Coaching Expectations Hypothetical (let's say #1, could be more)

Imagine that we have a phenomenal year. Admit it, you already have at least once because it is August and you bother to even log in to the hell that is a sports forum.

Say that phenomenal year is 8-4, and we win the bowl game. 9-4. Wonderful, by any reasonable measure.

Next year, we g0 9-3. Even upset one of our big 3 rivals. We lose the bowl game. 9-4. Cool cool.

And then this continues for 5 more years in some fashion such that we end up with 9 wins each year.

In January 2029, we have won 9 games every year (no more, no less) for 7 straight years. Are you ready to move on from the coach through those 7 years?

 

Yes. Sooner or later at a place like UT you have to win championships. And if UT was coming off 7 consecutive nine win seasons, that would mean that it would be a very attractive job for a lot of potential coaching candidates.

 

The table would be nicely set for Kiffin in that scenario.

 

In 7 years under this scenario, either Ole Miss is a better job or we wouldn't want him because he flamed out there.

 

Yes. Hopefully in this scenario, we haven't renegotiated ourselves into a ridiculous buyout

 

he'll have left there by then, probably to FSU, or maybe back out west.

 

Personally, I'd be ready to move on. Obviously, we'd have a decent amount of talent on the roster that the right hire could take to the next level of success.

From UT's standpoint, they should ride the 9 win train as long as they can. 95% of this fan base would be happy with 9 wins and no championships every year from now until the end of time. No need to risk a coaching change when you are filling up the stadium doing what you are doing.

 

The way the industry works, it is absolutely essential that you assume we have.

 

What made me ask this was reading people roasting Nebraska for ever firing Bo Pelini, and how dumb they were to do that. I tend to agree that 9 wins can't be the ceiling, even if it is also the floor.

 

In some ways, I wonder if staying put is the right decision, though. You know you have 9, you are just waiting for the right coordinator hire, the right combination of recruits, or the right disasters at other schools to line up to push you to the next level. You are on the precipice and just need a little nudge... Don't know. Seems like a super enviable position to be in from where we are.

 

He didn't just get fired for only winning 9 games every year, though. He pissed off the power people without any capital to do so.

 

My hope in this situation is that since the initial contract is so long, that if that scenario plays out, we won't have any need to extend without hardware. Ideally with the supposed star of an AD you have, if Josh Heupel shows that you can win here, you look at any offers people might put in for buying him out and say, "Go for it."


But I get that that's incredibly wishful thinking.


EDIT: Especially considering Chadwell is probably ready to make the move by then, or maybe even Billy Napier is still available. If that point is 3 or 4 years down the line, maybe Will Healy has built that program up. Bill Clark would also be a great choice if he wasn't Alabama to his core.

 

Hiring Mike Riley to replace Pelini didn’t help the situation.

 

Tennessee coaches should be judged on championships, both SEC and national, not winning seasons.

 

I'm starting to get a sinking feeling as to how Tennessee Football has fallen so low.

 

Staying put is what got Tennessee in the slide to begin with.

 

To me there’s a big difference between averaging 9 wins and going 9-3 every year. Like hypothetically if you have an 12-1 season let’s say you can survive a 7-5 the next year if it’s due to a super young team or injuries.

9-3 every year probably means you’re not winning nearly enough against the big dogs or if you are you’re losing too often to lesser programs.

 

I’ll tell you what, sign me up for a few of these 9 win seasons and I’ll let you know in a few

 

I dunno, ask Nebraska.

 

Going 9-3 consistently at Tennessee means you aren't beating UF, UGA and Alabama. If you aren't beating one or two of them a year once you're up and going here, you aren't winning anything that matters