Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel is looking good this preseason. He has lost weight and is clean-shaven.
I only mention this because many fans care about the way their coach looks. I don’t.
Sport is a results-driven business. If a coach shows up on game day with leaves and twigs in his hair, should that matter if his team is playing at a high level?
I don’t really care what the players wear. It’s very important to the fans. The consensus: the smoke-grey uniforms should be destroyed.
The latest edition of these uniforms includes tributes to the state of Tennessee. There is a helmet stripe reminiscent of the state flag and a three-star logo is featured on the pants and sleeves.
Impressive, right?
According to the emails I received, no.
Tradition has something to do with Tennessee fans’ resistance to alternative uniforms that have become so popular in college football. Some fans find the Smokey Grays particularly off-putting because they were introduced to the masses during the Butch Jones era.
If General Neyland had designed the Smokey Grays, fans might have been more receptive. But unlike Jones, who hosted a football fashion show, Neyland was so busy with frivolous pursuits like blocking and tackling that he didn’t have time for a new clothing line.
If you could design an alternate Tennessee uniform, what would you choose? I thought about it and settled on light blue jerseys and pants with an orange helmet. When I presented my idea to callers on the “Tony Basilio Show,” it was met with disdain and indifference.
What do they know?
But fans need to understand that no matter what they think of Smokey Grays or other unconventional clothing, alternative uniforms aren’t going away. Why? Because there’s money to be made out of them.
Athletic departments would let Tennessee players wear uniforms the color of Dolly Parton’s wig if they thought it would bring in more revenue. Perhaps fans wouldn’t be put off if they knew the money was going to a good cause.
What is more valuable than solid NIL contracts in this day and age? Imagine if players could earn money using their name, image and likeness by promoting and showing off various jerseys. Don’t you think that would help recruit transfers and high school players?
What is more important to you as a fan: wearing the same jerseys or winning?
What if your team was guaranteed to win at The Swamp if they wore paisley jerseys? Would that matter to you? Or what if they were guaranteed to beat Alabama if they wore the light blue of my choice? Would you say, “If we can’t win in orange and white, I’d rather lose?”
I wonder what Neyland would say to that. He wasn’t just a football coach. He was also a soldier. The Army only changes its traditional colors when camouflage is required.
ADAM: Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel is better on game day than on media day
But like any great coach, Neyland was all about winning, so even in a different era, he probably would have made the necessary adjustments to win.
That might have meant tweaking his offense or defense—or occasionally sending his Vols out in light blue jerseys and pants.
John Adams is senior columnist. You can reach him at 865-342-6284 or [email protected]Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
