Photo by Butch Dill/Associated Press
Florida coach Urban Meyer speaks to the media during a news conference at the Southeastern Conference football Media Days in Hoover, Ala., on Thursday, July 23, 2009.
No one likes to discuss "rebuilding jobs" in college football, especially when it relates to a program with Tennessee's tradition. A snap of the fingers is preferred, immediately turning dark into light and losers into winners.
But unless you're a member of sports' lunatic fringe, you don't actually believe in snappy reversals of fortune. You just fantasize about them while accepting that it takes years, not months, to raise moribund programs - even one with UT's assets - to championship levels.
The obvious question: How many years?
Before answering that, check out the News Sentinel's complete player-by-player accounting of the recruiting failures that have piled up at UT's doorstep over the last few years. When you see all the players gone wrong or gone elsewhere, there's no mystery about the mess left behind. And you can't clean it up in a year or two.
Most UT fans understand that. But how many of them will understand it in two years, especially when they compare what has happened recently in the SEC's other top-six programs?
All of those programs made two-year turnarounds following coaching changes. In most cases, the about-faces were spectacular.
n Florida's Urban Meyer won a national championship in his second season.
n Alabama's Nick Saban probably would have won a national title in his second season if he hadn't run into national-champion-to-be Florida in the SEC championship game.
n Saban's second team at LSU won an SEC championship.
n Georgia's Mark Richt went 13-1 and won the SEC title in his second season.
n Tommy Tuberville executed a noteworthy turnaround, winning nine games in his second season at Auburn, which was seemingly in disarray following the departure of Terry Bowden.
But UT's situation isn't comparable to any of those.
Ron Zook, Meyer's predecessor at Florida, recruited effectively even though he had three consecutive five-loss seasons. Jim Donnan also recruited well and never won fewer than eight games in his last four seasons at Georgia.
As bad as Auburn looked in its final season under Bowden, it averaged better than nine victories per year the previous five seasons. Mike Shula's last team at Alabama lost its last four games and finished 6-7. But the Tide had improved from 4-9 to 6-6 to 10-2 in his first three seasons.
Gerry DiNardo suffered back-to-back losing seasons before he was fired at LSU. However, his recruiting wasn't as bad as his records.
UT's predicament was longer in the making and exacerbated markedly by massive player attrition, following coaching changes in back-to-back years.
It now has the shorthanded look of a program that is being punished by the NCAA.
But UT's problems are self-inflicted. And they won't be resolved in a couple of years.
In a best-case scenario, former coach Lane Kiffin could have had the Vols competing for a championship after three years. After all that has gone wrong, Dooley will need at least four years.
John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 39
dvhill100 writes:
I am not expecting much this year, but look for improvement every year. We won't be competing for SEC titles for a few years, but we can still show progress, better record every year, and do all the things we need to do to improve and compete.
rockytopatl writes:
As usual, John is overly pessimistic. Things can be much better in Dooley's second year, providing he recruits well this year and last year's class produces. Stars can come out of nowhere, and if the Vols can find a couple or five, you never know.
crimsonviper writes:
I read your post dv,then reread it.
A skilled writer could take your post and use it as a guideline for a good story, I am sure real Vol fans would enjoy.
John Adams should take note,or just head on back to LSU,where his heart really is.Vol fans deserve better.
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
You guys are optimistic. Realistically, I'm not looking forward to this season, even though I've already bought tix for 3 games.......
Volfan1 writes:
Well, I know the roster isn't full of 5 star recruits and All Americans, but the first three articles are from "The Sky is Falling" and "Doomsday is Here" files. Adams and Hooker are masters of the obvious.
crimsonviper writes:
You are right about that.
The Prophets of Doom and Gloom at KNS are feeling frisky tonite.
TommyJack writes:
I can hear it now, down at the KNS....
Dave: "Hey JA, what's your topic?"
JA: "Gloom"
JA: "What's yours, Hook?"
Dave: "Doom"
JA: "Sounds about right."
tartarsauce writes:
alot of those top ten recruiting classes you speak of are gone, it will be what it will be,i think if we have tough kids no matter what there recruiting classes were ranked we will be fine, vol ball has always come through eventually
VolOak writes:
These same "wanabee" sports writers didn't give Kiffin a chance. While I'm not a Kiffin supporter he did take this "inferior talent" (Vol players...I'm being scarcastic) and scared the cr@p out of the current national champion. If we have good coaches...and we do...this talent can be coached up to win ball games. Let's get behind them...not spew our diareah of the mouth around and discourage them. They need our support! You guys at the KNS need to knock it off or find you a job in New Orleans or Tuscaloosa, where you can display your superior sports wisdom and critical acumen.
pms151 writes:
Adams, you are still just a small fish in an even smaller pond.
pms151 writes:
Even though you point out that Saban and Meyer inherited more talent than Dooley has it still took tremendous coaches like those guys to win the way they did and turn the programs in to champions. My point? Quit laying the foundation for defeatism. It is the athletic directer's and his puppet master's responsibility to bring in a coach who can do the same in the same amount of time. If CDD is that guy, so be it. High expectations and pressure go with the territory at UT. We fans and alums expect to compete every year at the highest level. We don't need mediocre sports writers changing diapers for the coaching staff and athletic directer. We need men with courage and writing skills to keep the pressure on and push for improvement. Wake up KNS!
orangeman1 writes:
I think UT has talent and if Dooley produces another good recruiting class and is a coach worthy of leading UT, then by year 3 they should be competing for the SEC. I understand why people have low expectations this year because of lack of depth on Oline and new QB, but these low expectations wont last long.
TennesseeTuxedo writes:
When a program is crashed into the ground by a coach, as Tennessee's was during the last years of the Fulmer regime, it will take time to rebuild the program. As Adams stated, the other programs he mentioned had upper class talent when the coaching changes were made. Tennessee did not. Make sure to thank Fulmer and his booster friends in high places for what they did to the UT football program.
arkyvol writes:
"After all that has gone wrong, Dooley will need at least four years."
adams, are you saying derek dooley is the todd raliegh of vol football?
Psychovol writes:
I think Adams is being generous with just 4 years. Kiffin said 3 but he jumped ship and so did highly touted recruits and proven SEC players. I'm not going to give up my season tickets for the next few years but I'm fastening my seat belt for a bumpy ride. Dooley's La Tech team last year lost games they were supposed to win. In fact, they were favored to win the conference. I can't tolerate too many Wyomings.
orangeman1 writes:
With the class Fulmer had coming in when he was fired, and players that would've still been on the team had he not, this team could've been competing for the SEC this year. Now we have to wait another 3 years and hope for 6-9 wins during the wait. Fulme proved he could turn a losing team into a SEC contender in 07. Dont know why people think he wouldnt do it again.
Pullingguard writes:
Be aware all you negative knerds, the articles in todays KNS is preparing the masses for the total forthcoming disaster of 2010 and the hard rocks for the future... Its not gonna look pretty/ Will the fans be patient or will they flock to negative ridge and jump one by one. The Vols will probably never reach the apex of success they enjoyed in the 90's, and will be kissing cousins with Ole Miss, Ky, Vandy, and the other low rungs on that SEC ladder.. We all must expect and swallow the results with pride.
TennesseeTuxedo writes:
Who's fault was it that Tennessee had two losing seasons in the 2000s? They were losing teams for a reason and that reason is a man who destroyed this program. He crashed two" sports cars", why trust him to crash another?
dvols writes:
coaches coach, talent wins....always has always will
TommyJack writes:
Why would you say that?
pomp_and_circumstance writes:
Adams needs understanding. He alone led the revolt against Phillip Fulmer, removed him from the HC throne, and most likely was the chief string puller in reeling Kiffin in. Adams was given a front row seat of honor at all media ops. But Adams was seduced and abandoned without even a Dear John. For 14 months JA had the status of Stienbrenner, Al Davis, even Joe Paterno, then he tumbled down the rabbit hole into a wonderland where all reality was reversed. That poor bitter old man. The tears he sheds are not real tears.
scvols writes:
Here is the fix: "Come to TN and you can start as a freshman."
easleychuck writes:
He is no longer the coach. He was fired and given a hell of a serverance.
NeylandWest writes:
It is realistic to assume that it'll take a few years to turn things around, but they still play the game on Saturdays and we still have to let the seasons play out.
Stop speculating and start watching. It's all we can do. Until then...
Huttdawg100 writes:
I'm going to support Tennessee no matter what happens in the future. I earned my degree from UT, and I'll always love the Vols.
I do disagree with Adams and Hooker on the amount of time for us to see results. The biggest difference between the SEC and the other conferences are the size and speed of the SEC's offensive and defensive linemen. John Brown, Jawuan James, Corey Miller and Jacques Smith are all 4 star linemen that are going to play early and get a lot of experience. They, along with a few others, will have a lot of experience by year three under Dooley. Furthermore, Dooley is heavily recruiting linemen that want to play early, and Harry Hiestand is one of the best line coaches in the country. We'll have skill players in Bray, Oku, Rogers, Hunter and Meline. Skill Players + Experienced Linemen - JA and Hooks = Derek Dooley 2011 SEC Coach of the Year.
gohawks1 writes:
I might have given this article more respect except that I can't for the life of me figure out why a pic of Urban Meyer accompanies this article. Not very supportive of the team and it's new coaching staff, IMO. Oh, I understand that the article begins with a synopsis of the first few years of other SEC coaches... still doesn't make sense to me though. Bet you won't find too many pics of Urbie on other SEC rival sites. Just sayin'...
crimsonviper writes:
The pic of Urban is just the gratuitous slap in the face from Adams....I am shocked he dosen't have a pic of his coach Les Miles with every article.
rockytopatl writes:
You guys are so clueless about how newspapers and websites work. Adams didn't select that picture. It was picked by a copy editor or a web producer.
orangecountyvols writes:
Each of us has his own thoughts, but as soon as I see an article by Hooker and Adams, I at least, just scroll onto something else.........hopefully one worth reading. Some will say, "hey, these guys are telling it like it is." However, Adams and Hooker thrive on overkill. They feast on negativity.
Vol fans know what's going on, we know about the inexperience, the new staff ( which has already been written off by various writers and the usual trolls ).
So most Tennessee people don't get overly concerned by the usual stuff these two guys write.........in fact it just gets very boring and annoying. They're champions of negativity in the off season.
We'll just wait and see what happens and that's that.
rockytopatl writes:
Adams was hardly alone in calling for Fulmer's head. A lot of knowledgeable fans wanted Phil gone as early as his first losing season. Most people who know football could tell the Vols began slipping from the elite after 2001. Hamilton shocked everybody -- Adams included -- by hiring Kiffin. As far as the "seat of honor," that automatically goes to the lead columnist of the only newspaper in town.
99gator writes:
c'mon naval.
the roster at tennessee is the least talented in 20 or more years.
if i am wrong about that, someone feel free to correct me.
volpreacher writes:
Psycho is a good name for you. You are crazy if you think La Tech was favored to beat Boise St. out of their conference. Although they played BSU closer than anyone last year and almost beat LSU and Auburn. So don't knock Dooley for accomplishing a lot with less talent than at UT.
Huttdawg100 writes:
Agreed. To back your argument up, look at the schedule LA Tech played:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Lou...
Four of their losses were on the Pacific Coast; that's a long way to travel from Ruston, LA for a football game. A fifth loss was to Boise State, which played in the BCS Fiesta Bowl. The next two losses were at LSU and at Auburn, SEC competition. The 8th loss was to Navy in Annapolis, MD, another long road trip.
Look at the scores of those conference games. LA Tech was very competitive, and they came up just a little bit short. I can't understand the people who hold Dooley's record at LA Tech against him; they don't seem to look at the actual schedule and where they played. If I were to hold anything against Dooley, I wouldn't use his 2009 win/loss record.
orangeman1 writes:
I'm not saying it wasnt close to time for Fulmer to go. I would've liked to give him another year considering the highly ranked class he had coming in and that he as proven he could turn it around before. The Kiffin hire was a total disaster and now the program is suffering because of all the players they've lost out on. Nukeese and Brown were his two biggest recruits and they are gone too along with alot of other talent. Even if think it was time for Fulmer to leave, you have to admit that it has hurt the program in the short term. I think had he not been fired, they wouldve matched the 7-6 record last year and been better this year because of players that have left, but it might have just been putting off the inevitable. Dooley could turn out to be as good as Fulmer in his first 10 years or he might not. Time will tell. I am definately more happy with Dooley than Kiffin. I think he will make us proud and will stay. If he can just live up to the expectations of UT fans with wins and losses everything else will be ok.
LargeOrange writes:
I know things don't look too bright right now with our 2007 class and all of our over-all talent level, but I am hopeful that we will show up and defend the Big Orange tradition this year and in years to come. I am stuck in GA BullDawgs territory and need your help. My son entered a contest down here called "My dad is the biggest fan" His entry is in the finals against a GA and an Auburn fan. We are leading but they are generating bogus Facebook id's trying win this contest. The winning Dad gets an awesome grill painted to match their favorite school. We are sill winning but could use the GoVols crowd to take 30 seconds to click on the link below the POLLS tab and vote for my son's video "(JR's Dad (U)" so we can beat these guys. If they have 7 minutes they can click on the videos tab and see why I am in the running for the "biggest Fan" as a hard-core VOL. If you are a Facebook memebe and have 30 second to Vote, I would appreciate it very much, I would appreciate your help in this. Here is the link click on the POLLS tab and select JR'S DAD (UT)
Thanks,
LargeOrange
http://www.facebook.com/BuilderSpecia...
Thanks,
LargeOrange
Colliervol writes:
Some folks just don't want to grasp it. We have a bunch of folks around here who are:
a. Still Phil Fulmer fans and wish he was still around.
b. Trolls from other schools whose opinions count for zero when it comes to UT
c. Whiners who are never happy with anything.
Bottom line- With two weeks before signing day and all the big name coaches having taken other jobs, who exactly was Hamilton left with on the list? Tuberville-Gone. Kelly-Gone. The Boise State, Utah and Air Force coaches wanted no part of the SEC. Cowher and Gruden weren't leaving their cushy gigs to come back to college and actually have to work. Should we have taken an assistant coach who has never been a head coach anywhere?-No chance. Who was left out there?
Personally, I think Hamilton did about as good as he could do considering the sorry way that Kibble left us in such a predicament. What this program needs worse than anything is STABILITY. (Something we haven't had in about 5 years.) Not sure if Dooley can do it or not but we are going to have to give him 3 to 4 years to try. So you might as well get behind him because that's where we are.
Colliervol writes:
Naval, I am sorry to tell you though that 99Gator is not exaggerating one bit. All you have to do is listen to Bill King who watches UT pretty intently in his job with Rivals and knows the UT program as well as anybody. He said on the radio the other day that this UT team is the least talented with the least depth than any he has seen in the last 25 years.
I don't know about you but I've been watching UT football for at least 45 years and I can't remember a UT team with all new offensive linemen, a new QB, a new RB, woeful depth at DT AND a new coach. Unless Dooley is some sort of magician, that looks like a problem to me (at least for this season). Personally, I'm not expecting a whole lot in 2010 or 2011 to be honest. Just hoping to see some improvement.
gohawks1 writes:
Never said Adams had anything to do with the selection, brother. I didn't even mention Adams. Just pointing out that "Team KNS" makes decisions like this on a regular basis. Ponder before you post...
gohawks1 writes:
Very good points. Given the chance, I think Dooley will bring respect, discipline, stability, and a winning tradition back to Knoxville. It won't happen overnight, but I'm willing to be patient.
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