UT Vols: What will it take for them to return to SEC championship game?

Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of what has become an annual event for Tennessee fans: watching two other teams play for the SEC championship.

In this case, the Vols will be watching Georgia from the East play Auburn from the West on Saturday. But Tennessee also has watched Florida, Missouri and South Carolina represent the East in the championship game since its last appearance.

The Vols haven’t played in the conference title game since they lost in the final minutes to LSU in 2007. So what it will take for them to return to the SEC’s grandest stage?

First answer: Coaching.

Second answer: More coaching.

I’m not dismissing the obvious. Everything starts with recruiting in the SEC or any other football conference.

But recruiting isn’t the biggest reason Tennessee finished the 2017 season 4-8 and winless in the SEC.

Recently ousted coach Butch Jones excelled at recruiting in his five seasons at UT. So did his staff.

And his predecessor, Derek Dooley, wasn’t fired because of his recruiting. He was fired because he didn’t get more from the recruits he signed.

That should be encouraging to Tennessee fans. No matter who their coach is, the program’s recruiting doesn’t fall off the map.

The Vols have great tradition, outstanding facilities and are strategically located in the Southeast for recruiting purposes. Most coaches can capitalize on those advantages.

You saw the difference coaching could make in Lane Kiffin’s one season as UT’s head coach in 2009. He helped turnaround quarterback Jonathan Crompton’s career and got the most from a modestly talented team.

That’s why so many fans would have been willing to take him back as coach when Jones was fired, even though Kiffin ran out on the Vols after one season to become the head coach at Southern California.

This season, Kiffin’s first as Florida Atlantic, he has again demonstrated the impact of coaching. Last season, Florida Atlantic went 3-9. This season, it’s 9-3 and has won seven consecutive games. It will play North Texas on Saturday for the Conference-USA championship.

Kiffin is hardly the only example of how fast things can change for the better with the right coach.

Look at how much difference Scott Frost has made at Central Florida.

UCF was winless in 2015. A year later, in Frost’s first season at UCF, it won six games and qualified for a bowl.

UCF’s rapid ascent continued this season. It completed an unbeaten regular season last week with a victory over South Florida and will play Memphis on Saturday for the American Athletic Conference championship.

Even a conference as tough as the SEC doesn't rule out a sudden turnaround for the better.

In 2012, Auburn went 3-9 and didn’t win an SEC game. A year later, new coach Gus Malzahn led it to the national championship game.

Auburn 20, Georgia 17: The Tigers might be the best team in the country. They will have to be to beat the Bulldogs without injured running back Kerryon Johnson.

Record: 89-21 (.809) overall, 65-33 (.663) against the spread.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: Twitter.com/johnadamskns.