Randy Smith: Fulmer Still Trying To Figure Out Retirement

At first, hardly anybody knew who he was. He wore a floppy "booney" hat and sat quietly in the bleachers at Rivermont Park, watching one of his eight grandchildren play in the "Rumble on the River" youth baseball tournament. I knew that Coach Phillip Fulmer was there but I chose to honor his privacy until tournament officials told me he would love to say hello to me. So, I ambled over to where he was standing following the completion of his grandson's game.

"Hey Randy, it's been a lot of years," he said as he hugged me with a huge smile on his face. We had known each other since 1984, my first year on the Vol Radio Network. Over the next 37 years we remained friends, sharing a few meals on the road while he was Tennessee's head football coach, visiting with each other after press conferences and in general, being pals from afar. I occasionally run into him on baseball fields when our grandsons are playing in the same tournament. That was the case on this beautiful Memorial Day.

He resigned as Tennessee's athletic director at the end of 2020 following the firing of head football coach Jeremy Pruitt. There are a few people out there disguised as Tennessee fans who hold Fulmer partially responsible for the NCAA trouble the Vols will soon find themselves in due to cash payments that Pruitt and his staff allegedly made to players. I find it very hard to believe that Coach Fulmer had any knowledge at all about Pruitt's cheating because he is the ultimate "Vol For Life" and would not allow anything to happen to hurt the university he loves so much. I'm sure he regrets his hiring of Pruitt, though when he was hired he was very likely the best option Tennessee had at the time. The Vols were in terrible shape when Fulmer rescued them in late 2017. He stabilized the program and "stopped the bleeding" so to speak, though the Pruitt hire was a complete disaster.

Now, soon to be 71 years old, Coach Fulmer told me he is still trying to figure out retirement. After working 70-80 hours a week for many, many years he finds himself with a lot of time on his hands. "I've got a few things going on with my charities and I may find something else to stay busy. I'm still trying to figure this retirement thing out."

I told him I figured it out about three years ago, though I'm still trying to find a few things to do to stay as active as possible.

In the meantime, he will watch his grandchildren play sports, though he has a lot of ground to cover. An older grandson has played in cities like Cincinnati, St. Louis and Asheville and that makes it impossible to divide his time equally between his grand babies. So, he does what he can, seeing as many games as he can and spreading himself around between his four children and eight grandkids.    

After a life-long career in college football it's time to do what I suggested when Tennessee unceremoniously let him go back in 2008. I told him to relax and enjoy his grandchild. (He only had one in 2008.) He has given his all for Tennessee for many decades. It's now time for him to enjoy his "Golden Years" and allow Tennessee to honor him accordingly. Have fun, Coach. I'll be seeing you on the ball fields.