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Tennessee football: 5 OC changes that worked out for Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Tennessee mascot Davy Crockett carries the flag across the end zone during a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Tennessee mascot Davy Crockett carries the flag across the end zone during a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Rick Stewart/Allsport
Photo by Rick Stewart/Allsport /

1. 1983: Walt Harris

Johnny Majors replaced Phillip Fulmer after firing Walt Harris in 1988. Harris, for his part, would go on to become a head coach, eventually with the Pitt Panthers, where he coached Larry Fitzgerald and won a Big East Championship.

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But before he had a disastrous 1988 season, he helped restore Tennessee football. From 1977 to 1982, Majors’s rebuilding project in Knoxville was not going as planned. He had suffered three seasons without a winning record, two of which were losing seasons.

After showing a bit of hope in 1981 with an 8-4 record, the Vols stumbled to 6-5-1 in 1982. Only an upset over the Alabama Crimson Tide that year kept some form of confidence in Majors. But his hire of Harris would change everything.

Immediately, they began knocking on the door with the arrival of Harris. This is when the title of Wide Receiver U really took off, and Harris helped Rocky Top become a fun place for skill guys to go to.

Tennessee football went 9-3 in 1983 and 7-4-1 in 1984. And finally, with Harris leading the offense, it all came together in 1985, as they went 9-1-2 and finished in the Top 5 with an SEC Championship and 35-7 Sugar Bowl win over the Miami Hurricanes. Harris had developed so much talent that Tony Robinson, who was the star, got hurt that year at quarterback, and they still ran the table with Daryl Dickey.

While defensive improvements were key to the success, don’t discount what the offenses did. The Vols only averaged over 25 points once in those six years before Harris got there. They averaged over 25 points in 1984 and 1985 and over 30 points in 1987. And they finally were able to enjoy 9-win and 10-win seasons with Top 25 finishes again.

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Harris isn’t the most memorable figure in Tennessee football history, but he took over the offense when the Vols were going through some rough times. And as he took over, he helped them achieve new heights in the 1980s. So while Phillip Fulmer and David Cutcliffe took it to greater heights, the hire of Harris still worked out.

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