This fast-approaching season marks the 10th anniversary of Tennessee’s last meaningful victory. The Volunteers won the first BCS national title in 1998. Since then, they have won three bowl games in nine years, but they have no BCS victories.
In 2001, the Volunteers were on the verge of their second national championship appearance in four seasons. A week after defeating arch-rival No. 2 Florida, they were ranked No. 2 heading into the SEC Championship Game.
All they had to do was beat underdog LSU and their backup quarterback. An overconfident and unprepared Tennessee squad blew a lead and lost 31-20.
After that season, Tennessee has finished out of the AP poll twice and never in the top 10. The Volunteers have not taken advantage of SEC championship appearances in going 0-3 since the national title.
6) Jeff Tedford
Jeff Tedford, regarded by some as an offensive genius, is widely known for producing successful college quarterbacks. His students have included Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller, and Aaron Rodgers. All have been NFL first round picks.
Smith, Harrington, and Boller have been busts of epic proportions. Dilfer, while an offensive manager on a Super Bowl winner, has not lived up to a sixth overall pick. The jury (and hopefully Brett Favre) is still out on Aaron Rodgers.
Note to NFL GMs: Stay away from a Tedford-coached quarterback.
His team at Cal has claimed stake to only one conference title in his six seasons at the helm. California seemed in control of their destiny last season after defeating Oregon in Eugene in a thrilling 31-24 victory. Tedford’s team was ranked No. 2. The Golden Bears then proceeded to lose six of their next seven games to finish the season unranked.
To Tedford’s credit, his teams have actually had a successful, recent bowl record. While never appearing in a New Year’s Day bowl game, his Cal Bears are 4-1 in postseason play.
The University of California, though, is not paying him nearly $2 million per year to win the Holiday Bowl.
7) Kirk Ferentz
When you make $3 million per year and finish no better than tied for third in your own conference during the past three seasons, you qualify as O- VER-RA-TED.
Ferentz was hailed as a savior earlier in the decade after accumulating three straight 10-win seasons and top 10 finishes. The Iowa Hawkeyes seemed to be on the verge of greatness after they defeated defending national champion LSU during the 2004 season in the Capital One Bowl.
Since then, they have finished with no more than seven wins in a season. Ferentz’s team lost nine straight conference games from 2006-2007. The 2007 Hawkeyes won only four conference games despite not having to play Ohio State or Michigan.
Sources:
http://www.coacheshotseat.com/SalariesContracts.htm
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2207478
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