his own success. He took over a very nice program with a solid football tradition and led them to greater heights than they had seen since the early 1950's. Immediately afterward, the fans expected him to reach those heights again every single year and blamed the very coach who brought them that unparalleled success when those anticipated annual national championships didn't start piling up. It wasn't long before the fans rewrote their perceptions of history, grumbling when Tennessee would go "only" 11-2 or 10-3 and claiming that the 1998 national title came about in spite of Fulmer rather than because of him.
As an Iowa State fan, I would kill for the kind of success that Fulmer had at Tennessee. For a program to be consistently competitive in the SEC is a major accomplishment that fans should be proud of. Despite what Tennessee fans might think, the history of their program doesn't support the kind of expectations they have. Yes, Bob Neyland had an impressive run over 21 seasons from the late '20s through the early '50s. But Tennessee hasn't been that dominant on a national level since he retired -- long before most of Tennessee's current fans were even alive to see it. Tennessee can't do much better than what Fulmer has done at the school, and Vols fans will quickly learn that harsh reality no matter who they bring in as their next coach.
Tennessee fans generally hold the name of Fulmer's predecessor, Johnny Majors, in reverence. I find this rather odd considering that Fulmer has had considerably more success at Tennessee than Majors ever did. Compare Fulmer's 150-51 career record to Majors' 116-62-8 record at Tennessee. Not only that, but Fulmer won a national title, something Majors never did at Tennessee.
I think Fulmer is essentially a victim of his own success. He took over a very nice program with a solid football tradition and led them to greater heights than they had seen since the early 1950's. Immediately afterward, the fans expected him to reach those heights again every single year and blamed the very coach who brought them that unparalleled success when those anticipated annual national championships didn't start piling up. It wasn't long before the fans rewrote their perceptions of history, grumbling when Tennessee would go "only" 11-2 or 10-3 and claiming that the 1998 national title came about in spite of Fulmer rather than because of him.
As an Iowa State fan, I would kill for the kind of success that Fulmer had at Tennessee. For a program to be consistently competitive in the SEC is a major accomplishment that fans should be proud of. Despite what Tennessee fans might think, the history of their program doesn't support the kind of expectations they have. Yes, Bob Neyland had an impressive run over 21 seasons from the late '20s through the early '50s. But Tennessee hasn't been that dominant on a national level since he retired -- long before most of Tennessee's current fans were even alive to see it. Tennessee can't do much better than what Fulmer has done at the school, and Vols fans will quickly learn that harsh reality no matter who they bring in as their next coach.
Exactly what I said this AM. I understand your point about Gundy, and used to think the same way, but after Rich Rodriguez left his alma mater, in his home state, who he was turning into a dynasty, for a mild pay increase to come to a traditional power going down the drain, I've come to the conclusion that when it comes down to it, the coaching world responds only to $. Gundy will not be at Okie State in 3 years unless Boone Pickens coughs up the dough to keep him there. Ditto for Leach.
If I were Mike Leach, I would not leave unless I were getting underpaid by A LOT. He's installed a system there that is very unique ('gimmicky' as some call it) that he has the players and the staff to succeed with. How many people said 3 years ago that he would not succeed with that type of system? He could win games, but never beat the "powerhouses," was what most said. Well, it took him a while to build that system to what it is now and if I were in his shoes, I would keep winning and proving people wrong as opposed to starting all over again.
I'm pretty sure Texas Tech will be forking over a big raise and long term guarantee to lock Leach up after this season. And the SEC is brutal to coach in, expectations are as high or higher and the conference is loaded with good teams from top to bottom. The Big 12 has a lot of good teams also but there are also several soft spots that don't exist in the SEC.
No kidding - Vandy, Kentucky, Ole' Miss, and Miss St. aren't exactly that "soft" anymore...
This is ********... He is 150 and 51 in his tenure... He has had 2... COUNT THAT.. 2... losing seasons in his tenure at UT... just ridiculous... He won the SEC East last year... just ridiculous...
He was at Tennessee for 17 years as HC, I believe. That is a pretty long run in today's world no matter the success level achieved.
They won a National Championship under him (how many coaches have one of those under the belt...not many). Recent seasons had been disappointing by Tennessee's high standards and the NC gave him a little extra rope.
But schools like Tennessee expect to win, and win BIG, every year...not just once in a while. They have a stadium with nearly 110,000 seats and they need those seats filled...6-6 records won't cut it.
This also shows the patience that our fan base has. How many seats of that 110,000 seat stadium would be full if their team was on a 7 game losing streak? They expect to win, which is good, but when teams like that don't win the fan base turns in a hurry.
It was just a stupid tease that Greenberg does like they do before every freaking commercial break.
They said that some of the Tennessee people are interested in Jon Gruden, but there is no way in hell that he would leave the pros for college, and they talked about that too.
