I thought Phil did try and modernize the offense, hence the hiring of Clawson. We just weren't willing to accept that it was going to take more than one season for the current roster to acclimate to it or recruit new players that fit the scheme. In hindsight, had Fulmer not been fired we would have beaten Wyoming and gone on to be bowl eligible. Not exactly a great season but better than sitting at home in December/January. After that, who knows? One things for sure, Tahj Boyd and Bryce Petty would've come to Tennessee instead of going to Clemson and Baylor, possibly changing the trajectory of all 3 programs. However Hamilton had a serious hard on to get rid of Fulmer and just wasn't willing to consider any of that.
As for recruiting, yeah it had become weirdly inconsistent over the previous years. We'd be top 5 one year and outside the top 20 the next. I'm not sure what factors were in play that caused that but I think it had to be a little more than "Phil got lazy." With Boyd and Petty as our QB's, who knows what other talent would've come here over those years. We'll never know but I do believe with the hindsight of 20/20, it's obvious now that this program would've been better off keeping Fulmer instead of firing him in 2008.