My biggest hope/Longshot for 2019
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LeBleu
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HooahVol
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I feel confident we will go bowling next year. We have a very favorable schedule with Chatty, BYU, Georgia State and UAB giving us a 4 game buffer. Even our other West team is not terrible (Mississippi State). The cocks were awful last year and I think UK is bleeding a lot of the talent that gave them their best year in the school's history. Throw in Vandy and uncertainties at Mizzou and I think we may be in pretty good shape.
So my best case scenario is 7-8 wins showing solid improvement under Pruitt and a good bowl win catapulting 2020 recruiting.
So my best case scenario is 7-8 wins showing solid improvement under Pruitt and a good bowl win catapulting 2020 recruiting.
VOLINVONORE
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I disagree with the "it was time" for Fulmer to go thing. Many long term coaches have down years. Paterno....Bowden etc etc. Imo we should have continued to have him as the "face" of the program...and brought in quality assistants to help with Xs and Os. Paterno and Bowden weren't heavily involved with game day Xs and Os...if at all. They just stood on the sidelines and mumbled. But it worked for continuity sake. Our record since getting rid of Fulmer speaks for itself. We got much worse....not better. So we had a subpar record and off recruiting year. Who's to say the next season we woulda been back on top? I was one who wanted Fulmer gone...and I was wrong. I admit. Getting rid of Fulmer devastated our program. We impatiently made a rash move that we still haven't gotten over. Imo.
The bold wasn't the problem. The problem was that he was failing to recruit well in addition to losing his team both on and off the field. Do you remember the days when UT was a running joke for all of the players getting in trouble? That was indicative of a lack of control on the part of Fulmer.
Fulmer wasn't the type of coach who just let everyone else take care of the X's and O's. Clawson is much hated here... but he's gone on to have a good career and is still respected as an offensive coach. Some have suggested that Fulmer's meddling and micromanaging contributed to the failures that year.
The reason UT got worse was that he left a very, very thin roster. Kiffin inherited one true SEC Defensive Tackle... just one. IIRC, his best DE and C were playing on ruined knees. One SEC caliber RB... and then Crompton. Wasn't that the year that the Sullins bros played OL as walk-ons? NONE of the staff decisions made so far have proven to be good ones (not judging CJP yet) but that doesn't mean the decision to fire Fulmer was a bad one. It wasn't.
You weren't wrong. Fulmer did it to himself and it started really no later than 2001. He didn't push Sanders enough. The drop off in production from Cut to Sanders was big. Fulmer remained loyal to him and other assistants that had become complacent or else weren't up to the job to start.
The decision that most hurt the program was hiring Kiffin. No one knew he would betray UT... but even if he hadn't UT was headed for significant NCAA problems. Dooley with the guys he hired might could have done better from a decent starting point. He didn't get one and was nowhere near the coach to pull a program out of the abyss. Jones... isn't a football coach. He's a used car salesman. His schtick worked to get the job... to get some good players... but there was ZERO depth to him as far as being a football coach.
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