I respect Fulmer a little more after each game we lose

[Nationdom]

So? USCe still trounced them... and UT still dominated USCe. And then... Mizzou beat USCe. More than likely 3 of the SEC teams UT beats will be bowl eligible. USA still has a shot if McCall doesn't return and play well a week from Saturday.

My point is NOT that we declare Heupel a success... only that he did enough to warrant a more positive "wait and see" than you and a few others are expressing. You appear to be writing him off. Too early for that.

I would have loved to have seen what the team could have done early in the season when most were healthy had Hooker won the job in August. I think Saturday gave a little indication of what Milton might have been doing in practice that impressed the coaches. Most who saw the closed parts of practice have said that Hooker didn't have a very good camp. I think Pitt would have been a win... and UF a very big possibility if Hooker were settled in. But that's not the way it played out. Not to dwell on it... but I think OM came down to some tilted officiating not just the spot but the whole game.

I agree with most of this. Im not writing him off yet, just don't think he overachieved this year.

 

[USAFgolferVol]

So now you are changing your argument and moving the goal posts?

Man take the L and move on

LMFAO. No one takes a "L" on a f'ing message board. What are you? 12 years old?

 

[Unconditional Surrender]

He almost burnt it down

twice

 

[USAFgolferVol]

While the Pruitt hire is clearly terrible in hindsight, at the time it seemed like a sound choice. He had won a national championship at FSU, improved the uga D in a short time, and was back under Saban. While not every Saban assistant has been successful, some surely have (Fisher, Smart, Tucker, kiffin (I know, I know), probably someone else), so it wasn’t obvious that Pruitt was such a terrible hire at the time. I don’t blame Fulmer for hiring him, just in keeping him. Ga State should have been the nail in the coffin, but then we played high school teams to end that season and the 8 game winning streak(!) kept him longer than necessary. Fulmer blundered through last year for sure.

You don't blame Fulmer for hiring him? Geez man, how Pruitt could go through a formal interview and still get hired as the head football coach at a traditional power like Tennessee oozes incompetence from the AD

 

[TheFlash1971]

We make a big deal about winning games nowadays he use to win blindfolded. I’m not sure we will ever get back within being 75% of the win production he produced . Recruiting is the key. Must needs. Vol for life , hate losing especially to Georgia.

We won because we had depth, obviously in college football it’s about recruiting. Fulmer ran a AD out of town only to hire a worse coach. If he really was all about Tennessee he would have hired a good coach . Fulmer was never going to hire a coach that would be better than him . Guys true colors came out when that all went down.

 

[TheFlash1971]

Phil is/was a selfish human, who put HIS interests first and used his school, and the people that supported him, to get what HE wanted, from stabbing Johnny in the back to gain head coaching position to later his coup against John Currie.

Ditto, guy is a duesche bag. Becomes AD only to hire a coach that sucked sewer water.

 

[JRich]

we beat 6 really bad teams, beat one decent team barely and lost two games to teams we have more talent than. played Bama decent and got handled by UGA and Florida. CJH made it look more.flashey with his offense but I have doubts he can continue this especially if he doesn't start recruiting better.

You put no thought into this comment.

 

[volbound1700]

I predicted 9 wins and thatss because we have more talent than 9 teams and a considerable amount more than many of them. Im not down on Heupel yet and will give him time but he in no way overachieved.

You do understand what Heupel inherited, right? Had all of the major Pruitt players from 2020 stayed, then you might have an argument.

Even then, the first year with a coach is usually rough. Even Saban went 7-6 his first year at Alabama and had losses to UL Monroe and FSU.

 

[LAVol1]

In his last 4 years, Fulmer was 29-21 with 2 losing seasons. It was time for him to go. I’m not defending the other hiring decisions the university made by saying it was time for Fulmer to go.

The Bear, Bowden and Paterno all had consecutive down years in their tenures but they got the opportunity to turn it around. Fulmer earned that but he wasn't given the chance. Had we stuck with him, Clawson would have probably been our coach the last 5-10 years and we most likely would have avoided the debacle of the last 15 years. Fulmer gave us the greatest era of Vol football in our lifetimes and idiots refuse to give him credit!

 

[USAFgolferVol]

The Bear, Bowden and Paterno all had consecutive down years in their tenures but they got the opportunity to turn it around. Fulmer earned that but he wasn't given the chance. Had we stuck with him, Clawson would have probably been our coach the last 5-10 years and we most likely would have avoided the debacle of the last 15 years. Fulmer gave us the greatest era of Vol football in our lifetimes and idiots refuse to give him credit!

Majors and Fulmer. Majors built it

 

[KoachKrab127]

The Bear, Bowden and Paterno all had consecutive down years in their tenures but they got the opportunity to turn it around. Fulmer earned that but he wasn't given the chance. Had we stuck with him, Clawson would have probably been our coach the last 5-10 years and we most likely would have avoided the debacle of the last 15 years. Fulmer gave us the greatest era of Vol football in our lifetimes and idiots refuse to give him credit!

Several things:
First of all, as head coach at Bama, Bear Bryant never had a losing season, let alone 2 losing seasons in 4 years.

Bowden never had 2 losing seasons in 4 years. In fact, Bowden had a grand total of 1 losing season during his 30+ year career at FSU, and it was in his very first season. That's it.

Paterno did have a stretch of some bad seasons from 2000 to 2004, but he stayed on until 2011.

So the only coach of the three you mentioned that you really have a case for is Joe Paterno. He was there for 45 years. Fulmer was there for 17. That's a big difference, not even remotely the same. And we could talk about what was going on while Paterno was there all those years...you don't want to do that, and neither do I. Let's just say that Paterno is not a great example to support the argument that keeping a coach for a very long time is good for a program.

Finally (even though this standard really only applies to Paterno), things were very different during Bowden's, Paterno's, and Bear's time. Colleges were much more forgiving with bad seasons. That is not the case today. You can argue that as a good or a bad thing. It isn't like the Vols did something to Fulmer that other schools have not done to other coaches. Auburn fired Tuberville after his first losing season, after he went undefeated only 4 years earlier, then they won a national championship after firing him. That worked out pretty well for them. Georgia fired Mark Richt after back-to-back 10-3 seasons. Since then, they've been to the playoffs, played in a national championship game, and are currently #1 in the nation. That worked out pretty well for them too, didn't it?

Like I said, firing Fulmer was not the bad decision. The bad decisions came after getting rid of Fulmer, and just because I agree with firing Fulmer, that does not mean I agree with the hiring decisions they made afterwards.

 

[hog88]

The Bear, Bowden and Paterno all had consecutive down years in their tenures but they got the opportunity to turn it around. Fulmer earned that but he wasn't given the chance. Had we stuck with him, Clawson would have probably been our coach the last 5-10 years and we most likely would have avoided the debacle of the last 15 years. Fulmer gave us the greatest era of Vol football in our lifetimes and idiots refuse to give him credit!

Fulmer was never just going to step aside and retire gracefully, he's way to stubborn to do that.

 

[JMSqb11]

2004 might be his best coaching job.

No detail in your post. We got blown out at Florida, 59-20, and blown out by 6-6 Alabama, 41-17, in 2007. We also got blown out by California. So if you're going to contend we didn't back into it in 2007 by posting our record as something of a great accomplishment, then you need to at least acknowledge who we lost to and by how much. One reason why we finished just inside the top 15 after beating Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. Our 2015 team didn't win the East but was at least as good as the 2007 team.

We lost on game in the division and beat the only other team tied with us head to head. We didn’t back into a division title. And the Cal game has zero to do with the division game or title

 

[USAFgolferVol]

We lost on game in the division and beat the only other team tied with us head to head. We didn’t back into a division title. And the Cal game has zero to do with the division game or title

59-20, 41-17. I never stated we backed into it, but you spewed it out like it was some great accomplishment without any real detail. You were doing it as some sort of proof that Fulmer was a great coach. He was a great recruiter and good coach. By noting the Cal result, it brings a more accurate perspective of the season overall and the fact we were never in the conversation as far as a national championship

 

[volbound1700]

We lost on game in the division and beat the only other team tied with us head to head. We didn’t back into a division title. And the Cal game has zero to do with the division game or title

A big part of the reason we appeared in 2007 was that we had Miss State and Arkansas as our West opponents while Florida had LSU and Auburn.

Florida kicked the **** out of us and was truly a better team. Georgia was a better team as well but we upset them. Tennessee lucked out by getting to dodge Auburn and LSU that year. This is why people say we backed into it. We played only four good\ranked teams (Alabama, Cal, Florida, and Georgia) and we went 1-4 in those games.

 

[Cobb-Webb 1989]

We make a big deal about winning games nowadays he use to win blindfolded. I’m not sure we will ever get back within being 75% of the win production he produced . Recruiting is the key. Must needs. Vol for life , hate losing especially to Georgia.

Thanks, Steve
He ruined the powerhouse that Johhny and Dickey built.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Randy Sanders / Pruitt:
He's just a hard-headed paranoid human being.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

He said that he learned a lot of lessons (over the years) when he took the AD job (I had truly hoped so), I guess he meant laying off the cheeseburgers???

----------------------------------------------------------------
He wanted the Clemson job but never got a whiff over there.

No other school wanted Phil either.

 

[feathersax]

Ditto, guy is a duesche bag. Becomes AD only to hire a coach that sucked sewer water.

Stupid comments are just that.

 

[Backwards K]

Fulmer had a losing record the year he was let go. He was no better than Butch Jones from 2002-2008

From 2002 to 2008, the Vols were 57-32 (.640) which was the 24th best record in the nation and 5th best in the SEC for that time period. Won or shared the championship of the SEC East and played in 2 SECCGs. Went to 5 bowl games in that 7 year period which consisted of 2 Peach Bowls, 2 Outback Bowls, and a Cotton Bowl. That time frame also included two 10 win seasons, a 9 win and an 8 win season.

Tennessee has been no where close to that record since the first ballot HOF coach was fired. Further, in the time frame you cherry picked, the Vols winning pct was the same as Johnny Majors' entire time at UT (64%).

You'd love to have a 7 year run like that again at this point.

 

[KoachKrab127]

From 2002 to 2008, the Vols were 57-32 (.640) which was the 24th best record in the nation and 5th best in the SEC for that time period. Won or shared the championship of the SEC East and played in 2 SECCGs. Went to 5 bowl games in that 7 year period which consisted of 2 Peach Bowls, 2 Outback Bowls, and a Cotton Bowl. That time frame also included two 10 win seasons, a 9 win and an 8 win season.

Tennessee has been no where close to that record since the first ballot HOF coach was fired. Further, in the time frame you cherry picked, the Vols winning pct was the same as Johnny Majors' entire time at UT (64%).

You'd love to have a 7 year run like that again at this point.

"You'd love to have a 7 year run like that again at this point." No, not really, because the last 4 years of that 7 year run results in 2 losing seasons and results in any coach getting fired in almost every circumstance. I'm not saying Butch was better than Fulmer from 2002-2008. I'm saying that any coach at any ambitious SEC school in this day and age would get fired after a 7 year run like that. If Heupel is here for 7 years, and his last 4 years are like Fulmer's final 4 years, I guarantee no one is going to love it.

Mark Richt got fired after back-to-back 10-3 seasons. Tuberville got fired after his first losing season in 10 years, only 4 years after going 13-0, and some people still think it was unreasonable to fire Fulmer after his abysmal final 4 years at UT.

 

[sanefan]

Nothing that happens in 2021 makes me even think about what happened in 2007. They are not related no matter how hard some folks try to make it.

We have not made a mistake in firing a head coach including Fulmer. We have, however, made several hiring mistakes. That is what needs to be fixed. Maybe we have, time will tell.

 

[JMSqb11]

59-20, 41-17. I never stated we backed into it, but you spewed it out like it was some great accomplishment without any real detail. You were doing it as some sort of proof that Fulmer was a great coach. He was a great recruiter and good coach. By noting the Cal result, it brings a more accurate perspective of the season overall and the fact we were never in the conversation as far as a national championship

You realize the one team we lost too in our division was never a threat in the division that year? I find it funny that we “backed into a division title” when we were 6-2 and beat the other 6-2 team head to head. Meanwhile the other team we lost to in the division was never in contention……

So to put this clearly, us going 6-2 with head to head win against the other 6-2 SEC East team with a loss to the 3rd place team in the East and a loss to a West division team is one big recipe for us “backing” into a division title? Lol. Agenda driven arguments are the worst. You should work for new network with this much spin you are peddling.

 

[JMSqb11]

A big part of the reason we appeared in 2007 was that we had Miss State and Arkansas as our West opponents while Florida had LSU and Auburn.

Florida kicked the **** out of us and was truly a better team. Georgia was a better team as well but we upset them. Tennessee lucked out by getting to dodge Auburn and LSU that year. This is why people say we backed into it. We played only four good\ranked teams (Alabama, Cal, Florida, and Georgia) and we went 1-4 in those games.

Ah yes, we backed into a division title because of the schedule which we totally have control over….. i can’t believe we should put asterisks by division titles because of a factor we can’t control aka scheduling

 

[DukeDaisySam]

You do understand what Heupel inherited, right? Had all of the major Pruitt players from 2020 stayed, then you might have an argument.

Even then, the first year with a coach is usually rough. Even Saban went 7-6 his first year at Alabama and had losses to UL Monroe and FSU.

What was Saban’s record his second season? Can we expect the same thing from Heupel?

 

[USAFgolferVol]

You realize the one team we lost too in our division was never a threat in the division that year? I find it funny that we “backed into a division title” when we were 6-2 and beat the other 6-2 team head to head. Meanwhile the other team we lost to in the division was never in contention……

So to put this clearly, us going 6-2 with head to head win against the other 6-2 SEC East team with a loss to the 3rd place team in the East and a loss to a West division team is one big recipe for us “backing” into a division title? Lol. Agenda driven arguments are the worst. You should work for new network with this much spin you are peddling.

You shouldn't continue to post if you're going to make it up as you go. I never stated that we backed into the division title. I just provided factual context and detail to that particular season, for which you provided very little detail nuance to in your description of it. No mention of how pathetically unprepared we were in the games that we were blown out. You're trying to add a false sense of luster to a coach who had obviously seen his better days

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Nothing that happens in 2021 makes me even think about what happened in 2007. They are not related no matter how hard some folks try to make it.

We have not made a mistake in firing a head coach including Fulmer. We have, however, made several hiring mistakes. That is what needs to be fixed. Maybe we have, time will tell.

It is one heck of a mistake to fire a coach in good standing without some better solutions in your pocket! That is what your top left drawer is for. Hamilton did it and then Currie did the same dang thing. Losing a coach or having to fire a coach for cause is a whole different story.