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Tennessee football: Ranking all 25 full-time head coaches in Vols history

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee head coach Johnny Majors and offensive coordinator Phillip Fulmer watch the Vols warm up before the Memphis State game Saturday, Nov. 14, 1992Majors And Fulmer 1992
Tennessee head coach Johnny Majors and offensive coordinator Phillip Fulmer watch the Vols warm up before the Memphis State game Saturday, Nov. 14, 1992Majors And Fulmer 1992 /
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A military flyover passers over Neyland Stadium before an NCAA college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.Kns Tennessee South Carolina Football
A military flyover passers over Neyland Stadium before an NCAA college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.Kns Tennessee South Carolina Football /

Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 3rd head coach. 1902-03. player. Hubert Fisher. 15. 839

10-7 (4-6 SIAA)

Going back to the early part of the 20th century, immediately after Gilbert Kelly, Tennessee football brought on future politician Hubert Fisher. Fisher played on the 1901 Princeton Tigers team, so he came to UT from there just like Kelly, but he did reach new heights with the Vols.

In 1902, with Nash Buckingham as the captain, Rocky Top went an impressive 6-2. They beat King, the Maryville Scots, Sewanee, Nashville, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech. Now, they still lost to Vanderbilt, a team they hadn’t yet ever beaten at that point, and they closed out the year with a loss to Clemson, but the season was still a success.

The next year, though, Fisher helped usher in an era of futility. UT started 2-0 in 1903 but then lost five of its last seven games to finish 4-5, its first losing season since returning from the lost years in 1896. That began an era of four straight losing seasons, something the Vols wouldn’t repeat until the 2010s.

In that regard, Fisher left the Vols in bad shape. However, he did improve UT from the year before he took over, and everything that happened after can’t be heavily blamed on him the way what happened in the 2010s can be blamed on Lane Kiffin. As a result, he can be at No. 15.

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