CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd offers brutal assessment of where Tennessee stands in SEC pecking order

Tennessee became the fourth SEC school to fire its coach since the 2020 season began, and now the Vols are trying to find a coach to get the Vols back to the championship level they enjoyed in the 1990s.

But Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports said he believes that where Tennessee thinks of itself in the SEC and across college football is different than reality.

“It’s a program that thinks of itself better than it is,” Dodd said. “It doesn’t compete for championships, it last won one in 1998. They won the first BCS title. They’re not in an orbit with Georgia, Florida in their division, certainly not Alabama, and I would say Texas A&M and LSU from the other side. So it has a great history, but it doesn’t have a great program right now. That’s not to say they can’t get it back. But now you’re looking at spending money to hire a new coach, new staff, trying to compete. Paying all that money and trying to get relevant in the SEC. That’s just not going to happen anytime soon.”

“Tennessee is a program that thinks of itself better than it is. It doesn’t compete for championships … They are not in an orbit with Georgia and Florida.”@dennisdoddcbs with @Hassel_Chris on Jeremy Pruitt’s firing pic.twitter.com/x2XpAhJVRI

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) January 18, 2021

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.