Tennessee basketball has a rich history of successful seasons led by outstanding coaches, but they have also had difficult seasons with tough coaches.
Everyone knows Bruce Pearl, who was a fantastic coach for the Volunteers but was subjected to an NCAA investigation and received a three-year show-cause penalty.
Tennessee has been playing basketball since 1908, with 21 coaches and a coaching record of 1,814-1,127 (.617).
Tennessee is currently sitting pretty under Rick Barnes, especially after the 2023-2024 season, when the Volunteers advanced to the Elite Eight and were ranked No. 1 for several weeks in the regular season.
So, looking back on Tennessee basketball history, who were the five worst basketball coaching hires? Let us have a look and see.
5. Buzz Peterson
Buzz Peterson coached at Tennessee from 2001 to 2005, and while he concluded with a winning record, he struggled during his tenure. Peterson qualified for the NIT twice, finishing slightly above.500 in both seasons, but he never advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Peterson has only finished over.500 once while coaching in SEC competition, and it was his second season when he went 9-7. That was his greatest season with the Volunteers, who finished 17-12 and advanced to the NIT, but were eliminated in the first round.
Peterson’s final season at Tennessee was difficult, as the Volunteers finished 14-17 and 6-10 in the SEC. He was sacked after four seasons with the Volunteers and went on to coach at Coastal Carolina.
4. Kevin O’Neill
Kevin O’Neill was Tennessee’s head coach from 1994 to 1997. He went 36-47 (.434) overall and 14-24 (.368) in the SEC. O’Neill made no NCAA Tournament appearances and only one postseason tournament trip in three years as head coach at Tennessee.
O’Neill struggled early on, finishing 11-16 overall and 4-12 in SEC play. The Volunteers improved slightly in year two, finishing 14-15 overall, 6-10 in the SEC, and making the NIT, although they were eliminated 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
Wade Houston is the coach who O’Neill replaced when he was fired. Houston did create history by becoming the first African-American coach in the Southeastern Conference. However, his stay in Tennessee has not been easy.
Houston started well in his first season, going 16-14 overall and 10-8 in the SEC, but was unable to send his team to the NCAA Tournament, however the Volunteers did go to the second round of the NIT. Houston only appeared in one postseason tournament, the NIT in his third season, when the Volunteers finished 19-15 overall and 8-8 in the SEC.
Aside from those two seasons, Houston failed to maintain a winning record, and his worst season was his final, when the team finished 5-22 overall and 2-14 in the SEC.
2. John Sines
John Sines is the oldest coach on this list, having coached at Tennessee from 1959 to 1962, with an overall record of 26-45 and an SEC record of 13-29. Sines began as an assistant coach at Tennessee, and after his predecessor, Emmett Lowery, departed the school, he was elevated.
Sines only had one season with a record above.500, which was his first, but he went 12-22 and 7-7 in the SEC. Sines didn’t lead the Volunteers to any NCAA or playoff tournaments.
In his final two seasons, Sines finished 10-15 with a 4-10 SEC record, 4-19 in his final season, and 2-12 in SEC play. Sines was sacked during his final season and has not been a head coach at another school.
1. Donnie Tyndall
Donnie Tyndall just had one season at Tennessee, but the reason he was fired is what makes him the worst coach in Tennessee basketball history.
Tyndall was 16-16 overall and 7-11 in the SEC during his one season with the Volunteers. When Tyndall moved to Tennessee from his prior institution, Southern Miss, the Volunteers had no idea how they were hiring.
Tyndall was dishonest about the scope of the NCAA violations he committed during his two seasons at Southern Mississippi. Tennessee fired Tyndall after the NCAA informed the school of the severe breaches. Tennessee officials stated that they would never have fired Tyndall if he had been truthful about the gravity of the infractions. Following the NCAA investigations and breaches that Tennessee had previously dealt with with Bruce Pearl, the institution decided to terminate connections with Tyndall.
