One of Tennessee’s most revered football figures, Johnny Majors, served as an assistant coach for the Razorbacks.
He was an assistant coach under Frank Broyles at Arkansas from 1964-67.
During Majors’ tenure with Arkansas, the Razorbacks were 33-8-1 (22-5-1 SWC). Arkansas won two Southwest Conference championships (1964-65) and one national championship in 1964.
Majors coached defensive backs under Broyles and was one of several coaches on the staff who had long careers. Jim Mackenzie, who was head coach at Oklahoma in 1966, was defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
Mackenzie went 6-4 at Oklahoma and was named Big Eight Coach of the Year. His career, however, was cut short after suffering a fatal heart attack in 1967.
Barry Switzer coached Arkansas’ offensive ends. He won three national championships as head coach at Oklahoma and won one Super Bowl title with Dallas Cowboys.
Wilson Matthews, a longtime high school coach, finished his career on Broyles’ staff, serving as defensive ends and linebackers coach from 1958-68.
Bill Pace was offensive backs coach. He would later become head coach at Vanderbilt (1967-72) and also served as Tennessee’s assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach from 1980-81.
Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones was an offensive lineman for Arkansas in 1964.
Jimmy Johnson, who won a national championship as head coach at Miami and won two Super Bowl titles with Dallas, was a defensive lineman. Ken Hatfield, who was head coach at Air Force (1979-83), Arkansas (1984-89), Clemson (1990-93) and Rice (1994-2005), was a defensive back.
The Razorbacks won the 1965 Cotton Bowl, 10-7, against Nebraska.
The Vols will open its upcoming campaign on Aug. 31 against Chattanooga at Neyland Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 12:45 p.m. EDT and SEC Network will televise the contest.
2024 will be the fourth season for Tennessee under head coach Josh Heupel. In his first three seasons, Heupel is 27-12 and guided the Vols to three bowl games.
The Vols finished 9-4 (4-4 SEC) last season.
With 45 days remaining until the start of the 2024 football season, Vols Wire looks back at Tennessee student-athletes who wore No. 45.
The number is retired in honor of tailback Johnny Majors, who played for coaches Harvey Robinson and Bowden Wyatt in Knoxville. The number was officially retired in 2012 and was removed from circulation after 2014.
Majors played for the Vols from 1954-56.
He was a unanimous All-America Selection and a runner-up for the Heisman Memorial Trophy in 1956.
A look back at the New York Jets’ head coaching search featuring Johnny Majors.
The New York Jets hired Lou Holtz as its head coach in Feb. 1976.
Holtz went to New York after serving as head coach at North Carolina State.
The Jets’ head coaching search involved former Tennessee player and eventual Vols’ head coach Johnny Majors.
Majors interviewed with Jets’ general manager Al Ward, but was not offered the job.
“I have not been offered the head coaching job of the New York Jets,” Majors said in a statement released by a University of Pittsburgh spokesman in Feb. 1976 and published by the UPI. “I was contacted by the Jets 10 days ago and did meet once with their general manager, Al Ward, because I felt professionally it would be unwise not to at least talk with him.
“I’ve had professional teams contact with me in the past, which I did not pursue, and I have not pursued this contact. To the best of my knowledge, our discussion did not reach any serious level.”
Penn State head coach Joe Paterno was also mentioned as a candidate in the Jets’ head coaching search.
“I’m happy where I am, but if I were interested in a situation, that would be it,” Paterno said in Feb. 1976 per the UPI. “New York is my hometown.”
The UPI also mentioned other coaching candidates who talked with New York were Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer, who was not interested, Bengals’ assistant coach Bill Walsh, and Steelers’ defensive coordinator Bud Carson.
The Associated Press highlighted New York’s four finalists for the Jets’ head coaching vacancy: Holtz, Majors, San Jose State head coach Darryl Rogers and Montreal Alouettes head coach Marv Levy.
Holtz guided the Jets to a 3-10 record in 1976 and resigned with one game remaining in the regular-season. He would serve as head coach at Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina following his one season with New York.
1976 was the final season for quarterback Joe Namath with the Jets.
PHOTOS: Tennessee football head coaches through the years
Tennessee has a storied football program that began play in 1891.
The Vols have won six national championships (1938, 1940, 1950, 1951, 1967, 1998). Robert Neyland won four national championships as Tennessee’s head coach, while Doug Dickey and Phillip Fulmer each guided the Vols to one title.
Tennessee has won 13 Southeastern Conference championships: Phillip Fulmer (2), Johnny Majors (3), Doug Dickey (2), Bowden Wyatt (1) and Robert Neyland (5).
UT won two Southern Conference championships under Neyland in 1927 and 1932.
Tennessee also won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association title in 1914 under head coach Zora G. Clevenger.
Below are photos of Tennessee’s head coaches through the years.
Johnny Majors Classic: A look at notable athletes who wore jersey No. 45
Tennessee (1-0) will play at No. 14 Pittsburgh (1-0) Saturday in Week 2.
Kickoff between the Vols and Panthers at Acrisure Stadium is slated for 3:30 p.m. EDT. ABC will televise the Johnny Majors Classic. Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge and Molly McGrath are on the call.
Saturday’s matchup between the Vols and Panthers is the second Johnny Majors Classic.
Majors served as Pittsburgh’s head coach from 1973-76 and 1993-96, winning the 1976 national championship.
After winning the 1976 national championship with Pittsburgh, Majors returned to his alma mater, Tennessee, as the Vols’ head coach. Majors won the Southeastern Conference championship at Tennessee in 1985, 1989 and 1990.
He was an All-American tailback and a Heisman Memorial Trophy runner-up for the Vols in 1956 and a two-time Southeastern Conference MVP in 1955-56. Majors was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
The Vols opened its 2022 season Sept. 1, defeating Ball State (0-1), 59-10, at Neyland Stadium. The contest kicked off Josh Heupel’s second season as Tennessee’s head coach.
Pittsburgh enters Saturday’s contest following a 38-31 victory against West Virginia (0-1) at Acrisure Stadium.
A look at the five most iconic men’s sports head coaches all time at Tennessee.
Tennessee (1-0) will play at No. 14 Pittsburgh (1-0) Saturday in the second edition of the Johnny Majors Classic, honoring the legacy of Johnny Majors.
Majors served as Pittsburgh’s head coach from 1973-76 and 1993-96, winning the 1976 national championship.
After winning the 1976 national championship with Pittsburgh, Majors returned to his alma mater, Tennessee, as the Vols’ head coach. Majors won the Southeastern Conference championship at Tennessee in 1985, 1989 and 1990.
He was an All-American tailback and a Heisman Memorial Trophy runner-up for the Vols in 1956 and a two-time Southeastern Conference MVP in 1955-56. Majors was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
Ahead of the 2022 Johnny Majors Classic, Vols Wire looks at the five most iconic head coaches in men’s sports (football, men’s basketball, baseball) all time at the University of Tennessee. In collaboration with Ken Lay of Vols Wire, below are the five most iconic head coaches in men’s sports at Tennessee.
A look back at Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung winning the Heisman Trophy over Tennessee’s Johnny Majors.
The 1956 Heisman Memorial Trophy was awarded to Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung.
Notre Dame finished 2-8 during the 1956 season.
Hornung played quarterback, halfback and placekicker for the Fighting Irish.
During the 1956 campaign, Hornung led Notre Dame in punt returns, kickoff returns, scoring, passing and rushing. He was a two-time All-America performer.
The Heisman Memorial Trophy runner-up in 1956 was Tennessee’s Johnny Majors.
Majors was a triple-threat tailback in head coach Bowden Wyatt’s offense. He was also a punter and return specialist for the Vols.
Majors, a two-time All-American, was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 1956. He rushed for 549 yards and seven touchdowns, while recording a career-high 552 passing yards. Majors recorded a 43-yard punting average.
In this Dec. 12, 1956 photo, Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung imitates the posture of the Heisman Trophy that he received at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. The Notre Dame hype machine has produced a few unworthy Heisman winners but none more so than Hornung. He was a great player, but the Fighting Irish went 2-8. Any of the next four players in the voting – Johnny Majors from Tennessee, Tom McDonald and Jerry Tubbs from Oklahoma or Syracuse’s Jim Brown, who finished fifth would have been more deserving. (AP Photo/File)
Majors led Tennessee to a 10-1 (6-0 SEC) record, yet finished second to Hornung, who is the only Heisman Memorial Trophy winner to play for a team with a losing record.
Hornung received 1,066 votes to Majors’ 994 in the Heisman Memorial Trophy voting.
Nico Iamaleava Jr. will be the second Tennessee quarterback recruit from Long Beach: Randall Morris’ story signing with Johnny Majors from Long Beach Poly
Iamaleava Jr. is set to play at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California during his 2022 senior season.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound quarterback will become the second student-athlete to play for the Vols from Long Beach, California.
Randall Morris signed with Tennessee and head coach Johnny Majors ahead of the 1980 season.
Majors recruited Morris’ brother who would choose Michigan State and Vols’ quarterback transfer Steve Alatorre from Cypress College. Majors’ recruitment at Cypress College led to Morris at Long Beach Polytechnic.
“The reason I went to Tennessee was that coach Majors went down to my school,” Morris told Vols Wire. “I was outside of the locker room waiting on him and we went inside. He turned on the projector and watched three plays on me and said I could turn the projector off. He said, ‘Randall, I’ll offer you a scholarship right now.’
“I took other visits seeing what they had to offer. When I went to Tennessee, I met Jimmy Streater who was very impressive to me because Tennessee was running the same offense I ran at Long Beach Poly. I thought I had a really good opportunity to play early. I graduated high school early and I was in spring training at Tennessee in my senior year of high school. I loved Tennessee, my four years went really fast.”
Morris came to Tennessee as a quarterback, but played four seasons at running back.
He detailed Majors’ decision to change his position.
“I was a quarterback when I came to Tennessee,” Morris said. “Coach Majors recruited me as a quarterback. One day in practice, we were stretching, he said he needed to see me in his office after practice. When a coach says that to you, nothing good comes out of that. Then I started thinking about what have I done, what did I do? I couldn’t even practice because I was thinking about what coach Majors was going to say to me.
“I got to his office. He told me to have a seat. He said, ‘Son, do you want to play now — do you want to play as a freshman?’ I said yes, and I switched from quarterback to running back. I never even thought about playing running back. I asked can I switch to defensive back if you are going to switch me. He said ‘No, I am going to switch you to running back.’ I had a good week of practice at running back. The reason I had a good week of practice is because I was a quarterback and knew all the steps a running back takes.”
Morris played 11 games a freshman and appeared in 44 contests for Tennessee from 1980-83. He totaled 941 yards and seven touchdowns on 219 rushing attempts, while recording 239 yards and one touchdown on 36 receptions.
University of Tennessee football players Reggie White, left, and Willie Gault. Mandatory Credit: News Sentinel-USA TODAY NETWORK
When Morris arrived at Tennessee as an early enrollee freshman, defensive lineman Reggie White was the first person he met.
“Reggie was the first guy I met when I got there,” Morris said. “Reggie and I became great friends. I loved the guy, he was very funny. He was a great guy and a great teammate.”
