University of Tennessee Knoxville - Volunteer Yearbook (Knoxville, TN)

Page 27 text:

that the group as a whole would be making the defensive decisions. ml'hese are tough times right now for our football team, Majors said. With the open date, I felt it was time to make a move. I wouldnit want to call it a drastic measure, but sometimes a change is needed even if it is wrong. gI wanted to infuse the defense with an aggressive coach like Mathews. He is an energetic and aggressive young man who will do a good job. The coaches have accepted the move, and I appreciate their reaction? Mathews was the secondary coach at Virginia Tech and Louisville before assuming his coaching job at Tennessee six years ago. Moving into Mathews vacated spot as running back coach was Scott Conley, who came to Tennessee last spring as a graduate assistant. -by Bill Bryant 5 John Kotlowski 6 John Kollowski Book I 21 n 4 John Kotlowski 1. Head football coach Johnny Majors, under pressure from disappointed football fans, announces a restructured coaching staff. 2. Majors denies asking for defensive coordinator Ken Donahuels resignation during a Sept. 28 press conference. 3. Washington Statels 52-24 victory over Tennessee marked Donahuels last game with the Volunteers. 4. Auburn, thrashing U T 38-6, picked holes in Tennesseels defense, scoring 28 points while holding Tennessee scoreless in the second half. 5. At 0-5, alumni and fans intensified pressure for a change in what they saw as a stagnant coaching staff. 6. Carey Bailey, Mark Moore and Phil Stuart waIk off the field with the dejected faces of a team in need of change.

Page 26 text:

20 Book I Shuffling the Defense Donahue ? 3f ' i resigns amid calls for coaching shakeup With Tennessee beginning the football season 0-5, it was only a matter of time before some changes would be made. On September 28, the time came. As of this morning, Ken Donahue has resigned as defen- sive coordinator for the University of Tennessee football team? said head coach J ohnny Majors at a press con- ference. He felt that it was time to turn it over to some other people so he could do some of the things that he wanted to do with his life. Several changes in the coaching staff, including moving running backs coach Doug Mathews to the secondary, were to be expected when Majors called for the special press con- ference in Stokely Athletics Center. Donahueis resignation, however, came as a complete surprise. HI have very strong emotions about Coach Donahue, we go back a long way, Majors said. Without question, there is no way we could have won the championship 0985 Sugar BowD without his contribution. Majorst association with Donahue goes all the way back to the 1950s, when Majors was a Volunteer All-American. He expressed a deep sense of gratitude for the 63-year-old 3 Keith Poveda 2 Robert Cathey man who coached for 37 years, including the past three years in Knoxville. HI have great repsect for the man, and l have a strong feeling of sadness right now. He is an outstanding in- dividual coach and I appreciate all that he has done for me. He is the most unique and hard-working individual coach that I have ever been around, Majors said. The defense didnlt come close to stopping any team this season, but part of the problem was the slow maturing pro- cess of the players. Even with all of the problems on the defensive side of the ball, Majors emphatically denied that he asked Donahue to resign. tiUnder no circumstances did I ask him to resign. In fact, I specifically asked him to stay on and continue to coach our defensive planning. However, he said that he was looking forward to doing some traveling and getting some much- needed restf' Majors said. Donahuels departure came soon after Majors decided to shuffle some of his defensive coaches. Mathews was shifted to the secondary, with secondary coach Kevin Steele moving to inside linebackers. Inside linebackers coach Dick Bumpas was assigned to the defensive line. Majors added that there were no plans for naming a new defensive coordinator, and

Page 28 text:

22 Book I Amy Grant npli Two of Christian musicis most successful and popular performers reunited at the Thompson-Boling Arena on Oct. 4 as Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith brought the iiLead Me Oni, tour to Knoxville. Smith, who first appeared on the Christian music scene as Grantts keyboardist in 1981, opened the show with songs not only from his latest album 1'2 tEYEL but also from previous albums like The Michael W. Smith Project and The Big Picture. Most of the songs were very upbeat and left the crowd screaming for more, but one proved to be very emotional for Smith as he explained the story behind it. til Hear Leeshati is the story of young girl who was killed in an accident not far from Smithis home near Nashville. Smith said the point of the song is that we donit always understand why things happen, and then he told everyone to remember his motto e ttLife is hard, but God is good? After this solemn moment, Smith got the enthusiastic crowd involved in itThy Word? one of the many songs he has written or helped write for Grant. With HHand of Pro- vidence? he stepped aside to allow Terry McMillan to display his great talent on the harmonica, and then he took 1 Phil Newman