Tennessee football: Ranking 10 Vols coaches from other Power Five schools
Our rule with the Army Black Knights makes it pretty clear who would be at the top of this list. He’s only the greatest coach in Tennessee football history and has a strong case to be the greatest in SEC history.
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General Robert Neyland, a guy who would win championships with the Vols and then go beat Nazis in World War II, is a larger than life figure. He came from Army as an end, and his preference for defense was notable early.
After one year as an assistant for M.B. Banks, Neyland was promoted in 1926. He was hired specifically to “beat Vanderbilt.” Well, before his first retirement, he had a nine-year run that included five seasons without a loss, two Southern Conference Championships and a 6-1-2 record against Vanderbilt, the only loss coming his first year on the job.
Coming back from his first stint, he oversaw the greatest period in school history. Neyland did not lose a regular season game from 1938 to 1940 and went undefeated, untied and unscored on in the regular season of 1939. That’s when he won three straight SEC titles and two national title.
But he wasn’t done. Neyland then left during WWII, only to come back in 1946. Over the next seven years, he had three more SEC Championships and then won back to back national titles in 1950 and 1951, retiring with a 173-31-12 record.
Next. Projecting the Vols' 2019 2-deep depth chart. dark
His defensive focus and obsession for toughness, no doubt developed from his days at Army, ushered the Vols into a national program. Naturally, he would be at the top of this list, and he is clearly the greatest coach in UT history. That Army loophole we used to open this list allows him to be on here.