Peyton Manning gave a history lesson on General Robert Neyland and old-school Tennessee Football lore during the Monday Night Manningcast on ESPN2.
While coming back from a break in the second quarter, Manning explained a widely-used football term that he believes started under General Neyland’s watch in Knoxville.
“Tennessee’s stadium is on the Tennessee River and General Neyland, they practiced right there with the stadium by the river,” Manning said. “When he wanted to switch sides, he’d say ‘riverside.’ Let’s go to the side where the river is. That term has been around for years. The Harbaugh brothers use it, Belichick uses it. It all started in Knoxville. General Neyland, going to the riverside near the Tennessee River.”
Former New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick added to the conversation, too.
“General Neyland had a pretty good record down there, didn’t he?” Belichick said.
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General Robert Neyland, a brigadier general in the United States Army, served as the head coach of the Tennessee football team on three different occasions. The first was from 1926-1934, the second was from 1936 to 1940, and the third was from 1946 to 1952.
General Neyland is the winningest coach in Tennessee history with a record of 173-31-12 in 21 seasons. Neyland’s Volunteers earned six undefeated seasons, nine undefeated regular seasons, seven conference championships, and four national championships during his time in Knoxville.
Neyland’s 1939 team is the last NCAA team to not give up a single score in an entire season.
Neyland Stadium, designed by the General himself, is named after the legendary coach. When Tennessee announced a corporate partnership with Pilot before the 2024 season, the shared idea between Tennessee and Pilot was to preserve the historic Neyland Stadium name.
Tune into the Monday Night ManningCast with Peyton and Eli Manning on ESPN2. With Manning leading the charge, you never know what Tennessee fun facts might pop up throughout the broadcast.
