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

By Caleb Calhoun

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - NOVEMBER 12: Head Coach Derek Dooley of the Tennessee Volunteers signals to the sidelines during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium Stadium on November 12, 2011 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Volunteers 49 to 7. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - NOVEMBER 12: Head Coach Derek Dooley of the Tennessee Volunteers signals to the sidelines during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium Stadium on November 12, 2011 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Volunteers 49 to 7. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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3. Harvey Robinson

Year: 1954

Record: 4-6 (1-5)

Some coaches who struggled for Tennessee football never had a chance. They inherited a program on a downward slide. Harvey Robinson was not one of those guys. In fact, he took over for the Vols at the perfect time.

Robert Neyland had built UT into a powerhouse, and his third stint included back to back national championships in 1950 and 1951. He then finished his final season in 1952 before retiring. Robinson, an assistant his entire third stint, was the obvious choice to replace him.

A 6-4-1 record in 1953 did seem like a down year relative to the new expectations the Vols had from Neyland. And John Barnhill had proven during the World War II years that Neyland laid the foundation for them to be a program, not just coach-dependent school.

However, it was worth giving Robinson a chance. So he entered 1954 with a chance to get things going the other way. It didn’t happen. The Vols stumbled to 4-6 and 1-5 in the SEC. A close loss to the Duke Blue Devils, a blowout loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide were part of that.

But the end was the worst, as they were 4-2 at one point but finished the season with four straight losses to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Florida Gators, Vanderbilt Commodores and Kentucky Wildcats. So they lost to all past and eventual rivals.

To make matters worse, it was the Vols’ first losing season since 1935, when W.H. Britton replaced Neyland for a year after his first stint. Those were their only two losing seasons since 1925. So it was horrible by all standards, and Bowden Wyatt winning the SEC with a 10-0 record two years later made people resent this season more.

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