All for Tennessee
Fansided

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 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 25
Next
Gen. Neyland, then UT Athletic Director, sits next to Harvey Robinson, then UT Assistant Athletic director. Both were UT football head coaches in their careers, seen here in June of 1951.Img253
Gen. Neyland, then UT Athletic Director, sits next to Harvey Robinson, then UT Assistant Athletic director. Both were UT football head coaches in their careers, seen here in June of 1951.Img253 /

Scouting Report. 14th head coach. 22. Pick Analysis. 1953-54. Harvey Robinson. player. 839

10-10-1 (4-7-1 SEC)

In terms of inheriting a situation, Harvey Robinson loses points for that. However, he did have a bit of success, and he actually left Tennessee football in pretty good shape thanks to his recruiting. Those factors, while still keeping him near the bottom, don’t have him right at the bottom.

Still, Robinson was coming off one of the best eras in school history. UT won back to back national championships in 1950 and 1951 before going 8-2-1 and finishing in the top 10 in 1952. Robert Neyland was then forced into early retirement due to health issues, and Robinson, his longtime assistant, then took over.

Things started out rough, but the shock of Neyland’s retirement explained that, so despite losing to the Mississippi State Maroons (now Bulldogs) while ranked No. 17 to open the season and then falling to the No. 12 ranked Duke Blue Devils, UT took off. Robinson’s team won five of six, tying Alabama being their only blemish.

However, after getting back into the top 20, his team lost at Bear Bryant and Kentucky, and two weeks later, they lost at the Houston Cougars. After finishing 6-4-1, they started out 1954 at 4-2. Then they lost their final four games to finish 4-6, and Robinson, who played quarterback for the Vols in 1931 and 1932 and was a loyal Neyland assistant, was shown the door.

Home/Vols Football