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He was one of the best of all-time. Not many recognize him as one, but he should be. Possibly the most underrated coach in the history of college football. He won 4 National Championships and 7 SEC Championships. He never lost against Paul "Bear" Bryant. His final record remains at 173-31-12.  He is the coach of the only team to ever hold all their regular season opponents scoreless! For those of you who are still clueless, let me tell you:

General Robert Reese Neyland of the Tennessee Volunteers is one of the greatest NCAAF coaches ever, if not the best. Because I am a Vol fan doesn't make be biased, it makes me more aware. Not many people now realize his significance because he coached in the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

Robert Neyland graduated from West Point in 1916. After serving on the Mexican Border for 3 years and graduate work at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology for 2 years, he rejoined West Point as an aide to Douglas MacArthur!

After being an assistant coach at the Academy, Neyland decided he wanted to coach his own team. He chose Tennessee "because at Tennessee, the only place to go was up". He became the coach in 1925 and was given one major assignment, beat in-state rival Vanderbilt. In 1926, the team went 8-1, the only loss coming from Vandy. Then in 1927, the team went 9-0-1. What put the Vols on the map was the 1928 season, when Tennessee upset Alabama 15-3.

The success continued until Neyland was called away to service in Panama in 1935. Urged on by Knoxvillians, he returned a year later, only to be called back in 1940 where he spent 5 years in World War II! He returned, again, and finished his military career at the rank of brigadier general.

The 4 National Championships came in 1938, 1940, 1950, and 1951. Imagine if he hadn't had military service for those 5 years?

"The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win."

Ever heard it? That was the General's coined phrase. Neyland had a revolutionary mind. He was known to punt on 1st down, sometimes, when backed up in his own endzone. General Neyland thought that the most important thing in a football game was field position, not points or possessions.

"Only three things can happen when you pass the ball, and two of them are bad."

He applied the most emphasis to special teams. The defense was next important, then the offense followed. No coach had ever thought like that before, and almost all still don't. His 1939 team held all their regular season opponents scoreless! That tells you something about how he approached the game.

Neyland Stadium is named in his honor. By the way, he helped design it!

Give Robert Neyland some respect. He served his country in World War II when his team was in their prime and could have won many championships. It would be incredible to see what would have happened had he stayed. He won 4 titles, yet he is still not widely recognized as a great coach. I bet not many readers of this even knew who he was, or that he was even a General. He made Tennessee football what it is today. He influenced college football like few have.

Paul Bryant vs Robert Neyland was played out many times. Neyland never lost against Bear. 5-0-2 in Neyland's favor was the final record. Obviously, you can see who dominated that coaching matchup. Yet many still think Bear is the greatest college football coach of all-time. It makes me sick to google Bear Bryant's name and see stats all over and tribute poems to him. When you search Robert Neyland, a couple biographies come up, nothing else. The man almost seems like a ghost.

Maybe that's how the General would have wanted it.