wombat7477
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2008
- Messages
- 1,022
- Likes
- 612
Firing Philip Fulmer was the worst mistake a major program has ever made
- Thread starter SpiritOfNeyland
- Start date
NEVolFan
Ima dude playing a dude..
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2006
- Messages
- 20,676
- Likes
- 23,977
BanditVol
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2012
- Messages
- 4,921
- Likes
- 3,785
TheDeeble
Guy on the Couch
- Joined
- May 6, 2007
- Messages
- 9,525
- Likes
- 8,029
VolArmy74
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2014
- Messages
- 9,816
- Likes
- 17,453
The mistake was keeping Fulmer after 2002. For sure after 2005. He had the talent to win the NC in 1999, blew it. Had the talent in 2001, blew it. Started in the top 5 in 2002 and his team couldn't snap the football vs a bad Ron Zook Florida squad and lost 5 games. Another top 5 start in 2005 and he stunk out loud.
But we were loyal. Hamilton gave him that stupid go 8-4 get a raise/extension provision.
When he was fired he was in the middle of the pack at best in the SEC coaching race. He was behind Urban, Richt, Saban, Miles, Tuberville, Spurrier, Petrino and even Bobby Johnson at Vandy when he was fired. I believe he'd lost his last meeting with every single one of them. Things were going down and not up.
The reason we were so bad under Dooley is that he'd recruited 0 worthwhile linemen. Kiffin inherited several good seniors and nothing at all behind them. Fulmer had drained the cabinet of talent and the program of life by the time they finally moved him out.
Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU Georgia etc have never been super loyal to coaches and fire people at the first sign the wheels are even shaky and in Georgia's case with Richt when they decided 10 wins weren't enough. What do they all have in common? They've all been relevant in the national and SEC rankings since Tennessee has. Tennessee hasn't been relevant nationally late in the season since 2001. You know, 7 seasons prior to Fulmer's strangling the program.
p.s....Remember the last time Tennessee was disloyal to a legendary coach who was winning SEC titles and New Years day bowl games just prior to his demise? They fired him in the middle of an 8-4 season and the team won a NC a few years later.
But we were loyal. Hamilton gave him that stupid go 8-4 get a raise/extension provision.
When he was fired he was in the middle of the pack at best in the SEC coaching race. He was behind Urban, Richt, Saban, Miles, Tuberville, Spurrier, Petrino and even Bobby Johnson at Vandy when he was fired. I believe he'd lost his last meeting with every single one of them. Things were going down and not up.
The reason we were so bad under Dooley is that he'd recruited 0 worthwhile linemen. Kiffin inherited several good seniors and nothing at all behind them. Fulmer had drained the cabinet of talent and the program of life by the time they finally moved him out.
Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU Georgia etc have never been super loyal to coaches and fire people at the first sign the wheels are even shaky and in Georgia's case with Richt when they decided 10 wins weren't enough. What do they all have in common? They've all been relevant in the national and SEC rankings since Tennessee has. Tennessee hasn't been relevant nationally late in the season since 2001. You know, 7 seasons prior to Fulmer's strangling the program.
p.s....Remember the last time Tennessee was disloyal to a legendary coach who was winning SEC titles and New Years day bowl games just prior to his demise? They fired him in the middle of an 8-4 season and the team won a NC a few years later.
Everyone likes to focus on Wyoming and a couple of dismal seasons. You completely skipped over
'01 - 11-2.
'03 - 10-3.
'04 - 10-3.
'07 - 10-4.
I'd give your left nut to see a 10 or 11 win season again!
Not to mention.. a couple of those seasons we were just a play away from competing for a BCS title.
Last edited:
VolArmy74
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2014
- Messages
- 9,816
- Likes
- 17,453
Complete nonsense. I clearly mentioned '01. I can't help it if you can't read. 10-4 in '07 and we lost 100-37 to Alabama and Florida, also lost to LSU. Once again we were miles behind the top SEC programs Terrible.
04, not nationally relevant but looked like we should be in '05. Fell absolutely flat. Should have been fired after that Vandy lost.
03, beaten by Tuberville, got absolutely destroyed by Richt. Looked like we might recover for a top 5 finish, got destroyed by Clemson in the Peach Bowl.
You basically made the point that his talented teams severely underachieved, he wasn't able to beat the top coaches in the league. Was a million miles behind Alabama and Florida. Had a couple of shots to keep us nationally relevant and fell flat each time.
Add in the fact that his recruiting had fallen apart. His assistant hires stunk and he was generously the 6th best coach in the SEC and his firing was justified prior to 2008.
BigOrangeTrain
Morior Invictus
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2013
- Messages
- 80,522
- Likes
- 92,836
OrangeYankee
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2008
- Messages
- 1,058
- Likes
- 82
In hindsight, of course Fulmer would have had a better track record than Dooley or Jones. I honestly think he would have had a pretty good rebound to his career when Myer grabbed his arm and ran away, and when Middle Tennessee started becoming a fertile recruiting ground thanks to the population boom. It would have still been the Alabama show, but they would have played Tennessee a whole lot more in the SECCG in that stretch between 2012 - 2016.
But they key word there is hindsight. No one would have known or imagined in 2008 that Meyer would be gone in 2 years, and that the East would become Big Ten west levels of suck within 4. Even with that said, the thought of whether Fulmer getting canned was a mistake or not is kind of irrelevant. It was the absolutely stupid beyond comprehension actions of the AD in those following nine years that buried this program.
They hire Kiffen and inexplicably don't put a buyout on his contract, even though there was already smoke in the air surrounding USC. He bolts for those greener pastures the second it came open without any recourse.
They then hire Dooley, and in a mirror opposite of bonehead moves, they actually PUT a buyout in his. Dude sucks it up, and they have to pay him to leave after holding out for so long in hopes of reducing the impact of that high as crap buyout. So not only did they get a guy that was absolutely unknown, but then bet the farm on him when they absolutely had no reason to do so. I mean, seriously, who the hell would have taken him? And not only that they kept Dooley a year longer than they should have, simply because they had no choice due to the absurdly high buyout.
Then they hire Jones, and even though he did some good in stemming the bleeding and restocking the cupboards, there was absolutely no logic to extending his contract and thus increasing his buyout like they did. It would have been one thing had he came out in year 3 and went 10-2 or 11-1. It doesn't matter "how close he came," in the end he didn't and so he still had to prove he was worth being locked down to the tune of nearly 10 million bucks.
But they key word there is hindsight. No one would have known or imagined in 2008 that Meyer would be gone in 2 years, and that the East would become Big Ten west levels of suck within 4. Even with that said, the thought of whether Fulmer getting canned was a mistake or not is kind of irrelevant. It was the absolutely stupid beyond comprehension actions of the AD in those following nine years that buried this program.
They hire Kiffen and inexplicably don't put a buyout on his contract, even though there was already smoke in the air surrounding USC. He bolts for those greener pastures the second it came open without any recourse.
They then hire Dooley, and in a mirror opposite of bonehead moves, they actually PUT a buyout in his. Dude sucks it up, and they have to pay him to leave after holding out for so long in hopes of reducing the impact of that high as crap buyout. So not only did they get a guy that was absolutely unknown, but then bet the farm on him when they absolutely had no reason to do so. I mean, seriously, who the hell would have taken him? And not only that they kept Dooley a year longer than they should have, simply because they had no choice due to the absurdly high buyout.
Then they hire Jones, and even though he did some good in stemming the bleeding and restocking the cupboards, there was absolutely no logic to extending his contract and thus increasing his buyout like they did. It would have been one thing had he came out in year 3 and went 10-2 or 11-1. It doesn't matter "how close he came," in the end he didn't and so he still had to prove he was worth being locked down to the tune of nearly 10 million bucks.
BigOrangeTrain
Morior Invictus
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2013
- Messages
- 80,522
- Likes
- 92,836
jhcrane14
Rocky Top!!!
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2010
- Messages
- 3,053
- Likes
- 1,662
Noooooo ^^^^
Fulmer blatantly lied to us after the 59-20 loss to UF in 07. The next day on the Phillip Fulmer Show him and Bob Kesling told us that UT lost 49-20...there was even a graphic in the background confirming it.
Youre lying to your fan base about the score of a game and think they wont care or notice? That was the main catalyst of him getting fired...PERIOD!!! :good!:
Advertisement
