The Tennessee Vols are SEC Tournament champions.

That's the first time that sentence has ever been typed on the internet.

The Vols' 65-50 win over Texas A&M on Sunday gave Tennessee their first SEC Tournament championship win since 1979 (43 years ago!).

And with that, I think any criticism of Vols head basketball coach Rick Barnes can stop…forever.

I don't care if Tennessee loses in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (I don't expect that to happen, but anything can happen in the tourney….just ask Virginia). Any major criticism of Barnes — beyond the petty things like timeout usage or whatever — is unwarranted.

Barnes rescued this basketball program when it was fixing to go through some dark days. When Donnie Tyndall was fired due to NCAA violations that happened before he arrived in Knoxville, it was a fork in the road for the program. The wrong hire at that time could've sunk the program for years.

Tennessee, however, made the "safe" move and hired Barnes, who had just been let go at Texas. It was a move that was criticized at times by national college basketball analysts (due to Barnes' lack of tournament success at Texas).

Barnes hasn't been perfect at Tennessee. There have been some letdowns. But really, that's how it goes in sports. Sometimes the ball just doesn't bounce your way. Sometimes the other team is just better that day. A loss in a big game isn't always an indictment of the head coach.

Winning an SEC Tournament Championship, however, absolves Barnes of any criticism. If he accomplishes nothing else at Tennessee, the hire was worth it just for that one banner.

Barnes has brought stability to Tennessee. He's landed five-star recruits. The atmosphere at Thompson-Boling Arena is as good as it's ever been (and yes, I'm counting the Bruce Pearl era). I say this as someone who has been critical of Barnes in the past (I was wrong…it's not the first time) — if you're a Tennessee fan and you have an issue with Barnes, you need to see a therapist.

One day, Barnes won't be the head coach at Tennesse anymore. There's no doubt he's nearing the end of his career. And I don't know what the future of Tennessee basketball looks like after that. Barnes has left a rock-solid foundation, but one wrong hire can destroy that foundation.

Tennessee fans need to appreciate Barnes while he's in Knoxville. You never know how long the good times will last.

Featured image via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports