Coach Phillip Fulmer was the face of the UT football team my whole life. For 16 of my 20 years so far anyway lol. I was born in 91 and he was head coach from 92-08. Having said this, I hated seeing Coach Fulmer get forced out like he did. The debate as to whether or not it was the right move will rage on until UT returns to prominence. I have always looked at both sides of the argument. Myself personally, i would have liked to have seen him get one more year, but thats just me. I know thats not the popular opinion, but I think he deserved a chance to fix it. Having said all that, it bothers me to see all of the resentment towards CPF. He did some great things for the University of Tennessee football program, and I see no problem with him going and coaching again if he sees fit. Who are we to say that it would not work out for him? I wish Coach Fulmer the best of luck if he does take the Kansas job, and he WILL be the coach that I tell my grandkids about when they ask me who some of the great UT football coaches were. Good luck Coach Fulmer!!!!
I hated watching Tennessee go a decade without winning anything of signficance and seeing losses to Vanderbilt and Wyoming.
I do recall Fulmer getting turned down by ECU in 91 and other subsequent interviews since getting canned. Too bad he was never interviewed at UTK.
Fulmer road the coattails of Majors success during his last 4 years of coaching (2 SEC's and 3 successive major bowls 89-91). Fulmer retained Majors coaching staff and promoted two of them them to coordinators. When it came time for Fulmer to hire his own personnel, he was an abject failure. How the hell does he expect to turn around a 2-10 squad when he is so inept at hiring a staff on his own?
While CPF brought us some great times and a National Championship, however the ten year drought and steady decline of our program to the level it is in. The game passed him by and resistance to change led us to make a change. I wish him luck in any future opportunity and if he takes the KU job, we'll see if he still has it.
Rumor making the rounds that Dirk Koetter is the choice at Kansas. If true, Fulmer should just give up on ever getting a job in a BCS league.
There are some things the Fulmersexuals never mention. They were all screaming, "GIVE PHIL A CHANCE TO TURN IT AROUND!" 1. Turn it around with what? All that talent he had stockpiled? We had to play walk-ons on both lines for two years after he left. 2. Why did it need to be "turned around". Fulmer was the coach the whole time. Why did he allow the program to sink to the "turn it around" level? 3. National Championship winning coaches are a prime commodity, except for Fulmer. Why was he not snapped up immediately? Miles, Saban, Meyer, how long would they last on the market? Fulmer can't buy another BCS coaching job.
i think the fact that phil can't sniff even the louisville or kansas job tells you all you need to know about how great of a coach the coaching community thinks he is.
Phil got a chance to turn it around after 2002, and rightfully so. He got a chance to turn it around after 2005, an that shouldn't have happened. Why did he need a chance to turn it around after 2008?
I got the impression that Hat was Fulmer's dad. Some jack wagon on toos kept referring to Fulmer as Hat's 'boy'. I could be mistaken, so TIFWIW.
