Tennessee is the Nebraska of the SEC.
Both teams had extended golden ages in the 1990s. Both thrived in states not known for producing a ton of blue-chip talent. And both fired good coaches for not making them “great” and wound up setting themselves back far enough that it seems like a longshot of ever tasting that National Championship experience ever again.
However, unlike Nebraska - that relied on shady by-laws in acceptance rates and a ton of steroids to achieve their glory - Tennessee certainly has the program and infrastructure in place to compete in the modern game if they could just get out of their own way.