Truth about Majors/ Fulmer Please???

[dunkingdan]

Johnny had a designated driver from the force.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Johnny made his own bed, but he certainly didn't put the knife in Fulmer's hand. My goodness, Fulmer was his top assistant. Majors never dreamed Fulmer would seek the job behind his back. Make no mistake, Fulmer chose to pick up the knife

Did he seek the job or did the job seek him?
I imagine he was approached with some obvious hypothetical questions by the brass.

 

[Rickyvol77]

I have always heard that Majors demanded to be the highest paid coach in The SEC and Dickey told him no. Majors threw an office supply object at Dickey and then Majors was fired the very next day.

Majors got drunk and called the entire Board of Trustees at 2am threatening them about his pay raise. He had a good point somewhat because he had won 3 SEC titles and finished 2nd in 5 out of 8 years and was like the 9th highest paid coach in the SEC

 

[GAVol]

One thing I forgot to mention was the issues in the program went back to the previous season. The '91 season ended in Tempe at the Fiesta Bowl with Tennessee playing Penn State. Tennessee had dominated the first half but only led 17-7 due to a Dale Carter fumble on the opening KO and several other miscues by the offense. Majors got into it with Carter and Carl Pickens in the locker room and many of the players didnt want to play the second half. Assistant coaches had to plead with the players to go back out in which Penn State dominated winning 42-17 I believe. That scene was not far removed from the memory of the UT brass when some of the same issues began to arise in '92.

Sounds crazy, but I’ve heard that one too. Had a friend who was a manager for that team and said it got flat out ugly.

 

[FLVOL_79]

Football coaches are rarely choir boys.

Beer drinkers? Absolutely.
Jeans wearers? Yep.
Curse like sailors? Most of the time.
Pick their noses when they don't think you're looking? More often than you'd think.
Cheat at cards? Any chance they get.
Laugh out loud at awkward jokes in inappropriate settings? Sometimes.
Work on a farm baling hay at some point in their youth? Often.
Chew tobacco? Even in this day and age.
Secretly or openly nodded their heads when the Ohio State player said "we ain't here to play school"? Yes, though they won't admit it.
Cut-throat competitive? Almost to a man.

But choir boys? No. Not many of those at all.

You can bet your bottom dollar both Johnny and Phillip played roles in the change that might be viewed as less than seemly.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Okay, not PJ Fleck.

But besides him.

 

[UTNOW20]

All most of us know is what we've "heard"

Perhaps. But there are some immutable truths....like CPF was the right man for the job. I'm just glad he didn't take a spot at Texas or later at UF, Clemson, Detroit, Pittsburgh, or Denver.

 

[guesscrazy]

All said and done, I miss JM. He was awsome to talk too.

 

[cobbwebb0710]

“Office supply object“? That covers a wide range. Obviously a lot of difference between throwing a paper clip vs throwing a typewriter. So which extreme was closer here?

Thanks for painting that picture in my head. I just watched coach Majors throw a paper clip at Doug Dickey and LOL’d!
GBO!!

 

[vegasvolfan]

I was enrolled at UT in 1992. I always hear two different stories bout what went on and I would like those that were around back then with me to share your thoughts. I remember these specific things to be 100% true. Majors had a quadruple bypass before the season began. Fulmer was named interim. Fulmer went on the road and beat #14 Georgia. The Vols then beat #4 UF and others and ended up the #4 ranked team. Majors comes back and loses to a God awful Arkansas team that was earlier beat up by the Citadel. We then lay an egg at home and lose to Bama 17-10, for our 7th consecutive loss vs the tide. Next week we go to SC and get beat by another awful team. This is the time we hear that Majors will retire and Phil is to take over.

I have heard different people vociferously push two different stories about why this came to pass.

1. Fulmer was THE hot coaching candidate that year. He made it clear to the powers that be that if they didn't hire him he would bolt for Texas. Fulmer worked behind the scenes and planted the knife in Majors back.

2. Majors had demanded a large pay raise before the season and continued to push the issue with then President Joe Johnson. Johnson had lost all faith in Majors as a coach, but more so, questioned his metal stability. The on-field debacles were the last straw for Johnson. Johnson decided it was time for the change and did just that.

Which is True? Some of both? None at all? I know we have a very knowledgeable community here and I would really like to hear what others have to say. Thank you in advance.

I think this and the next two or three replies sums it all up. I think the back stabbing is subjective. If Majors was losing his grip and everyone was suffering for it and he was a hot coach, I think he just won the position that Majors was about to put up for grabs on his own right.

 

[uvavol]

I’ve found it confusing on why Fulmer is accused of stabbing Majors in the back. Did he set the guy up to be fired? You can’t just convince an AD to fire just anyone you want them to. Did he take an opportunity to prove himself when asked that any other coach would have also taken? How many of us think we can do our bosses job better than them? Especially if they have treated us poorly.

 

[vol66]

The truth is, folks my dad’s age looked at Johnny Majors like people looked at Peyton Manning. In fact, I think the Majors’ family was looked upon as the first family of UT Football. My dad left middle Tennessee out of HS to come to UT because of Johnny Majors.

When JM died I called to see if he’d heard the news. He said, “he was my hero.” To guys like that Fulmer had no shot.

 

[albedo33]

The plan was to have Fulmer be the interim the whole season. Back then, that surgery was much more complicated than it is now. After Fulmer beat Georgia and Florida, Majors let his ego get the best of him and showed up at the athletic facility on Monday. He didn’t even call Dickey, he just declared himself back. He messed up the team chemistry and sealed his own fate.

True. You could see it coming when Johnny insisted on coming back after Phil’s big wins. I thought, “If UT loses even one game they should have won, Johnny’s in trouble.” And sure enough .....

 

[Volfan1000]

Tennessee had a chance to hire Rick Pitino at one point but they were afraid to pay him more than what Majors was making at the time.

 

[NoogaVol2000]

1. Majors didn’t come back because of ego. He came back because his phone was ringing off the hook that Fulmer was angling for his job. 2. Fulmer’s telephone records pretty much supported that he was working to get the job. 3. Fulmer was a hot candidate because Majors was a head coach producing machine. And it was the Clemson job Phil was rumored for. 4. Tennessee went 4-0 with Cutcliff as OC and Fulmer calling plays. They lost 4 after Fulmer moved back to OC and started calling plays. Hmm! 5. Dickey and Majors shook hands after the SC game on a new 4 year extension with a base salary of $120K. Joe Johnson vetoed it because the banker in Sparta demanded it. They honored the handshake agreement and paid Majors $500,000.

Fulmer knifed Majors in the back just like he did Currie. Majors wasn’t without fault and helped bring it on himself but you don’t treat your favorite son that way.

 

[NoogaVol2000]

Sorry I meant they were 4-0 with Cut calling plays. Cut is a class act. He was caught in a bad situation.

 

[GAVol]

2. Fulmer’s telephone records pretty much supported that he was working to get the job.

This is the first I have ever heard about anybody accessing phone records. Why would they even do that? It's not like there was a criminal investigation going on.

 

[GAVol]

Sorry I meant they were 4-0 with Cut calling plays. Cut is a class act. He was caught in a bad situation.

You really think Fulmer stepped in as Interim Head Coach and immediately just gave up all playcalling duties. Again, I'm not saying you are wrong, but that's the first I've ever heard of that.

 

[AstonRoyal]

I was enrolled at UT in 1992. I always hear two different stories bout what went on and I would like those that were around back then with me to share your thoughts. I remember these specific things to be 100% true. Majors had a quadruple bypass before the season began. Fulmer was named interim. Fulmer went on the road and beat #14 Georgia. The Vols then beat #4 UF and others and ended up the #4 ranked team. Majors comes back and loses to a God awful Arkansas team that was earlier beat up by the Citadel. We then lay an egg at home and lose to Bama 17-10, for our 7th consecutive loss vs the tide. Next week we go to SC and get beat by another awful team. This is the time we hear that Majors will retire and Phil is to take over.

I have heard different people vociferously push two different stories about why this came to pass.

1. Fulmer was THE hot coaching candidate that year. He made it clear to the powers that be that if they didn't hire him he would bolt for Texas. Fulmer worked behind the scenes and planted the knife in Majors back.

2. Majors had demanded a large pay raise before the season and continued to push the issue with then President Joe Johnson. Johnson had lost all faith in Majors as a coach, but more so, questioned his metal stability. The on-field debacles were the last straw for Johnson. Johnson decided it was time for the change and did just that.

Which is True? Some of both? None at all? I know we have a very knowledgeable community here and I would really like to hear what others have to say. Thank you in advance.

Wait Texas was trying to hire Fulmer?!

 

[vol66]

This is the first I have ever heard about anybody accessing phone records. Why would they even do that? It's not like there was a criminal investigation going on.

From the article I posted...

They are reading in the Knoxville News-Sentinel that telephone records reveal Johnson and Fulmer had talked 28 times and when Arkansas, of all teams, upsets UT 25-24 and knocks them out of the Top Ten, the ouster effort of Majors was well known.

 

[GAVol]

From the article I posted...

They are reading in the Knoxville News-Sentinel that telephone records reveal Johnson and Fulmer had talked 28 times and when Arkansas, of all teams, upsets UT 25-24 and knocks them out of the Top Ten, the ouster effort of Majors was well known.

Wasn't doubting you. I just had honestly never heard that part of the story. I knew they had talked, but not that somebody actually obtained phone records.

 

[GAVol]

Wait Texas was trying to hire Fulmer?!

I always thought it was Clemson.

 

[USAFgolferVol]

Did he seek the job or did the job seek him?
I imagine he was approached with some obvious hypothetical questions by the brass.

I've never heard that. I'm not saying what I have been told is 100% true. From all accounts Fulmer was proactive in his thirst for the job. By any reputable account, Fulmer engaged some of the players and seized on an opportunity Majors had created for himself. A more ethical approach would have been to wait till the end of the season when Majors would have likely been fired. Even if Majors would have somehow been able to retain his job, Fulmer would have been smart to wait in the wings. If he had done that, his legacy would be greater than the mixed bag it is now

 

[vol66]

Wasn't doubting you. I just had honestly never heard that part of the story. I knew they had talked, but not that somebody actually obtained phone records.

I didn’t take it that way...all good, like I said earlier, a lot of the stories I know are from my dad. That article from Exum pretty much hits the highlights, much from the Majors’ fans point of view.

 

[GAVol]

I didn’t take it that way...all good, like I said earlier, a lot of the stories I know are from my dad. That article from Exum pretty much hits the highlights, much from the Majors’ fans point of view.

Just goes to show that Tennessee sucked at coaching transitions well before 2008. It's like there's something in the water. lol