CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd offers brutal assessment of where Tennessee stands in SEC pecking order
Tennessee became the fourth SEC school to fire its coach since the 2020 season began, and now the Vols are trying to find a coach to get the Vols back to the championship level they enjoyed in the 1990s.
But Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports said he believes that where Tennessee thinks of itself in the SEC and across college football is different than reality.
“It’s a program that thinks of itself better than it is,” Dodd said. “It doesn’t compete for championships, it last won one in 1998. They won the first BCS title. They’re not in an orbit with Georgia, Florida in their division, certainly not Alabama, and I would say Texas A&M and LSU from the other side. So it has a great history, but it doesn’t have a great program right now. That’s not to say they can’t get it back. But now you’re looking at spending money to hire a new coach, new staff, trying to compete. Paying all that money and trying to get relevant in the SEC. That’s just not going to happen anytime soon.”
“Tennessee is a program that thinks of itself better than it is. It doesn’t compete for championships … They are not in an orbit with Georgia and Florida.”@dennisdoddcbs with @Hassel_Chris on Jeremy Pruitt’s firing pic.twitter.com/x2XpAhJVRI
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) January 18, 2021
So his take is Pruitt should have been retained after going 2 wins, showing less development of players, and hemorrhaging recruits. Also, it’s likely proven he had violated recruiting rules. These Skip Bayless tier takes are always high on critique but low on suggestions of how to fix.
the next UT coach will be their 6th since 2005. less than 3 years/coach. this is how you take a team that was a national contender for a decade and bring them down to south carolina’s level. thanks ut fans! we enjoy the company. lol
So Pruitt, who committed multiple level 1 violations, should be retained? Also-is UT really below SC when they beat them heads up? Also-Beamer is a Daddy’s boy like Dooley, but you c-ck fondlers are treating the hire like it’s Saban.
Lol…you know your program has hit rock friggn bottom when you start getting trolled by CootU fans….poor rocky top fans! Let the misery end….
I dont know why he thinks TN thinks they are better than they are. The opposite may be true. I agree with the programs he lists that we are way behind and I dont know many fans who think othwerwise. But that is just reinforci9ng the reason to fire pruitt, not contradict it. Pretty dumb assessment by this guy.
As I was reading this I was wondering if this Dodd guy was 22 or 23 years old. He didn’t seem to know that these things run in cycles. Bama sucked for 10 years before CNS arrived, Georgia couldn’t win in the 90’s and sputtered until Kirby came home. Now it’s our turn in the barrel. Ok, I admit we’ve been in it waaaaay too long but things will turn around.
lol. bama won conference and national titles in every decade.
You guys have never won a conference championship in football and your best performance across two power 5 conferences is a singular East title. Oh 31-27 against this garbage staff.
Not sure where you been, but UGA has averaged 10 wins the last 20 years with the longest bowl streak in the nation.
On the one hand the Vols are better than this article makes them out to be but on the other I think UT has been too impatient and unrealistic. With a little patience and the right moves, they’ll climb to the top again. But they have to be patient.
Tennessee is where Georgia was in the 90s…wandering in the desert that was the Ray Goff/Jim Dohnan era.
It is a long road back unfortunately for them.
The important thing here is to get a guy that starts then down that road. He may not be the one that gets them to competing for titles, but they need someone that gets them back to being respectable.
Looks like the Tennessee program is on a equal level with South Carolina.
Hopefully a young/energetic/offense-minded new head coach will be hired.
yep. usc beat ut in our first year in the conference (’92) and lost the next 15. since 2005 (first year with spurrier here) we are 8-8 with ut.
He is entitled to his opinion, no matter how wrong I think he is. With UT’s facilities and money, there is no excuse for not being on level with the UGA, UF, etc. (I’ll admit no one is going to be at Bama’s level until Saban retires.) While I am sure there are some UT fans that have unrealistic expectations, most are not happy, but realistic in where UT is now.
you can’t have 5 coaches in 15 years and be successful. ut needs to settle on someone and stick it out. that said…pruitt was always a clown. hopefully the probation will be very serious. we need to raid your roster for transfers! lol
No they need to open that pocketbook and pay a good coach instead of going down the always save isle of coaching.
I think his point is that getting a top tier coach is probably unrealistic at this time. Patience and a caretaker to get the program back on its feet moving in the right direction should be the goal. Most fans of most schools think they are better than they are until proven otherwise.
Welcome to the basement UT!
Get comfy next to SCAR, Vandy, UK and Mizzou.
We’re all gonna be here a while.
Personally I think MIZ…ZOU will ascend the ashes first…
Missouri, third in the SEC East last year, perfect non conference record, wink.
Speaking of people who think too much of themselves, Dennis Douchebag….
#1 who the fack is Dennis Dodd and why should any UT give a shat what he thinks?
He was buddies with Sandusky judging on the pick. Him and Dan “Woken”
Pic
Actually, he held back a bit in his assessment. Tennessee is not in the same orbit as Auburn, either, although Auburn may have just hit an asteroid.
I don’t have a comment on UT, good luck on the coaching search. But A&M: what have they done, like, ever? LSU has won the second most national championships this century. They are not on our level. A&M recruits well, but so does Tennessee, Auburn, and many other SEC schools.
This is the common sense starting place that everyone in the media is afraid to lay down except Dennis Dodd. Thank you Dennis.
Almost every program in the NCAA are just a couple mediocre seasons from joining Tennessee in that fraternity. But conversely, No Program gets a limo reception without a half-decade, or complete change-over of roster, plus some.