albedo33
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Let it be noted that Philip Fulmer is the most successful UT coach since Gen. Neyland. His record (147-45) is better than Bowden Wyatt, Doug Dickey, Bill Battle, or Johnny Majors. And of course he has the NC, which only Gen. Neyland achieved. However..
There is an axiom in writing: in the beginning is the ending. In a good novel, events & traits are revealed in Chapter 1 that suggest how the novel will play out. I think this applies to Philip Fulmer's story.
In 1992, health problems prevented Johnny Majors from coaching at the start of the season. Fulmer was made acting head coach. The players loved his kinder, gentler approach to coaching, and won the first 4 games, including convincing wins over Georgia & Florida. Majors then returned, and UT lost to South Carolina & Arkansas. That was the end of Johnny Majors.
Coach Fulmer's persona, then & now, was that of a folksy, sincere blue-collar guy, one who believes that even if you are not a genius, you can accomplish anything through hard work and determination. That has been his greatest asset as a coach and oddly enough, his greatest liabilty. Because of his straight-forward, likable nature, he can recruit and train great athletes. But it is not in that nature to be a tough, in-your-face disciplinarian as was Majors. He does not demand players to give 110%, does not instill in them the iron will to win through the force of his personality. His greatest players, Peyton, Al Wilson, Travis Henry, had that all along. Coach Fulmer did not give it to them.
His role as the easy-going father who can always forgive his wayward sons has also resulted in poor discipline. During Fulmer's tenure, the number of UT football players who've had brushes with the law is legion. They are also undisciplined on the field. Currently UT is the second most-penalized team in the SEC. This is a trend that has existed, I believe, during most of Fulmer's career. Sometimes it didn't matter: when Peyton was QB, if it was 1st and 20 after a holding call, he could move the chains anyway with one quick toss to Joey Kent. Now we do not have that luxury: a single penalty is a drive-killer.
Perhaps because of Fulmer's easy-going personality, he is not a good judge of assistant coaches, and remains loyal to them to the detriment of the team. By contrast, Johnny Majors was notorious for quickly sending an assistant packing if he did not deliver. In 1985, the SugarVols under Coach Majors had 3 future head coaches on the staff: David Cutcliffe, Ron Zook, and of course Philip Fulmer. I am not aware of a single assistant coach hired by Fulmer who has gone on to a head coaching position, or even been recruited as such (Johnny Chavis was another Majors hire). We all remember the Randy Sanders debacle, which does not bode well for Fulmer's choice of Dave Clawson as OC.
So how will it all play out? Few people besides Philip Fulmer know how much or how little it means to him to be UT's all-time winningest coach. He's now within 27 wins, and the closer he gets, the more difficult it may be to give him the axe. I suspect that if Fulmer can manage 6-8 wins a season until he reaches that coveted 174th win & passes Gen. Neyland, he will tough it out. For all his faults, he does not lack in patience or self-confidence. I also believe that if Fulmer reaches that landmark, he richly deserves it. Among Gen. Neyland's 174 wins were many, many wins over Chattanooga, Sewanee, Maryville College, etc. It's a much tougher schedule nowadays.
But Fulmer may also recall how his old boss, Coach Majors, was unceremoniously shown the door in 1992. A UT legend was humiliated and made bitter for years. It could happen again. Surely any man would want to avoid that fate.
In other words, I have no more idea than anyone else on this board how much longer Fulmer will be head coach. These are just some thoughts on how we got here.
There is an axiom in writing: in the beginning is the ending. In a good novel, events & traits are revealed in Chapter 1 that suggest how the novel will play out. I think this applies to Philip Fulmer's story.
In 1992, health problems prevented Johnny Majors from coaching at the start of the season. Fulmer was made acting head coach. The players loved his kinder, gentler approach to coaching, and won the first 4 games, including convincing wins over Georgia & Florida. Majors then returned, and UT lost to South Carolina & Arkansas. That was the end of Johnny Majors.
Coach Fulmer's persona, then & now, was that of a folksy, sincere blue-collar guy, one who believes that even if you are not a genius, you can accomplish anything through hard work and determination. That has been his greatest asset as a coach and oddly enough, his greatest liabilty. Because of his straight-forward, likable nature, he can recruit and train great athletes. But it is not in that nature to be a tough, in-your-face disciplinarian as was Majors. He does not demand players to give 110%, does not instill in them the iron will to win through the force of his personality. His greatest players, Peyton, Al Wilson, Travis Henry, had that all along. Coach Fulmer did not give it to them.
His role as the easy-going father who can always forgive his wayward sons has also resulted in poor discipline. During Fulmer's tenure, the number of UT football players who've had brushes with the law is legion. They are also undisciplined on the field. Currently UT is the second most-penalized team in the SEC. This is a trend that has existed, I believe, during most of Fulmer's career. Sometimes it didn't matter: when Peyton was QB, if it was 1st and 20 after a holding call, he could move the chains anyway with one quick toss to Joey Kent. Now we do not have that luxury: a single penalty is a drive-killer.
Perhaps because of Fulmer's easy-going personality, he is not a good judge of assistant coaches, and remains loyal to them to the detriment of the team. By contrast, Johnny Majors was notorious for quickly sending an assistant packing if he did not deliver. In 1985, the SugarVols under Coach Majors had 3 future head coaches on the staff: David Cutcliffe, Ron Zook, and of course Philip Fulmer. I am not aware of a single assistant coach hired by Fulmer who has gone on to a head coaching position, or even been recruited as such (Johnny Chavis was another Majors hire). We all remember the Randy Sanders debacle, which does not bode well for Fulmer's choice of Dave Clawson as OC.
So how will it all play out? Few people besides Philip Fulmer know how much or how little it means to him to be UT's all-time winningest coach. He's now within 27 wins, and the closer he gets, the more difficult it may be to give him the axe. I suspect that if Fulmer can manage 6-8 wins a season until he reaches that coveted 174th win & passes Gen. Neyland, he will tough it out. For all his faults, he does not lack in patience or self-confidence. I also believe that if Fulmer reaches that landmark, he richly deserves it. Among Gen. Neyland's 174 wins were many, many wins over Chattanooga, Sewanee, Maryville College, etc. It's a much tougher schedule nowadays.
But Fulmer may also recall how his old boss, Coach Majors, was unceremoniously shown the door in 1992. A UT legend was humiliated and made bitter for years. It could happen again. Surely any man would want to avoid that fate.
In other words, I have no more idea than anyone else on this board how much longer Fulmer will be head coach. These are just some thoughts on how we got here.
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