Commentary:TFP's Wiedmer

#1
orange+white=heaven

orange+white=heaven

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#1
He's icy cool toward Kiffin, but to be fair, there are shots here at Mike Slive and the entire SEC...

Mike Slive took his football coaches to the woodshed, did he? Threw all 5-9, 170 pounds of himself into every word he said — Slive’s description — did he? Basically said that membership in the SEC is as much responsibility as privilege. And when he was done with Wednesday’s tongue-lashing of his spoiled brats at the SEC’s spring meetings, the Commish reportedly flashed a smile and told the assembled media, “I believe they got my message.”
But why is this message just being delivered on the final week of May? The behavior of new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin has been a major embarrassment for more than four months. LSU coach Les Miles has delivered occasional zingers in the direction of former Tigers coach and current Alabama boss Nick Saban for at least 15 months. And if South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier didn’t invent the verbal jab, he’s been perfecting it for the past 30 years.
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So much for the chain of command being 1) president, 2) athletic director, 3) coach. At UT, the buck apparently stops with Kiffin. And perhaps that’s the way it should be. Every multi-millionaire for himself, even as league revenues are evenly split among all 12 schools. Just kick it off or tip it up and may the best jerk win.
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Phillip Fulmer’s best days may have been behind him, but the guy was in the SEC title game a year earlier. Hamilton didn’t axe Fulmer because he couldn’t coach. The school dismissed him because too many fans needed to foot the bill for the $240-million renovation of Neyland Stadium believed he couldn’t coach. It always comes back to money, and at a time when fans everywhere have far less of it, all SEC schools might want to start putting the fans and the athletes first.
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TFP:Full Story
 
#7
#7
orange+white=heaven said:
I think fan apathy played a very big role in Phillip's ouster..

I'm not reaching all the way out to where Weeds went this morning, but still...
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I agree that fan apathy definitely drove the decision, but he participates in double speak when he admits that Fulmer's best days were behind him.

If everybody recognized that Phil's days were numbered, what is unreasonable about replacing him?

This program has good fans, and for most winning is a seperate issue from money, and dare I say that at times it is more important.
 
#8
#8
Lexvol said:
I agree that fan apathy definitely drove the decision, but he participates in double speak when he admits that Fulmer's best days were behind him.

If everybody recognized that Phil's days were numbered, what is unreasonable about replacing him?

This program has good fans, and for most winning is a seperate issue from money, and dare I say that at times it is more important.
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i won't dare you. for the contingent of fans that make donations and buy season tickets, travel etc...and are actively involved in VASF Etc....i'm sure they look at it as a type of investment.

but i would contend that the average fan, a la myself, doesnt' contribute, doesn't get to go to games and simply wants to see his team beat a rival more often that once every five years or so.

i would also contend that this group out numbers the donating "investment" group, that for a majority of us, it's much more of an emotional investment.
 
#9
#9
jakez4ut said:
i won't dare you. for the contingent of fans that make donations and buy season tickets, travel etc...and are actively involved in VASF Etc....i'm sure they look at it as a type of investment.

but i would contend that the average fan, a la myself, doesnt' contribute, doesn't get to go to games and simply wants to see his team beat a rival more often that once every five years or so.

i would also contend that this group out numbers the donating "investment" group, that for a majority of us, it's much more of an emotional investment.
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What fans want is to show up to Neyland stadium and actually feel like they have a chance to win when they play the Floridas, Bamas and Georgias of the world. I can't see what is unreasonable about that, or why a proud program wouldn't expect it.

That was absolutely gone...
 
#10
#10
Lexvol said:
What fans want is to show up to Neyland stadium and actually feel like they have a chance to win when they play the Floridas, Bamas and Georgias of the world. I can't see what is unreasonable about that, or why a proud program wouldn't expect it.

That was absolutely gone...
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i can agree with that.
 
#11
#11
Lexvol said:
I agree that fan apathy definitely drove the decision, but he participates in double speak when he admits that Fulmer's best days were behind him.

If everybody recognized that Phil's days were numbered, what is unreasonable about replacing him?

This program has good fans, and for most winning is a seperate issue from money, and dare I say that at times it is more important.
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100% spot on Lex, I'm often amazed by the lack of the ability to grasp that concept by individuals who feel compelled to write about it.
 
#12
#12
anyone that touts Phil's SECCG appearance wasnt at the Bama game last year
 
#13
#13
You have to back to the early '80s to find a 4 year run as bad as the one that UT just finished (based on winning %). The program was just too mediocre over the last 4 years to justify keeping Fulmer. If he got fired because the fans/donors thought he couldn't coach anymore as Wiedmer is asserting then perhaps the fans are right and Wiedmer is in fact wrong. I'd say the numbers are on the fan's side.
 
#14
#14
I think if Fulmer had gotten pissed and quit clapping when we were getting our @sses handed to us it might have helped. If he had showed some fire and benched a couple of seniors when they were playing like crap and given younger kids a chance.......ok, basically if he was a completely different person he could have survived another year.
 
#15
#15
rockytophigh said:
I think if Fulmer had gotten pissed and quit clapping when we were getting our @sses handed to us it might have helped. If he had showed some fire and benched a couple of seniors when they were playing like crap and given younger kids a chance.......ok, basically if he was a completely different person he could have survived another year.
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he showed fire many times but that makes no difference when the schemes aren't working.
 
#16
#16
utvolpj said:
he showed fire many times but that makes no difference when the schemes aren't working.
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Maybe I just don't remember it from all the times I saw him clapping on the jumbotron and thinking WTF are you clapping about? Or the Sunday morning PF Show where we were reviewing the film but he had to look at the film........infuriating for many fans. I think he needed an image consultant. Someone to turn Aunt Bea into Rambo........
 
#21
#21
What's sort of nuts is that Wiedmer thought Fulmer should have been canned way before most in the media.
 
#22
#22
Has the whole world turned into a bunch of big sensitive cry babies? My god, get off your high horse you perfect little angels.

Kiffin has said some things. Said some things. The media acts like he has robbed a liquor store, had a car wreck while drunk and killed someone, and teamed up with Micheal Vick all in the same day here. He said some things people. Get over it.
 
#23
#23
Me after reading his comments:

sigh.jpg
 
#24
#24
I guess some people would have been perfectly fine with losing with class. In phillip's final few years he was getting rather good at it.
 
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