Robert Neyland

Who was Robert Neyland?

Robert Reese Neyland, MBE was an American football player and coach and officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He served three stints as the head football coach as the University of Tennessee. He is one of two college football coaches to have won national titles in two non-consecutive tenures at the same school, along with Frank Leahy. Neyland holds the record for most wins in Tennessee Volunteers history with 173 wins in 216 games, six undefeated seasons, nine undefeated regular seasons, seven conference championships, and four national championships. At Tennessee, he reeled off undefeated streaks of 33, 28, 23, 19, and 14 games.

Neyland is often referred to as one of the best, if not the best, defensive football coaches ever. Sports Illustrated named Neyland as the defensive coordinator of its all-century college football team in its "Best of the 20th Century" edition. 112 of his victories came via shutout. In 1938 and 1939, Neyland's Vols set NCAA records when they shut out 17 straight opponents for 71 consecutive shutout quarters. His '39 squad is the last NCAA team in history to hold every regular season opponent scoreless.