I’m 35, so I have very clear, distinct memories of UT being a great college football team.

The Manning years, when UT seemed destined to play second fiddle to Florida, would have seemed welcome in the relative drought of the past decade. To say nothing of the period when Spurrier’s Gators started to slide, when Tennessee was the toughest team to beat in the SEC, week in and week out. But now, to loosely paraphrase John Lennon, those days are gone, and Vol fans are not so self-assured.

But in our campaign-themed series, the topic at hand is bringing back the glory days. Making Tennessee football YUGE! AGAIN! And in true political fashion, I’m going to give some good advice and a lot of impossible-to-follow advice.

But we’ll bring the mights Vols back, at least on paper.

Here are the five ways to make Tennessee great again.

1. Stand by your man

Granted, Butch Jones is making this easy by steadily improving the Vols. But since Phil Fulmer was run off in 2008, Tennessee has been on a coaching carousel. Granted, the reasoning probably has less to do with the program and the fact that they hired one of the flightiest guys on earth and followed him up with a guy who spent some of his first days as UT coach talking about showering discipline.

But three head coaches in three years dragged the program way back. The fact that they hired a guy who coached like an 8th-grader (Derek Dooley) and a guy with the emotional maturity of an 8th-grader (Lane Kiffin) didn’t help. In the up and down world of the SEC, every coach will struggle at times. Tennessee’s chances for long-term glory are better if they stay the course with Jones.

2. Keep winning the recruiting battles

Again, over the past decade, Volunteers recruiting has been thoroughly uneven. Tennessee is not a brilliant recruiting ground, and the Vols have to fend off Vandy in the mid-state and Ole Miss and Memphis in the southwest. While Kiffin recruited talent, he also recruited a fair share of head cases. Dooley struggled in pretty much every phase. Jones has built back a solid recruiting base, mostly by refusing to be outworked, particularly on in-state talent such as Jalen Hurd and Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Which is part of the way back to glory.

Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jalen Hurd (1) rushes against Oklahoma Sooners safety Ahmad Thomas (13) during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

3. Give Neyland a fresh coat of paint, or whatever brings back the noise

Back in 1998, I took an English friend to see UT play the University of Houston in a dozy butt-whipping of a game. He was impressed not with the game (he was at least passably familiar with American football) or even with the size of the crowd, but with the intensity of the Volunteers fan base.

Oct 10, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Todd Kelly Jr. (6) celebrates with fans after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

And this complaint can be seen as a chicken/egg kind of issue. But there was a time when Neyland Stadium was one of the most feared places to play in the SEC. While the Vol Nation still gets fired up for Alabama or Florida, it needs a gimmick — a renovation, a redecoration, or just a call back to life — to bring the fury every home Saturday of the year. It matters more than many think.

4. Keep the focus on special teams

UT has a proud history of special teams excellence. As far back as General Neyland’s sixth maxim — “Press the kicking game. Here is where breaks are made.” — Tennessee has exploited weaker SEC foes in the kicking and return games.

This disappeared in the late Fulmer era, and the disastrous years under Kiffin and Dooley. With Evan Berry and Cam Sutton being among the best return threats in the nation, if Jones can coax a few more field goal makes out of Aaron Medley, special teams could be the Volunteers’ difference maker.

5. Put. Teams. Away.

It’s common sense, and it’s easier to say than to do, but Tennessee in its better days could not be beaten in a close game.

Need the proof? From 1995-2005, UT was 38-13 in games decided by a single score.

Since that time, the Vols are 19-25 in those games. Their past five losses, including four last season, were by a combined 25 points.

Oct 24, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry (2) carries for a touchdown against Tennessee Volunteers linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. (34) during the fourth quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Again, there is a chicken and egg issue here. If Tennessee had the talent and the coaching continuity that it had in the 1990s and 2000s, it wouldn’t be playing .400 ball in close games. But at the same time, if Tennessee forges an identity as a team that’s going to win even 60 percent of those games again (much less the 75 percent that they hit in the glory days), disappointing bowls turn into major bowls, major bowls turn into conference championships, and soon enough, the Vols are back.

If there were a magic wand, Jones would have it. But if Tennessee is going to rebuild, they have to do it one excruciating fourth quarter, fourth down play at a time. It’s what their program was built on, after all.