By Rock Westfall
Kentucky basketball fans were let down by the hire of Mark Pope as their new head coach, replacing John Calipari. Tennessee fans can relate to Kentucky based on past dubious football hires. Furthermore, Kentucky and Tennessee fans share the bond of having a near obnoxious sense of entitlement.
A Humiliating Big Blue Lesson of Painful Resignation
On Friday, the Kentucky Wildcats and athletic director Mitch Barnhart made it official, hiring the relatively anonymous Mark Pope to replace John Calipari, one of the biggest names in the game.
Pope has the Kentucky DNA of captaining its 1996 national championship team. But his coaching record is a rather pedestrian 110-52. Furthermore, Pope has only two March Madness appearances in the last four years, getting bounced in the round of 64 both times.
While not bad, Pope’s record pales in comparison to the resumes of other historic Kentucky hires, such as Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino, and Tubby Smith. Even the failed and infamous Billy Gillispie could boast of a Sweet Sixteen at Texas A&M when he was introduced to Big Blue Nation.
As Calipari would say, Kentucky is the bluest of the blue-blood college hoops programs. It’s not just a Mount Rushmore program; It’s George Washington on Mount Rushmore. With that status and a championship lineage comes a fan base known for its unbridled arrogance.
When Calipari bolted, Kentucky fans assumed that the biggest names in the game, starting with Connecticut’s Dan Hurley, would crawl to take the job. Instead, the top coaches in basketball laughed in Kentucky’s face. Indeed, no accomplished basketball coach wants anything to do with Kentucky. And much of that has to do with the demanding derangement of Big Blue Nation.
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https://twitter.com/franfraschilla/status/1778614618304159749
Kentucky Basketball is Old Money
Kentucky fans shock even college basketball insiders with their hubris. In fact, Big Blue Nation is hated by other fan bases for its demeanor. And coaches that have already established themselves see the gig as not worth the heartache and hassle.
Worse still, Kentucky is not the premier job it thinks of itself as. Its last national championship was in 2012, ending a drought that went back to 1998. In comparison, UConn just won its second consecutive title and its sixth since 1999. Additionally, Kentucky’s fellow historic brands have done better. North Carolina has three titles since 2005, while its hated ACC arch-rival Duke has three since 2001. And then Kansas has had two relatively recent titles (2008, 2022).
Kentucky fans may have their noses in the air, but they have the nicest house in an aging neighborhood. That is why UConn head coach Dan Hurley scoffed at the thought of coaching there. Other marquee men, such as Baylor’s Scott Drew, Alabama’s Nate Oats, and former Florida and current Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan, passed.
Indeed, Kentucky fans are learning they aren’t so special anymore. And it has triggered them. This trait leads to Big Orange football fans being able to relate to Big Blue Nation.
https://twitter.com/TylerDavis93/status/1778454702851580167
One Year in the Fast Lane Triggered Rocky Top Riots
Since integration, Tennessee has had one national championship (1998). During segregation, the Volunteers won five nattys. The last time that Tennessee played in the SEC championship game was in 2007, losing 21-14 to LSU. Its last SEC title was in 1998, which was its second consecutive league championship. Since 1991, those are the only two SEC crowns for Big Orange.
Despite a good but nowhere near dominant modern history, Tennessee fans, like Kentucky hoops backers, believe their program is on par with the elite. In this, Vol Nation is delusional.
Since 2007, the Vols have beaten college football’s gold standard, Alabama, only once (2022), and they needed considerable good fortune to do so. But to some deranged Tennessee fans, they are on par with the Crimson Tide. And that neurotic self-belief has led to shameless fatuousness when it comes to coaching letdowns.
Tennessee’s tirades began in January 2010, when Lane Kiffin bolted in the middle of the night for USC after only one year on Rocky Top. Upon word that Kiffin had cut and run for Hollywood, Knoxville erupted in riots. Kiffin’s replacement, Derek Dooley, was hired in on-the-fly desperation and proved to be way out of his depth at UT.
In 2013, Dooley was followed by Butch Jones, who arrived with solid credentials that earned him some time, but Jones could never fully break through. He was fired with two games remaining in 2017, leading to one of the most infamous coaching searches in sports history.
Then-athletic director John Currie was unable to land a top-tier candidate. So, in desperation, he settled for Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano. Schiano was known for his success during a previous stint at Rutgers where he turned around one of the worst programs in the sport. Schiano’s ties to the superpower Ohio State program and its elite coach, Urban Meyer, were additional pads to his resume. But the coach was a thoroughbred northeasterner. And that set off Vol Nation.
https://twitter.com/loganwnewton/status/1216585661299470336
Where Were You When?
Currie leaked out that Schiano would be hired to test the waters. An endorsement from Peyton Manning was assumed to be a credibility enhancer. Except it was not.
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Nashville media personality, Tennessee football fanatic, and author Clay Travis triggered a Twitter revolt. Travis alleged that Schiano knew of the sexual abuse going on at Penn State while serving as an assistant there under Joe Paterno. Nothing was ever proven, but the allegation was enough for Tennessee fans to form protests and bombard the UT administration with demands that it pull the offer, which it did.
It was an unforgettable day that showed the power of unleashed social media and the potential to damage a man’s reputation without confirmed evidence. Millions of non-Tennessee fans were drawn into the drama, unable to turn away from the fans with pitchforks storming Rocky Top. It also showed the powerful passion of Vol Nation and its ability to dominate the narrative, even if not within the bounds of fairness and decency.
After the Schiano plan blew up, Currie seemed to have made a remarkable recovery in coming to terms with then-Washington State head coach Mike Leach. But before Currie could close the deal, he was called home to face the career firing squad.
Subsequently, Tennessee hired Alabama assistant Jeremy Pruitt, a bumbling and corrupt incompetent who UT later had to fire for numerous recruiting violations. But unlike Schiano, Pruitt was a Southerner and a good ol’ boy—so much so that legendary Nashville college football radio commentator Bill King dubbed Pruitt “Skoal Can.” Thus, Pruitt was initially accepted by the Tennessee faithful.
Fast-forward to now, and Vol Nation is loving itself some Josh Heupel. However, it remains an inconvenient truth that in January 2021, Heupel himself, like Derek Dooley, was a desperate hire after Pruitt was fired. He arrived facing little enthusiasm and plenty of skepticism. So far, Heupel is keeping the Tennessee posse at bay. But as Butch Jones can testify, that can change on a dime.
https://twitter.com/SECfootball/status/934926776496635905
Yesterday’s News in Fading Neighborhoods
This week was a reminder to Kentucky basketball and Tennessee football fans that many coaches see them as relics of a bygone era. Coaches such as Dan Hurley are creating new exclusive subdivisions, leaving the old blue-blood neighborhoods behind.
Big Blue and Big Orange Nation would be well-advised to get over themselves. Otherwise, the future will likely take care of it for them.
