Tennessee football: Vols 5 best seasons with second-year head coach

2. Robert Neyland – 1927

8-0-1 (5-0-1)

Southern Conference Champion

John Barnhill’s predecessor had an even better second season than he did. And that second season came with his first stint with Tennessee football, as Barnhill was Robert Neyland’s second successor. W.H. Britton was the first in 1935.

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Anyway, Neyland took over the Vols in 1926 for M.B. Banks. He was hired to “beat Vanderbilt.” However, in his first year, even with a great 8-1 record that was a sign of things to come, the Vols only loss was a 20-3 thrashing to the Commodores.

So Neyland entered 1927 much more determined. His team, in the process, got off to a 7-0 start. Then they were to face Vanderbilt at home this time. Neyland’s team tied Vandy 7-7, but at least they didn’t lose. And the future spelled epic dominance over them, as Neyland would only lose to them two more times the rest of his career.

After that game, the Vols were able to close out the season with a 20-0 shutout over the Kentucky Wildcats. In the process, they were able to clinch the Southern Conference Championship. Titles would become a regular thing in the future for Neyland. So this was just one of the earliest signs of their coming success.

Shifting the dominance in a rivalry and winning a championship is enough to make this a highly successful season for a second-year head coach. There were no rankings yet, but Tennessee football also made this the first of three straight seasons without a loss, which was also amazing. Given Neyland’s success, this is clearly a time when the second year meant something.