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

59-22-2 (22-18-1 SEC)

Nobody had more early success out of the gate in Tennessee football history than Bill Battle. In his first year as head coach, the Vols went 11-1, won the Sugar Bowl and finished in the top five. Over the next two years, they went 10-2 each season and managed to finish in the top 10.

That second 10-2 season was Condredge Holloway’s first year at quarterback, and he was the first starting Black quarterback in the SEC. His highlight reel and Battle’s deep understanding of the game signified a bright future on Rocky Top. However, the opposite happened, which pushed him down this list.

Holloway battled injuries over the next two years, and the Vols went 8-4 and 7-3-2 during that time. They still finished in the top 20 both seasons, and they reached bowl games, which made for a 10-year streak of bowl appearances and top 20 finishes in at least one poll.

However, after Holloway left, it got worse. UT lost to the North Texas State (now North Texas) Mean Green in a dramatic upset in 1975 as they went 7-5, and they fell to 6-5 in 1976. Battle was then forced out to make room for Johnny Majors, then the Vols’ favorite son who was the hottest commodity in coaching at the time.

Despite being one of the winningest coaches in school history, a 4-1 bowl record and five straight top 20 finishes, the slide pushes Battle down this list. He also won no championships and inherited a program from Doug Dickey that had won two SEC championships in three years.

Now, not all of this was Battle’s fault. It was clear that Tennessee football had fallen behind when it came to facilities and the state of Neyland Stadium, and sticking to tradition was holding them back, but Battle didn’t do enough to stop it.