The gold standard, the seasons that made Bobby Dodd a legend were in the '50s
1951 SEC 1st 11 0 1
1952 SEC 1st 12 0 0
1953 SEC 2nd 9 2 1
1954 SEC 2nd 8 3 0
1955 SEC 3rd 9 1 1
1956 SEC 2nd 10 1 0
That's a stretch in history that's been rivaled only a few times by any program. Since then we've had some good seasons, but nothing you could call sustained.
In '66 Dodd went 9-2 only to be followed by Bud with a 4-6 season.
1970, Carson had a 9-3 season, followed by 6-6.
A long time later in '85, Curry had apparently turned the corner at 9-2-1, but followed with a 5-5 season.
The next season of success was the NC year of 1990, but '91 was disappointing at 8-5.
In '98 O'Leary brought us to a 10-2 record, but '99 was a disappointment at 8-4. The following year was good at 9-3, but considering the potential of that team, it was a letdown.
Chan's best year was 9-5, but followed with 7-6.
Paul whipped us into a frenzy by going 9-4 then 10-3 in his first two years, but followed with 4 Chanistic years until the stellar 2014.
If Paul can pull off a 10 win season in '15, with a brutal schedule and everyone gunning for us, we'll have reason to expect some sustained success and Paul will likely earn his place alongside of Bobby Dodd.