Brentwood

Recent Comments
I wanted Currie fired and I wish they would fire Davenport and Haslam too, but I don't think Connor was criticizing the fans or saying Currie shouldn't have been fired - the headline kind of reads that way and but not the article - I think he was criticizing Currie, Haslam and that bunch. He says > Tennessee is the “most embarrassing SEC football program” - that is true but it isn't the fans fault - the blame is on Currie, Davenport, Haslam and the UT Board who are supposed to be watching over things and shouldn't let Haslam run the football program. I think what the article says is "What a mess" and that the blame is on the UT administration. THANK GOODNESS for the fans - they are the ones who saved the program.
Dormady looked really good in the Spring game - much better than I expected - very composed and confident. I think the new coaches are an upgrade and having a full-time QB coach is smart and I like what I hear about Canales. As for last year, Vanderbilt had back-to-back great games beating us and Ole Miss. You cant just blame it on our bad play - I remember their QB throwing a bomb that hit the receiver perfect in his outstretched hands while he was on the dead run - it is impossible to defend perfect passes. And as someone mentioned, when big-time starters like JRM, Sutton, Tuttle and MacKenzie, and a dozen others are injured, it hurts ANY team. If you've ever coached you know that is true. I think 8 wins might be possible but it will depend on how well the QB's play. MUST beat GA Tech, so I hope they are focused on that.
@ the author - a really well written article - seriously - the best I've read in a long time. Thank you.
Football pays the bills for the UT Athletic Dept. and Fulmer can help UT have a more successful football program. Football profits pay for 9 sports that lose $16 million (see below). If football does well, there are also huge donations from boosters. The difference between a 10-3 season and a 6-7 season could be $15 million a year in revenue and donations. Not sure what the "qualifications" to be an AD are, but I assume Hamilton had them and look where he got us. From a business standpoint, since football pays the bills, hiring someone who can help the football program makes sense. Fulmer is the perfect hire - he knows the football program, knows how to negotiate coaches contracts and won't be out-negotiated by agents, he understands coaching and recruiting, he is a great fund-raiser, he is rich and no one is going to force him to do something dumb (like hiring another Dooley), and he is a proven VFL. Profits from UT Sports > At college-sports.pointafter dot com if you search for tennessee-knoxville, it says in 2015 Football made $69 million, men's basketball made $11 million, women's basketball broke even, rowing lost $1.6 million, track lost $2.8 million, soccer lost $1.5 million, swimming lost $2.9 million, softball lost $1.4 million, volleyball lost $1.1 million, golf lost $1.6 million, tennis lost $1.7 million, and baseball lost $1.7 million. These numbers don't include donations. So, 9 sports lost a total of $16 million in 2015. If it was up to me, every sport would have to pay for itself to survive - these money-losing sports are costing each student at UT $570 per year ($16 million and 28,000 students).
I don't think it's fair to blame Kendal Briles for what happened at Baylor - if he had done anything the investigation would have revealed it. As for supporting his Dad, that is what a good son does. I don't like Kiffin, but this was a great hire.
Trey Smith is very mature and wise beyond his years. He is a great tribute to his family and everyone in his life. I have no doubt that he will be a success in football, school and life. Stay on your course Trey.
Great line. My friend asked "Would you rather have Kiffin or the Devil as a head coach?" I chose the Devil because he is more trustworthy.
Kiffin has been a good OC at Bama with Saban to keep him under control but he has been a disaster as a head coach. No coach has been as hated by the 3 places he worked for. One bad head coaching experience you can overlook, 2 maybe, but not 3. Major Applewhite is a great hire. Congratulations Major!!!!
@ those who are complaining so much - First, You are hurting, not helping. Think about what a recruit would think reading your comments. If you are a true fan you will care about that. Second, You are unrealistic. You don't think injuries matter. You don't give credit for improvement and you think we should be national champions. If I was a good coach, I wouldn't come to a school that has crazy, unrealistic fans. That might explain why a Hall of Fame coach who won 74% of his games was fired and the best we could do was Kiffin and Dooley (one of the worst coaches ever). Reality and the Facts - This year will be the first time in 12 years that we have gone to a bowl game for 3 years in a row. I call that improvement. And until last year, the last time we were 9-4 was 2007. A couple of other things - It takes time to build depth. Going to a bowl game is a big deal because of the extra practice time. Building a program without cheating is harder than building it with cheating, but when the cheaters get caught, they go down.
I agree. This year will be the first time in 12 years that we have gone to a bowl game for 3 years in a row.
@ Gainesville – It is clear that you've never coached. Losing in the 4th quarter is a sign that a team lacks depth. Plus, you are totally ignoring the injuries this season. If you had ever coached, you would know that injuries and people leaving the team can make a HUGE difference. There have been times when Tenn had as many as 10 starters out. Reeves-Maybin is a GREAT player and would have made a difference. Cam Sutton makes a difference. Shy Tuttle. McKenzie. Danny O'Brien. Chance Hall. etc. etc. This year will be the first time in 12 years that we have gone to a bowl game for 3 years in a row. If you don't think all those injuries make a difference you are delusional. Jones is a LOT better than Kiffin or Dooley and his $4 million salary is just average for the SEC - Saban and Jim Harbaugh at Michigan make twice that. Over the past 3 years our winning % is better than Auburn and Texas AM, the same as Ole Miss and very close to LSU. Want to improve our winning %? Get them to stop playing Bama every year.
@ Gainesville - Do some research - you talk like $4 million is a lot - it isn't today - it is average - Saban makes twice that.
If you have ever coached you know that it makes a big difference if you lose some of your best players. There have been times when Tenn had as many as 10 starters out. Reeves-Maybin is a GREAT player and would have made a difference. Cam Sutton makes a difference. Shy Tuttle. McKenzie. Danny O'Brien. Chance Hall. etc. etc. This year will be the first time in 12 years that we have gone to a bowl game for 3 years in a row. If you don't think all those injuries make a difference you are delusional. Jones is a LOT better than Kiffin or Dooley and his $4 million salary is just average for the SEC - Saban and Jim Harbaugh at Michigan make twice that. Over the past 3 years our winning % is better than Auburn and Texas AM, the same as Ole Miss and very close to LSU. Want to improve our winning %? Get them to stop playing Bama every year.
Kiffin has ended up being hated everywhere he has been. He will end up being hated at Bama too. He is a self-centered jerk. The best thing for the rest of the SEC would for Saban to leave and Bama to select Kiffin as head coach - it would be back to like it was before Saban came.
Kamara is an excellent receiver and had more receiving yards against A&M than any TN receiver. Surely there is a way to use him more as a receiver.
Sheriron has become a favorite of mine because of that. If we get a good lead, they need to let him play some.
@ Clausen - That lawsuit was filed by a lawyer whose specialty is accidents - an ambulance chaser. He only presented one side of the case, making it look as bad as possible. It is a smart tactic because schools can't respond without getting into public arguments and risking being called unsympathetic to the "victims" - most of the time it is "he said/she said" without witnesses - these usually aren't rapes, they happen between a man and woman who have been dating. Some bad stuff occasionally happens at every college. The lawyers get 40% of the settlement, so they have a HUGE motivation to find these cases. In Tennessee's case, that would be a $1 million fee. Colleges are easy targets for these accusations - it isn't about proving right or wrong - it is about throwing mud and causing bad press and making a huge fee. We need to go back to "innocent until proven guilty". At almost any college you can run ads to find women who will claim to have been abused, file a federal lawsuit, create a lot of bad publicity, get a settlement, and they split the money - it will never go to court.
This will be the largest crowd to ever see a football game - 40,000 more than the current largest (115,000 at Michigan). It will get lots of TV coverage and should help recruiting. How many other fan bases could fill 160,000 seats?