To the OP's original question: This is the worst I've seen.
I grew up in Knoxville. I'm 44 years old and was a freshman at UT in 1993. Between changing majors and working in between semesters, I graduated in the spring of 1999. During that span, I saw the Lady Vols win 3 straight national titles. I literally never missed a single home football game. Tickets were included as part of the student fees. I don't know if that's still true now. Here was Tennessee's record while I was in school:
1993: 10-2
1994: 8-4
1995: 11-1
1996: 10-2
1997: 11-2
1998: 13-0
I remember the atmosphere going to games. I remember meeting students from out of state or from different countries who didn't know what a "Vol" was, some who didn't even know a thing about football. They went to games with their friends simply because it was like going to a free rock concert. I would be with friends and look around and see fellow engineering students, even a few who I knew were from China and they would be yelling and hollering at the field and I knew they didn't have a clue what was going on, they just knew we were winning and really good and they were having a great time. Imagine walking to every home game with the feeling that, maybe with the exception of the Florida game, there wasn't a question of whether we were going to win, but how bad we were going to beat the other team.
We all know what happened in '98. Even back then, we had "NegaVols" who didn't appreciate Fulmer. I remember going on a golf trip with my dad and a bunch of our friends, older "fans" who bashed Fulmer and his "soft zone" defense kept us from getting to the top. This was right before the 1998 season. I remember all kinds of people who were so happy that we finally beat the gators, but just KNEW we would find a way to screw up the season and lose one game before bowl season. We didn't realize Tee Martin was going to be as steady as he was, that Jeff Hall was so clutch, that losing Jamal Lewis (Houston) was going to be no big deal and Travis Henry was going to fill in the gap just fine.
I feel I was one of the few against firing Fulmer in 2008. Not because he was doing such a bad job, but because I didn't think there were any good candidates on the table. I said, "It's too big a risk." "Yeah, but we need to make a change." "Yes, but the odds are the next guy could be worse." "Well, it can't get any worse now!"
But yes, this is the worst I've ever seen.