WADE PAYNE /The Associated Press
KNOXVILLE - His voice choked with emotion, Randy Sanders fought back the tears.
This is not the way he envisioned leaving his alma mater.
"The University of Tennessee has meant a lot to me," said Sanders, who resigned as the Vols' offensive coordinator Monday and will finish out the season as quarterbacks coach. "I've been here 22 years now. It's a very special place. It's been a big part of my life. I'm going to miss this place.
"The fact is, though, that there's a whole lot more to life than Tennessee football. The last few weeks have brought me to that realization. We've worked hard. I've worked hard. But if I'm going to put in 14- and 16-hour days for six days and get the results we've had, that's not what I need."
The Vols' offense has hit rock bottom, and what was supposed to be a run at a championship has become the most disappointing season of the Phillip Fulmer era.
Following the 16-15 loss to South Carolina last Saturday, an emotional Sanders went to Fulmer and offered to resign that night. They talked again Sunday about several different scenarios, and everything was finalized Monday.
"There's emotion in my feelings for the University of Tennessee," Sanders said. "At the same time, you don't make emotional decisions. You make decisions based on what you think is right, what you think is best, and I think that's what I've done."
As for the timing, Sanders said there was no reason to wait.
"Coach Fulmer has been great about this," he said. "It wasn't something he approached me with. It wasn't something anybody else approached me with. I came to him with it.
"I've never believed in beating around the bush. I've always tried to treat the quarterbacks and players in a very straightforward manner. I tell them all the time that I'll tell you the truth. It might not be what you want to hear, but I'll tell you the truth. Where I am right now is the truth, so why wait?"
As news spread Monday that Sanders was out as the Vols' offensive coordinator, many around the program expressed everything from sadness to anger.
"I'm sorry Randy is the one taking the bullet," former offensive tackle Reggie Coleman said. "It's been a shared failure on offense, and the blame should also be shared."
The parents of redshirt freshman quarterback Jon Crompton were seen leaving the football complex along with Crompton, who's recovering from shoulder surgery.
Jim Clausen, the father of senior quarterback Rick Clausen, said he was devastated that Sanders felt compelled to resign.
"There's a lot going on right now at the University of Tennessee, but very little of it has to do with Randy Sanders and the play-calling," Clausen said. "I'm disappointed that my son didn't play better and that it's come to this.
"I can tell you that (older son) Casey is really upset. This is not about (wide receivers coach) Pat Washington, Randy Sanders or anybody else. It's about guys underachieving and not taking accountability and responsibility for their mess-ups."
Clausen said it was also a shame that Sanders and his family have had to endure the type of criticism and personal shots that have bordered on the fanatical.
"I'm most upset personally because I've always revered Tennessee football," said Clausen, whose youngest son, Jimmy, is one of the top junior quarterback prospects in the country.
"For us to be a part of the Vol Nation, I just can't believe that people would be so cruel sometimes," he said. "That hurts, and expectations sometimes become unrealistic. When my sons tell me that Randy's girls are having a tough time at school and people are saying things to the family and the girls are afraid to go trick or treating, that's (B.S.)."
Sanders reiterated that the main component in his decision to step down was the good of the football team and not what the job had done to him personally.
"You don't play quarterback and call plays at the University of Tennessee for seven years and be affected by too much of what is said," he said. "You can't survive that way. Is it hard on the family? Sure. It was hard last year.
"But coach (Johnny) Majors used to always say that you've got to treat success and failure the same. It doesn't matter whether you're winning or losing. When you win, you get a lot of praise. When you lose, you get a lot of criticism about how bad you are.
"Most of the time, neither one of them is true."
Chris Low covers UT athletics for The Tennessean. Reach him at
clow@tennessean.com 
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