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Ranking all 6 Tennessee football head coaches who played for Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

ATHENS, GA - OCTOBER 9: Head coach Phillip Fulmer of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on during warmups before the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on October 9, 2004 in Athens, Georgia. Tennessee won 19-14. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA - OCTOBER 9: Head coach Phillip Fulmer of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on during warmups before the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on October 9, 2004 in Athens, Georgia. Tennessee won 19-14. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images /

Tennessee football has had six head coaches play for them in its history. Here is how those leaders with unique ties to the Volunteers rank.

Throughout its history, Tennessee football has never been specific when looking for a coach to lead the program. That’s evident right now, as the Vols have hired an Alabama Crimson Tide graduate in Jeremy Pruitt to return them back to prominence.

However, Rocky Top does have a history of hiring in-house at times to build its program. And some of its greatest success stories have come from home-grown talent who became themselves while playing in Knoxville.

Even in recent years, Tennessee football head coaches have made a point to try to have one or two guys on staff or in the program who played for the program. Such a connection is important when trying to build a culture.

The same is true with Pruitt this year, as his wide receivers coach, Tee Martin, won a national championship with the Vols in 1998. Last year, Pruitt had Terry Fair coaching defensive backs. Fair played during the Peyton Manning years in the mid-1990s.

But how well does hiring a coach to lead his alma mater work out? We know it went perfectly for Alabama when they hired Bear Bryant. At the same time, though, it was a disaster for them when they hired Mike Shula.

So how has this worked out for the Vols? In this post, we’re going to break it down. There have been six UT head coaches in the school’s history who actually played for the program before leading it. Some have thrived, others have struggled. But all contributed more than just coaching to Rocky Top.

Some of these guys were much more successful as players than coaches. In fact, a couple of them were legends as players. That’s why it’s so hard to hire lettermen as coaches. Fans just don’t have the heart to be as tough on them.

Are there examples of that here? Could it maybe have worked in reverse? Let’s analyze it all here. This is our ranking of the six Tennessee football head coaches who played for the Vols before leading them on the sidelines.

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