Tennessee football: 4 best Vols coaches with losing seasons their first year

Johnny Majors didn’t just have a bad first year with Tennessee football. He had a bad first four years and took eight years to get the program finally at the level it needed to be. But it did not start out that way.

Majors was a favorite son after carrying the Vols to a 10-1 record and SEC Championship in 1956, a year many fans believe he was robbed of the Heisman and they were robbed of the national championship. But in 1977, Majors came home after winning a national championship with the Pitt Panthers to rebuild his alma mater, which fell apart under Bill Battle.

His first year, though, was the worst year in Vols history until the damage Butch Jones did in 2017. Changing the offense to a more vertical passing game took a long time to get going. They didn’t do much better in 1978, going 5-5-1, and in 1980 they were 5-6 again. But here, they were 4-7.

By 1981, Majors was finally, slowly starting to turn things around as he began a streak of seven straight winning seasons. That was highlighted by the beloved 1985 team, which broke through to win the SEC Championship and beat the Miami Hurricanes in the Sugar Bowl to finish in the Top 5.

But things really started going in 1989, as the Vols won back to back SEC titles that year and in 1990 before going 9-3 in 1991. The drama in 1992 left Majors bitter as he was forced out, but it’s safe to say he had built the program back up. And it all came after a horrendous 4-7 start. He’s only No. 3 on this list because none of his conference titles were outright or not by default (Florida was on probation in 1985 and 1990).