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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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Dec 5, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Footballs lay on the field before the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Footballs lay on the field before the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 6th head coach. 1907-09. George Levene. 13. 839

15-10-3 (7-9-1 SIAA)

Similar to Butch Jones, George Levene restored success to Tennessee football 100 years earlier only to leave it in terrible shape. Levene came to UT after playing for the Penn Quakers in 1905 and 1906, and the Vols were in the midst of four straight losing seasons, exactly what they were in after their first year under Jones in 2013.

Levene, however, immediately turned it around. He took a team that was 1-6-2 the year before and went 7-2-1, only losing at Georgia Tech and Alabama. They tied Kentucky State College, and it did help that they were able to avoid Vanderbilt that year.

A year later, the Vols went 7-2, losing at Vanderbilt and Alabama. It should be noted these are the first two seven-win seasons in school history, and they were quality records, as they beat three teams with winning records both years, including a win over John Heisman and Georgia Tech in 1908. However, in 1909, it all came crashing down.

The Vols opened that year tying Central, and then they lost six straight to North Carolina, Kentucky State College, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Alabama before tying Chattanooga. Now, this was a brutal schedule, as UNC went 9-2, Kentucky went 9-1, Georgia Tech went 7-2, Vandy went 7-3 and Alabama went 5-1-2.

As a result, the schedule clearly cost them, but Chattanooga and Central are two bad ties, and UGA went 1-4-2, so they were a bad loss. They did close out the year with a meaningless win over Transylvania, but this was tied for the worst year in Tennessee football history, which cost Levene what could have been a higher spot on here.

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