Tennessee football’s 10 coaches who inherited biggest mess

After Robert Neyland retired for good in 1952, he became athletic director and hired Harvey Robinson, a protege of his, to continue the Tennessee football program that he built into a powerhouse. Robinson failed to keep it up to that level, as he went 6-4-1 in 1953 and then fell to 4-6 in 1954, forcing Neyland to fire him.

In search of a replacement, Neyland turned to one of his former All-American players who had just won the Southwest Conference in his second year with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Bowden Wyatt had a run of success there and before that with the Wyoming Cowboys, where he won back to back conference titles in 1949 and 1950 and went undefeated in 1950.

Having played for the Vols and won a national title, hiring him was a no-brainer. Wyatt had to take over a program that hadn’t been ranked since the first week of 1953, though, and with a depleted roster, he fell to 0-2. However, after that, he turned things around.

The Vols went 6-3-1 in 1955 and 10-1 with an SEC Championship and No. 2 finish in 1956. They went 8-3 with a top 20 finish and Gator Bowl win in 1957, but after that, things began to falter. Wyatt had two losing seasons, no bowl seasons and only one top 20 finish in his final five years. So he faltered late, but he had early success after inheriting a bad team.