Tennessee basketball has a storied past with fantastic seasons led by great coaches, however, they have also had rough seasons with tough coaches. Everyone remembers Bruce Pearl, who was a great coach with the Volunteers, but unfortunately went through an NCAA investigation and was given a three-year show-cause penalty.
Tennesse has been playing basketball since 1908 and has had a total of 21 coaches in that span with a coaching record of 1,814-1,127 (.617).
Right now, Tennessee is sitting pretty with Rick Barnes, especially after the 2023-2024 season where the Volunteers made it to the Elite Eight and was even ranked No. 1 for multiple weeks in the regular season.
So looking at Tennessee basketball’s past, who were the five worst basketball coaching hires in history? Let’s take a look and see.
5
Buzz Peterson
2001-2005 | 61-59 (.508)
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Buzz Peterson coached at Tennessee from 2001 to 2005 and finished with a record over .500, but he struggled all four years at Tennessee. Peterson made it to the NIT twice, in both seasons he finished just over .500, but he never made it to the NCAA Tournament.
When coaching in SEC play, Peterson finished over .500 just once and it was his second season when he went 9-7. That was his best season with the Volunteers going 17-12 and making it to the NIT but they were knocked out in the first round.
Peterson’s final season at Tennessee was rough as the Volunteers wet 14-17, 6-10 in the SEC. He was fired after his fourth season with the Volunteers and went on to coach at Coastal Carolina.
4
Kevin O’Neill
1994-1997 | 36-47 (.434)
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Kevin O’Neill was the head coach at Tennessee from 1994 to 1997. He compiled a record of 36-47 (.434) and an SEC record of 14-24 (.368). O’Neill did not have any NCAA Tournament appearances and only had one postseason tournament appearance in three years at the helm at Tennessee.
O’Neill struggled right off the back with an 11-16 record overall in the first season and struggled even more in SEC play with a 4-12 record in his first season. Things improved a little in year two with a 14-15 overall record, a 6-10 record in the SEC, and a NIT appearance, but the Volunteers were knocked out in the first round.
O’Neill finished his time at Tennessee going 11-16 and 4-12 again in year three and at that time, the athletic program decided to move on from O’Neill.
3
Wade Houston
1989-1994 | 65-90 (.419)
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Wade Houston was the coach that O’Neill took over for after Houston was fired. Houston did make history by becoming the first African-American coach in the SEC. However, his time at Tennessee was rough.
Houston started out well in his first season going 16-14 overall and 10-8 in the SEC, but was unable to get his team to the NCAA Tournament, but the Volunteers made it to the second round of the NIT. Houston only made one postseason tournament, the NIT in his third season when the Volunteers went 19-15 overall and 8-8 in the SEC.
However, other than those two seasons, Houston struggled to have a record over .500, and his worst season was his last when the team went 5-22 overall and 2-14 in the SEC.
2
John Sines
1959-1962 | 26-45 (.366)
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John Sines is the oldest coach on this list as he coached at Tennessee from 1959 to 1962 and had an overall record of 26-45 and an SEC record of 13-29. Sines started at Tennessee as an assistant coach and after his predecessor Emmett Lowery left the school, sines was promoted.
Sines only had one season with a record over .500 and that was his first season, but he only went 12-22 and went 7-7 in the SEC. Sines did not lead the Volunteers to any NCAA Tournaments or to any postseason tournaments.
In his final two seasons, Sines went 10-15 with a 4-10 SEC record, and 4-19 in his final season and 2-12 in SEC play. Sines was fired after his final season and was not a head coach at another school.
1
Donnie Tyndall
2014-2015 | 16-16 (.500)
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Donnie Tyndall spent just one season at Tennessee, but the reason he was fired from the University is what makes him the worst coach in Tennessee basketball history.
Tyndall went 16-16 overall and 7-11 in the SEC in his lone season with the Volunteers. When Tyndall came to Tennessee from his former school Southern Miss, the Volunteers did not actually know how they were hiring.
Tyndall was not honest about the extent of the NCAA violations he had committed in his two seasons at Southern Miss. Tennessee fired Tyndall after the NCAA notified the school of the major violations. Tennessee officials came out and said that they never would have fired Tyndall had he been honest about the severity of the violations. After the NCAA investigations and violations Tennessee had already dealt with before with Bruce Pearl, the university chose to cut ties with Tyndall.
