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If Fulmer Really Loved Tennessee, He’d Step Down
By MoonDog | October 3, 2008
I was having a conversation with Ken yesterday and after taking care of business, the subject turned to football. We exchanged thoughts about the situation at Tennessee and the much maligned head coach, Phil Fulmer.
I mentioned the article I wrote yesterday, outlining the terms of Fulmer’s buyout and the expense the university would incur if they were to fire him at the end of the season.
I wondered out loud if Fulmer really loved the University of Tennessee, would he step down and save the school the millions of dollars it would have to spend to buy out his contract and hire a new coach.
Interesting question, isn’t it?
Tennessee Vols Head Coach Phil Fulmer
Fulmer has been associated with the football program at Tennessee for 31 years, playing for former coach and Athletic Director Doug Dickey from 1969 until 1971. Fulmer returned to Tennessee to work as an assistant on Johnny Majors staff in 1980.
When Majors took ill during the 1992 season, Fulmer served as the interim coach, winning games against Georgia and Florida. When Majors returned to the sidelines, the Vols lost three straight games and at the end of the regular season, Majors was forced to resign.
Fulmer took over for the Volunteers Hall of Fame Bowl appearance and has been the head coach of the team since then. He’s compiled a record of 147-48 (to date), winning two SEC championships in 1997 and ‘98 and the first ever BCS national championship in 1998.
Fulmer’s early successes helped put Tennessee into an elite status among college football programs nationally. But since 2002, the Vols have compiled a record of 53-28 and haven’t won an SEC championship. Tennessee hasn’t played in a BCS bowl since 1999, where they lost to Nebraska 31-21.
With Tennessee off to a 1-3 start this season and an offense that is the worst in the program’s history, Fulmer has come under increased scrutiny. The Vols nationally televised loss to a UCLA team that would lose to BYU the following week 59-0 began raising questions into Fulmer’s ability to effectively coach the team.
Tennessee’s home opener against UAB was officially attended by 98,205 spectators, but estimates of actual attendance had that figure between 80 and 85 thousand, well below Neyland Stadium capacity.
Continued losses to the University of Florida, losing earlier this season to the Gators in embarrassing fashion, have brought calls for his resignation or termination.
An argument can be made that Fulmer’s body of work as the Vols head coach rates him as the greatest in Tennessee history. Some suggest his accomplishments put the Vols football program back on the map, but those assertions simply aren’t true.
Former Tennessee Head Coach Johnny Majors
When he took over in 1977, Majors inherited a program from former coach Bill Battle who suffered two straight five-loss seasons. But during the seven seasons he was the coach, Battle won 59 games, including a 4-1 record in bowl games.
During Majors’ 16 seasons with the Vols, he won 116 games and three SEC championships. The 1985 Sugar Bowl victory over the University of Miami is to this day one of the most dominating performances by a Volunteer team and helped propel Tennessee back into the national spotlight.
But what amounted to a coup under the cover of darkness that forced Majors out as the Vols coach in 1992, allowing Fulmer to succeed him, remains one of the most embarrassing moments in the program’s history.
Some tend to forget that it was Majors who brought Fulmer on as an assistant in 1980, giving him the opportunity he would potentially never had gotten. To this day, there are boosters of the program that refuse to donate to the university because of the way Majors was forced to resign.
Therein lies the problem regarding Fulmer’s future with the program. While some may believe college coaches shouldn’t be subjected to the financial aspects their NFL counterparts must deal with, the realities are such that college football has become huge business.
With more programs building new stadiums or renovating existing facilities with the addition of club seats, luxury suites and separate licensing agreements, the drive to create improved revenue streams has become an area of major focus.
University of Tennessee AD Mike Hamilton
For a man like Fulmer who has professed his devotion to the school and as recently as last season donated $1 million to the university, the question of whether he would willingly walk away and forgo the $6 million buyout deserves exploration.
At the time he announced the donation, Fulmer said, “it was an exciting time to be part of taking this leadership role for the university.” One has to wonder if Fulmer is prepared to set an example by taking a leadership role and doing what’s best for Tennessee.
Certainly, current Athletic Director Mike Hamilton would prefer to see Fulmer get the Vols back on track and not worry about the financial repercussions a buyout would cause. But with Tennessee’s current season in disarray, Hamilton may not have any choice.
The Vols have already lost two highly regarded prep prospects and attendance at future home games figures to be less than what Tennessee has been accustomed to. For the first time in more than a decade, Tennessee will more than likely not finish among the top three schools in attendance.
Moreover, with remaining games against ranked opponents Georgia, Alabama and Vanderbilt, Tennessee may not win more than four games this season, which could potentially force Hamilton to ask for Fulmer’s resignation or fire him outright.
With an expected outlay of nearly $13 million to cover the cost of Fulmer’s buyout, his current staff and the monies needed to attract a new coach, Fulmer will have to decide if he’s a man of his word and show his love for the university.
If Fulmer truly loves Tennessee, he’ll walk away as head coach at the end of season and forgo the $6 million buyout. Saving the school that amount would give the university an opportunity to attract a top-level coach that can rebuild the program and bring it back into the national spotlight.
So Fulmer has a choice, whether he’s prepared to “give his all for Tennessee today” remains to be seen.
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Tags: college football, University, Volunteers, SEC, Tennessee Vols Football, Southeastern Conference, Johnny Majors, Buyout, MoonDog, Vols, Mike Hamilton, Tennessee, NCAA Football, Program, phil fulmer
Topics: NCAA Football, Southeastern Conference, Tennessee Vols Football |
4 Responses to “If Fulmer Really Loved Tennessee, He’d Step Down”
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October 3rd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Interesting…I think if you ask any coach, he will never step down unless asked/threatened to do so. The question is, would Hamilton as filmer to step down?
I don’t think so. Coaches are like players…if it’s broke, it can be fixed. Booty had a broken finger and didn’t tell anyone until it was too late agaianst Stanford. (4 INTS) Egos are huge at that level.
Excellent write-up~
October 3rd, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I tend to agree. It’s easy for me to say he’d walk away from that much money. Who among us would do that? But let’s face it, he’s made plenty over the years and could live off the interest for the rest of his life.
I want to believe he’ll do what’s best for the school, but reality tells me he would force Hamilton to fire him.
October 4th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Nice article. I have a feeling we’ll get a resolution this season. Tennessee still has to play Georgia, Alabama, Miss. State, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. At this point, I’d only favor the Vols in the Miss. State game. If it plays out that way, Fulmer will be gone one way or another.
Would he resign? I think so actually. Tennessee is Fulmer’s life. His daughter played Softball at UT. He won’t want an ugly break up. and neither will UT.
Fulmer has plenty of money. He should waive his future contract (which UT was stupid to give him, i’ll never understand that — what are they afraid Fulmer might leave? give me a break!)
anyway, they should make him special assistant executive vice president of whatever and let him live out his days in peace and honor. he can still contribute to the school from the outside and help it’s image by sort of just reliving the glory years. and, if offered, fulmer should jump at that.
anyway, i wrote an article about this, with some stats clearly showing Fulmer’s decline at
Fire Phil Fulmer.
October 11th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Mike Hamilton should be fired for extending his contract last spring and making the buyout so expensive. Phil is too stubborn to quit. He wants to break Bob Neyland”s record of 173 wins. He has 149 currently.