posted September 22, 2008
This Saturday UT goes to Auburn to play the Tigers. Ironically that day, Sept. 27, is the 50th anniversary of when the Vols played Auburn at Legion Field in 1958 on national television and not only lost 13-0 , but failed to make a first down.
That was the beginning of the end of the Bowden Wyatt era. Now 50 years later we are seeing the end of the Phillip Fulmer era. After losing to Urban Meyer and the Gators for the fourth time in a row in such a dismal manner, it is obvious it is time for a change. The game has passed Fulmer by. Meyer, Saban and Richt are the Toyotas of the SEC, Fulmer is the General Motors.
Anything less than a head coaching change is merely, "re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic."
Douglas Jones
Chattanooga
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Well, I am a girl and not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to sports. However, I just had to comment on this article. Fulmer was the greatest thing since sliced bread when the Vols won the championship. It never ceases to amaze me that a coach is blamed for an entire team of players that lose a game.
I do realize that he is making millions of dollars to win football games, but it's kind of more than a one-man show. How can a team win every single game year after year after year? How boring would that be? Same with baseball, same with Nascar, same with all sports. You have a time when all the right stars line up and you win. Then you have times when nothing goes right and you lose.
We have all had those times, not just Fulmer. Call him what you want, he has been a great leader for the Vols and no one can take that away. What would we have to do on Mondays if we didn't have coaches to blame for what happened on Saturday or Sunday?
I don't believe I have ever seen so many Florida Gator T-shirts in my life as I did at work on Monday. If you like Tennessee Orange, wear it. Doesn't matter if they win or lose...besides, the bandwagon is kind of full and you might fall off. Pick a side and stick with it.
Elaine Cornwell
Chattanooga
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The SEC has brought in a new breed of football coaches that are aggressive and innovative while UT has stayed stuck in the 80's. Urban Meyer, Mark Richt, Nick Saban, and Les Miles have changed the face of SEC football and those schools that have hung on to the past like Tennessee have seen their fortunes dwindle. UT cannot keep up and until they get a new coach with a new, fresh philosophy they will continue to struggle.
Every organization, whether it's a football team or a business, has to constantly evolve and occasionally reinvent itself altogether. Those that don't do not survive. Look at Apple computer from 1983 to today.
UT is stuck back in the Johnny Majors-era of football coaching and until they come in to the 21st century with a fresh approach they will always being playing for third or fourth place in the SEC East. The Phil Fulmer apologists all want to bring up 1998. Well, it's no longer 1998 and Tennessee is no longer a national powerhouse in football.
UT is on its way to being an also-ran and it's time the fans speak up to turn this team around before we become Nebraska or one of those teams that "used to be really good."
Eric Fuller
Chattanooga
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Ms. Cornwell,
To answer your question about what we would do on Mondays if we didn't have coaches to blame for what happened on Saturday or Sunday...Well, I for one, would bask in the delight of my team winning. I can't speak for others when I say this, but I would never get bored with my team winning game after game after game.
Aside from that, Fulmer isn't coming under fire for not winning every game - he's coming under fire for not being able to win the big games any more and losing in embarrassing manner games they have no business losing.
Against UCLA in the season opener, UT averaged over 5 yards/rush "as a team", yet they inexplicably threw the ball 41 times with a QB who is obviously having some serious issues. Anyone with any football knowledge knows that when you're running the ball that effectively, you don't stop...period.
I know some of you may be thinking that Clawson was the one calling the plays...true, but it is Fulmer's job as the HC to step in and take control when questionable-at-best decisions like those are made. We all make mistakes, and that was one of his. That doesn't make him a bad coach, though.
You are right in that Fulmer is not the only person responsible for the Vols' play as of late. However, he does bear a bigger share of the blame than anyone else, and rightfully so. In college football, head coaches, aside from their obvious duties, are ultimately responsible for the players they attract to the program. It doesn't matter how good of a coach one is, if they can't recruit elite players, they're not going to be able to keep up with the schools that do.
There is not a question in my mind that Fulmer is still a good football coach. He just isn't a good recruiter any more. If you check the recruiting classes from the past several years, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Alabama and Auburn have left UT in the dust almost every single year. To succeed in today's SEC, a coach has to be a great recruiter on top of being a great coach.
My father played with Fulmer at UT when he was in college, so I inevitably inherited a soft spot for the coach. Despite that, I still think Fulmer needs to go. It's becoming more and more apparent that he can't relate to today's athletes enough to get the top-tier kids to come play for the Orange and White. Georgia, LSU, Florida, and Alabama have all gotten new head coaches since 2001, and they're all now neck and neck at the top of the SEC.
Sometimes it takes a new face to get things turned around, as evidenced by the situations at the four aforementioned schools. It's time for a change in Rocky Top.
Dallas Cole
Chattanooga
Dallas-Cole@hotmail.com
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I really hope you are wrong about this being the end of the Fulmer era at Tennessee. Tennessee fans seem to forget from time to time where this man has taken our beloved "Vols" football program. I don't care for the "Monday morning quarterbacks and coaches" that run for the hills when Tennessee loses a game or two. For goodness sakes, Fulmer has only had one losing season since he has been the head coach.
Tennessee has been in five SEC championship games during Fulmer's tenure. One of those championship games was just last year. He has led Tennessee to two SEC championships, 97 and 98, and to the national championship in 98. Not a bad record for anyone coaching a major team in the SEC, the toughest conference in the country.
Fulmer has also led Tennessee to a bowl game in each of the years he has been a head coach except for 2005. That year is Fulmer's only losing season. Tennessee went 5 and 6 that year. One losing season out of 14 isn't a bad record for any coach, and I'll be willing to put his 14 year record up against that of Richt, Meyer, or any other SEC team coach after they have a 14-year record to compare to.
Fulmer is known as a tremendous recruiter, bringing top players to Tennessee from all over the country. Steve Spurrier once commented that "if he had recruiting classes like Fulmer, he would have a national champion team every year." That speaks volumes about the quality of talent that is drawn to compete in Knoxville. Once there, Fulmer sees to it that the player concentrates on his studies before anything else. That is as it should be with a college coach.
God blessed me with three beautiful daughters and a granddaughter. One of my daughters even dated a UT quarterback. But, I have never had a son. If I did, there is not another coach anywhere that I would rather have one of my kids play for than Fulmer. He loves, and teaches lifes lessons to each kid playing for him. He turns them into men, capable of being successful in life other than football. He ensures that they represent the best of the University of Tennessee. I would hate to imagine "football time in Tennessee" without Phil Fulmer.
Rod Dagnan
roddagnan@comcast.net
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