USAToday: What to like about Tennessee in 2017
- Thread starter Redwood Forrest
- Start date
But who would they get that can nationally recruit and be a good gameday coach at the same time.
Let's just say they hit THEIR pipe dream hire like Michigan and hire Jon Gruden... one would have to wonder 2 things... 1) Can Gruden be a good college coach and 2) is he going to be too rusty from his time away from the game.
Then next tier would be the Sarkisian type hires in that they have a great recruiter but an average game day coach. This is probably their best case scenario.
Then they can get the Derek Dooley type hires in that they have to paint it as " He is Tennessee thru and Thru, and will continue the great traditions of Tennessee football."
So if they fire Butch it probably makes no difference because they are going to face the same problems they've been facing since 2005 to now in that they can't rely on their name alone for recruits. They only thing we lose by Butch being fired is the great slogans.
As with all teams on my hit list I hope they go 4-8. That means the SEC wins (which is good for the SEC champion -- and we know who that will be) and bad for Tennessee. No bowling for YOU, Viles.
I'll play along - Gruden isn't leaving his very easy and very lucrative job for this kind of nightmare, but if he did:
You do not forget how to coach and motivate players.
You do not forget how to lead an organization.
Every high school player knows who he is, though most probably have no idea that he was once a SB winning head coach.
Not sure how the above plays out in recruiting, but I suspect that he would be able to recruit nationally.
A few things...
1) probably the most important is that Gruden hasn't been apart of the college game since 1991. CNS and Harbaugh weren't too far removed from the college game when they came back so they were very familiar with current rules, how to staff, and how to judge college talent. Gruden would be stepping into an arena that he isn't familiar with
2) No one knows how good Gruden really is. Yes he won a SB in his first year with the Bucs, but what did he do the rest of his career? Usually I'm one to say average coaches don't win the SB, but him and Kubiak did. A lot of his success could be linked to what Dungy and Monte built for him. But you would probably ask why Dungy couldn't get it done with that team? Probably because TB was in the NFC Central until 2002 (Gruden's 1st year). They were playing the Packers, Bears, and Vikings 2 times a year, all of which were great teams at the time.
3) By rust I'm talking about having that killer edge and motivation to win. Gruden hasn't been coaching since 2008. Yeah he hasn't stepped completely away from the game, but it has been quiet some time since he has been apart of the day to day operations on a highly successful team. I just don't know if he would take the Tennessee job out of anything more than therapy or something for his wife. Point is I think his motivation wouldn't be the same as CNS and Urban Meyer's
FWIW I don't think he returns to college, and even if he does I doubt if he is seriously wanting a ring then it won't be the viles. I just think it's hilarious everytime Auburn or UT fire s coach... Gruden is at the top of their list.
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I've found that USAToday may have the worst sports writing staff of any of the major publications. I stopped reading them a while back. They were high on Tennessee the last 2 seasons and just can't believe the dream is over. They lost so many players to the draft, this year was ALWAYS going to be a rebuilding season - last year was their chance to take the SEC or at the very least play for it. Sad!
This. They are wrecked as an overall program, and they did it to themselves.
I had the rare occasion to listen to Finebaum the other afternoon, and a Tennessee fan called in. They both were bemoaning Tennessee's recent AD hire, how dysfunctional the entire athletic department was, and what a huge mistake it was to not hire Fulmer as the AD. Fulmer, they both agreed, would have been a fund-raising figure head of an AD and would have hired a top notch administration to do the actual day to day running of the department.
Those people are deranged. I happen to think the whole thing is beyond repair, for a lot of reasons. Several SEC programs need to tank at the same time for them to have an opportunity to recruit at a high enough level, and then they've got to hope they've actually got their act together should said tanking actually occur.
It could not have happened to a nicer bunch.
I agree that he is not coming back, but the entire Gruden family is a coaching family. If he decided to coach for TN, he would have them back on top in 2-3 years, tops. Guys like that find a way to get it done.
As someone who grew up a Bucs fan and watched what he did there, we'll just have to agree to disagree. If he hadn't won that SB based on the work of Mckay, Dungy, and Kiffin, no one would be talking about him.
Gruden is Lane Kiffin with more off the field sense. He is the same 'look at me' type coach that goes through short time highs and lows but ultimately is a middle of the road type coach. Gruden's success is based mostly on luck and situation. He was gift wrapped one of the best teams with a weak new division. Had Dungy not been fired then he would've won the SB that year, and possibly a few more because going thru Carolina, Atlanta, and NO is a lot easier than GB and Chicago. Gruden couldn't continue his own success there, and make TB the power in the South.
His Raiders days weren't that impressive either, and he was in a favorable position when he started having success then. Basically the Chiefs and Broncos had to rebuild great teams and the Raiders were the better team for two years. Gruden's Raiders days are more known for the "Brady Tuck Rule" than him being a great coach.
So really he has marketed himself as a great coach more because he didn't continuously beat his head against the wall like Weis, Tubberville, and Erickson by trying to prove they are capable of producing championships. Gruden stepping away was probably the best thing for his image.
If we are playing the hypothetical of him coming to Tennessee then I would say he would probably do maybe 1-2 wins better than Butch has done in his 4 years so...
1) 6-6
2) 8-5
3) 10-4 (SECC loss)
4) 9-3
I just don't see him bucking the trend of Tennessee recruiting.
He was 95-81 overall (avg of ~9 wins a season), 5-4 in the playoffs. 3 of those playoff wins were the Superbowl year and he didn't have a playoff win his last 6 seasons as a coach (he only made the playoffs twice those years).
I don't think he sucked on a Chip Kelly level, but that resume doesn't lead me to give him the benefit of the doubt in reviving a down trodden college program.
We aren't saying that he sucked, we are talking about how when you break it down he is more average than great. How about this.... let's say Urban retires and Jim Harbaugh moves somewhere else next year, and your Bucks want to go the NFL route. Let's say your top 3 are Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, and Jon Gruden.... All 3 have 1 SB wins, but Gruden is way outclassed on paper by both MT and John Harbaugh in terms of success. So would he be your pick out of those 3...
It's just a huge gamble for anyone to expect Gruden to turn around a college football, especially one with Tennessee's kinda problems, based upon his resume, but yet he is ALWAYS at the top of every desperate NFL and NCAA team's list when a coaching search happens.
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I didn't say he sucked, but he bombed when Mckay, Dungy, and Kiffin weren't there. Do the math.
On Tutorsee...
I hope they keep Botch there for many more years. He is below average at best, and I want to keep the streak going for many more years. At times, Botch is the best coach on the field for ALABAMA!!! He is not a good enough recruiter to be at a place like Tutorsee, and he is entertaining (Champions of Life!). Alas, I honestly believe that he will be fired before we face him this season. I could see him losing a cupcake game this year, maybe MizzU (assuming he is there that far into the season).
I also think he has Tutorsee as a soon to be "easy" victory for Vandy. I can only say thank you to those that thought this was a good hire for UT. I used to love the 3rd Saturday in October...it was a very enjoyable rivalry for me. Now, I pull for whoever is playing them and hope they lose by large margins every game. Detest. Hate. Loath. All words that are not strong enough to explain my feelings towards a team that tried to kill my beloved Tide!
On Gruden...
This guy has made his legacy. He is not coming back to college football. He has a skate job, and the worst thing that he has to face on a weekly basis is getting impersonated by Frank Caliendo.
I hope they keep Botch there for many more years. He is below average at best, and I want to keep the streak going for many more years. At times, Botch is the best coach on the field for ALABAMA!!! He is not a good enough recruiter to be at a place like Tutorsee, and he is entertaining (Champions of Life!). Alas, I honestly believe that he will be fired before we face him this season. I could see him losing a cupcake game this year, maybe MizzU (assuming he is there that far into the season).
I also think he has Tutorsee as a soon to be "easy" victory for Vandy. I can only say thank you to those that thought this was a good hire for UT. I used to love the 3rd Saturday in October...it was a very enjoyable rivalry for me. Now, I pull for whoever is playing them and hope they lose by large margins every game. Detest. Hate. Loath. All words that are not strong enough to explain my feelings towards a team that tried to kill my beloved Tide!
On Gruden...
This guy has made his legacy. He is not coming back to college football. He has a skate job, and the worst thing that he has to face on a weekly basis is getting impersonated by Frank Caliendo.
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