Majors lost his job because of his drinking, pure and simple. The game changed and he wasn't willing to actually put Gatorade in his Gatorade bottle, that and he couldn't beat Alabama.

(03-16-2010 10:11 AM)Mister Jennings Wrote:  

(12-11-2009 04:07 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  I dont think Fulmer would be a good consultant.

The person I think would be a good consultant would be John Majors.

Majors basically resurrected the program at Pitt, taking it from 1-10 (and 20 scholarships or so) to a national championship in four years.

Before that, he made Iowa State competitive for the first time in their history and while people thought there were a few too many losing records during his tenure at Tennessee, it was Majors who essentially got the facilities built that Fulmer was able to capitalize on.

Majors track record states he could do something like resurrect a football program at ETSU.

Fulmer's doesn't.

Are you kidding me? Majors is number 1 in Tennessee history in losses. He was able to turn Pitt around by recruiting over a hundred players in talent rich Pennsylvania including a special Heisman trophy winner named Dorsett. Rules changed and he couldn't do that at Tennessee. With resources that compare with the best programs in the country...the best he could do is a Sugar Bowl victory against Miami... never came close to a national championship. How many times did he beat Alabama... it's not pretty? How did he do resurrecting Pitt the second time around?

Majors was a tyrant, a blamer, whiner. That's how Fulmer stole his job...the players and staff were much happier with him gone...and they eventually won a national championship that Johnny came marching home for but couldn't deliver in what...16 years of coaching.

I think that Terry Bradshaw would be perfect. No coaching record but he's a good singer and actor. He won a bunch of super bowls....but he can't remember 1969 Grantland Rice Bowl where he got his butt beat in. This sounds like Johnny.

A few things-

If Majors' drinking cost him the job, it would have cost him the job when supposedly he showed up bombed for a taping of the Johnny Majors Show in 1982. While this allegation may be urban legend, if there's any truth to it then we have to wonder why he wasn't let go then before he had really done anything at UT, and if it isn't true then the allegations of drinking costing him the UT job aren't legit.

All I know is his time spent post-coaching were largely spent raising a grandson. Such responsibilities are usually not asked by a family from raging alcoholics.

I can also say that at the time of his second hire at Pitt, the other candidate Pitt was considering was Jackie Sherrill. At the time he was in his first season at Mississippi State and could have been had.

The thing that got Majors the job was frankly the Chancellor of Pitt at the time thought Majors was of greater character. The bull castration was the clincher. I would think an investigation would have occurred of these coaches personal life- and the Chancellor at Pitt was not there when the Panthers were a national power under Majors and/or Sherrill, so he had no sentiment to them any more than he would have to another historical figure of the program.

I know the allegations. I know of one commentator who constantly refers to Majors as "Coach Johnny Walker Red."

But would Pitt have hired his former offensive coordinator as Majors' replacement if he was a raging drunk? Would they have kept him on the payroll? Would every player and Pitt official I have spoken to in private circumstances speak of the man in greatly favorable terms?

The only thing I do know for sure of Majors' drinking is that the first beer he ever had was an Iron City.

(03-16-2010 09:43 PM)Buccaneerlover Wrote:  Majors lost his job because of his drinking, pure and simple. The game changed and he wasn't willing to actually put Gatorade in his Gatorade bottle, that and he couldn't beat Alabama.

(03-16-2010 10:11 AM)Mister Jennings Wrote:  

(12-11-2009 04:07 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  I dont think Fulmer would be a good consultant.

The person I think would be a good consultant would be John Majors.

Majors basically resurrected the program at Pitt, taking it from 1-10 (and 20 scholarships or so) to a national championship in four years.

Before that, he made Iowa State competitive for the first time in their history and while people thought there were a few too many losing records during his tenure at Tennessee, it was Majors who essentially got the facilities built that Fulmer was able to capitalize on.

Majors track record states he could do something like resurrect a football program at ETSU.

Fulmer's doesn't.

Are you kidding me? Majors is number 1 in Tennessee history in losses. He was able to turn Pitt around by recruiting over a hundred players in talent rich Pennsylvania including a special Heisman trophy winner named Dorsett. Rules changed and he couldn't do that at Tennessee. With resources that compare with the best programs in the country...the best he could do is a Sugar Bowl victory against Miami... never came close to a national championship. How many times did he beat Alabama... it's not pretty? How did he do resurrecting Pitt the second time around?

Majors was a tyrant, a blamer, whiner. That's how Fulmer stole his job...the players and staff were much happier with him gone...and they eventually won a national championship that Johnny came marching home for but couldn't deliver in what...16 years of coaching.

I think that Terry Bradshaw would be perfect. No coaching record but he's a good singer and actor. He won a bunch of super bowls....but he can't remember 1969 Grantland Rice Bowl where he got his butt beat in. This sounds like Johnny.

How many coaches won a National Championship at Tennessee? Don't give me these manufactured titles they try to give Tennessee now in 1968 or whenever- Pitt might as well call themselves the National Champion in 1980 for finishing first in the NY Times poll if that's the criteria.

The only other National Title UT ever won was in 1951, when the champ was declared before the bowl games, and they were thumped by Maryland, who was No. 3 that year. I once had the team captain of that Vols team tell me how much the Terps physically beat him that day.

What you fail to consider was how down UT was when he took over- otherwise Majors wouldn't have had the job.

It took many years for UT to have the facilities that other SEC titlists had- and for his petitioning for them you call him a whiner. When he had them towards the end of his career, UT was putting up seasons of 10 or more victories.

Here are some facts-

Before Majors went in for his quadruple bipass, a contract extension was on the table from Doug Dickey.

Fulmer had a successful three game run in his interim, and also, according to records obtained by the Knoxville News-Sentinel, made 26 phone calls to his superiors during this time. Something tells me he wasn't talking about the weather.

If a field goal by Arkansas goes wide, and a 2-point conversion against South Carolina goes in, Tennessee is 10-1 in 1992 and Majors is staying on.

As for former players elated that Majors was gone, I can only tell you of a conversation I had with Todd Helton that I printed in Sports Talk. In it, Helton spoke of Fulmer simply as a winning coach, but spoke of the Majors being "good to his family."

The Majors/Fulmer debate is much like the DeChellis/Bartow (or if you prefer, Robinson/Bartow) debate. One could look at NCAA appearances and gather than Bartow is the most successful coach in ETSU history.

But this standard refuses to acknowledge the fact that triumphs during the DeChellis and Majors years were gained by rebuilding, while the triumphs of their successors were often accomplished through inheritance.

When the dust settles....Bartow will not be remembered all that fondly.


Robinson will always be a God at ETSU

(03-17-2010 08:15 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  

(03-16-2010 09:43 PM)Buccaneerlover Wrote:  Majors lost his job because of his drinking, pure and simple. The game changed and he wasn't willing to actually put Gatorade in his Gatorade bottle, that and he couldn't beat Alabama.

(03-16-2010 10:11 AM)Mister Jennings Wrote:  

(12-11-2009 04:07 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  I dont think Fulmer would be a good consultant.

The person I think would be a good consultant would be John Majors.

Majors basically resurrected the program at Pitt, taking it from 1-10 (and 20 scholarships or so) to a national championship in four years.

Before that, he made Iowa State competitive for the first time in their history and while people thought there were a few too many losing records during his tenure at Tennessee, it was Majors who essentially got the facilities built that Fulmer was able to capitalize on.

Majors track record states he could do something like resurrect a football program at ETSU.

Fulmer's doesn't.

Are you kidding me? Majors is number 1 in Tennessee history in losses. He was able to turn Pitt around by recruiting over a hundred players in talent rich Pennsylvania including a special Heisman trophy winner named Dorsett. Rules changed and he couldn't do that at Tennessee. With resources that compare with the best programs in the country...the best he could do is a Sugar Bowl victory against Miami... never came close to a national championship. How many times did he beat Alabama... it's not pretty? How did he do resurrecting Pitt the second time around?

Majors was a tyrant, a blamer, whiner. That's how Fulmer stole his job...the players and staff were much happier with him gone...and they eventually won a national championship that Johnny came marching home for but couldn't deliver in what...16 years of coaching.

I think that Terry Bradshaw would be perfect. No coaching record but he's a good singer and actor. He won a bunch of super bowls....but he can't remember 1969 Grantland Rice Bowl where he got his butt beat in. This sounds like Johnny.

How many coaches won a National Championship at Tennessee? Don't give me these manufactured titles they try to give Tennessee now in 1968 or whenever- Pitt might as well call themselves the National Champion in 1980 for finishing first in the NY Times poll if that's the criteria.

The only other National Title UT ever won was in 1951, when the champ was declared before the bowl games, and they were thumped by Maryland, who was No. 3 that year. I once had the team captain of that Vols team tell me how much the Terps physically beat him that day.

What you fail to consider was how down UT was when he took over- otherwise Majors wouldn't have had the job.

It took many years for UT to have the facilities that other SEC titlists had- and for his petitioning for them you call him a whiner. When he had them towards the end of his career, UT was putting up seasons of 10 or more victories.

Here are some facts-

Before Majors went in for his quadruple bipass, a contract extension was on the table from Doug Dickey.

Fulmer had a successful three game run in his interim, and also, according to records obtained by the Knoxville News-Sentinel, made 26 phone calls to his superiors during this time. Something tells me he wasn't talking about the weather.

If a field goal by Arkansas goes wide, and a 2-point conversion against South Carolina goes in, Tennessee is 10-1 in 1992 and Majors is staying on.

As for former players elated that Majors was gone, I can only tell you of a conversation I had with Todd Helton that I printed in Sports Talk. In it, Helton spoke of Fulmer simply as a winning coach, but spoke of the Majors being "good to his family."

The Majors/Fulmer debate is much like the DeChellis/Bartow (or if you prefer, Robinson/Bartow) debate. One could look at NCAA appearances and gather than Bartow is the most successful coach in ETSU history.

But this standard refuses to acknowledge the fact that triumphs during the DeChellis and Majors years were gained by rebuilding, while the triumphs of their successors were often accomplished through inheritance.

Here is Major's coaching record....

Iowa State Cyclones (Big Eight Conference) (1968–1972)
1968 Iowa State 3-7 1-6 7th
1969 Iowa State 3-7 1-6 7th
1970 Iowa State 5-6 1-6 T-6th
1971 Iowa State 8-4 4-3 4th L Sun 17
1972 Iowa State 5-6-1 2-4-1 5th L Liberty
Iowa State: 24-30-1 9-25-1
Pittsburgh Panthers (Independent) (1973–1976)
1973 Pittsburgh 6-5-1 L Fiesta
1974 Pittsburgh 7-4
1975 Pittsburgh 8-4 W Sun T13 15
1976 Pittsburgh 12-0 W Sugar 1 1
Pittsburgh: 33-13-1
Tennessee Volunteers (Southeastern Conference) (1977–1992)
1977 Tennessee 4-7 1-5 8th
1978 Tennessee 5-5-1 3-3 T-4th
1979 Tennessee 7-5 3-3 T-5th L Bluebonnet
1980 Tennessee 5-6 3-3 6th
1981 Tennessee 8-4 3-3 T-4th W Garden State
1982 Tennessee 6-5-1 3-2-1 5th L Peach
1983 Tennessee 9-3 4-2 T-3rd W Citrus
1984 Tennessee 7-4-1 3-3 T-5th L Sun
1985 Tennessee 9-1-2 5-1 1st W Sugar 4 4
1986 Tennessee 7-5 3-3 6th W Liberty
1987 Tennessee 10-2-1 4-1-1 3rd W Peach 13 14
1988 Tennessee 5-6 3-4 T-6th
1989 Tennessee 11-1 6-1 T-1st W Cotton 5 5
1990 Tennessee 9-2-2 5-1-1 1st W Sugar 7 8
1991 Tennessee 9-3 5-2 3rd L Fiesta 15 14
1992 Tennessee 5-3* 3-3* 3rd (East)* * 12* 12*
Tennessee: 116-62-8 57-40-3
Pittsburgh Panthers (Big East Conference) (1993–1996)
1993 Pittsburgh 3-8 2-5 6th
1994 Pittsburgh 3-8 2-5 7th
1995 Pittsburgh 2-9 0-7 8th
1996 Pittsburgh 4-7 3-4 5th
Pittsburgh: 12-32 7-21

*The first three games of the season and the 1993 Hall of Fame Bowl are credited to Phillip Fulmer.
Total: 185-137-10

If you want to call that great coaching...go ahead... As Majors usually said..."in my opinion" it's marginal at best. Don't romanticize Majors because he coached at your favorite school. The man was way overrated and as a person...less than desirable.

I'll never forget when a videographer I was with took a shot of Majors smoking. I didn't notice it. As we were putting the gear away...a car speeds up, window rolls down and it's Majors asking if we got a picture of him smoking... "yes we did".

"What are you doing to do with it?"

"I don't know."

"Don't use that because it's bad for the youth."

I'll buy he said that.

And I'm also okay with it.

I champion Majors because if he had what Fulmer had at Tennessee I believe he could have done what Fulmer did there had he stayed on.

Is the fact he coached at Pitt an influence? Yes. It allowed me access to Majors.

He's full of pride, but he also will open up to you and give you time.

I like him.

Just a few points. What you have shown us is that he has turned around every program he's ever been at, and to a certain degree even Pitt the second time. Pitt was down horribly, beyond that of even Vanderbilt in their worst times, when he inherited the program. They were 3-9 in 1992, the season before he arrived, and really had very few facilities and were getting beat on the recruiting trail.

Majors didn't lead Pitt back to national prominence, I'll grant you that. But by the end of his run he had enough talent on hand that Walt Harris could take them to a bowl game the following season and they could beat Virginia Tech and West Virginia. And Harris had been his offensive coordinator at Tennessee.

By staying with this lineage, so to speak, Pitt was able to become a good football school again under Harris, recruiting Larry Fitzgerald and the like on the promise of new facilities, which weren't even in place yet upon Fitzgerald's recruitment.

Say what you will, but 1-10 to a National Championship in four years is one of the great college football coaching jobs of all time.

And it is more impressive to recruit Tony Dorsett when you're 1-10 than to get Peyton Manning because his brother got hurt and wouldn't play at Ole Miss anymore, which is how Fulmer got Manning.

You have to ask yourself, why has Majors been in demand at Pitt and Tennessee but Fulmer has not been able to get another coaching job?

Fulmer is Johnny Junior. He used the Majors coaching philosophy, game strategy etc. He was a lead sitter, no creativity, get your butt kicked late in the game coach. Majors damaged himself mightily when he was fired for being lousy...losingest coach in Tennessee history. His pride led him to insult everyone associated with the Tennessee program and hold a grudge till the creep with no ethics Kiffin came in.

Majors should be an AD or fund raiser or something at Tennessee. He has many wonderful qualities...a few you have already mentioned. I knew his Dad, Mom, Brothers and Sister. He is very personable...great jokes, life of the party. I could tell you stories.... I do not think of him as a great coach...I think the record proves it. He had one year where everything went perfect behind perhaps the greatest runner ever. I wonder if Derek was on the sideline when Majors was wiping out Vince in the Sugar Bowl?

First of all, in 1992 when Fulmer was hired it was supposedly because he wanted to change the offense. Majors was very conservative- no question.

So was Chuck Noll.

Second, Majors WAS a fundraiser at Pitt after his coaching career. Is fundraising at Pitt not as good as fundraising at Tennessee?

And you say I like Majors because I am biased? Look in the mirror!

This "losingest coach in school history" stuff . . . so is Madison Brooks.

As I said before, if it weren't for the demands Majors had made for improving facilities, they would never have been in place for Fulmer to capitalize on.

You want to say that Majors rode Dorsett- though I would point out that Iowa State usually doesn't go 8-4, and the 5-6-1 mark came about in a tie to Nebraska where the kicker missed the extra point with 23 seconds left. That's pretty good for ISU.

I would also say that Fulmer clearly rode Manning. You can even see this around 2001 when he's playing Jason Witten at defensive end.

A record doesn't always indicate everything. Connie Mack had a losing record. Casey Stengel was one game above .500.

They're both in the Hall of Fame.