Truth about Majors/ Fulmer Please???

[vol66]

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

No kidding.

Or, the more things change the more they stay the same.

 

[TartanTurff]

Exum pretty much lays it out the way it happened,

Fulmer never drew a coaching paycheck after 1992 anywhere other than Tennessee, his show had no audience outside of Knoxville, after 2008 he interviewed at Clemson and Minnesota, no offers came from that.

The fan, booster and donor base at Tennessee was permanently divided in 1992 and the wounds are still there today, no other SEC school has had to endure such a divisive figure as Fulmer and while success was present in the 1990s, the success was short lived and the failings in 2005 and 2008 are well documented as the conference emerged as the premier college football conference in America.

Fulmer returned to the trough at Tennessee in 2016, figured out a way to nose his way into the athletic director's chair which he was not qualified for, claimed it was temporary, the damage he has done is substantial, the worst is yet to come.

 

[Jax_Vol]

The answer is somewhere in the middle

 

[Cobb-Webb 1989]

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.

This is what I remember...

Johnny always had a problem with drinking too much gin.

In the offseason between 91 and 92 Johnny went too far (drunk) at a fundraiser and Dickey had enough.
It just so happened that JM needed heart surgery before the 92 season started.

Fulmer took the helm before JM recovered in 92, but JM's fate was already sealed during that fundraiser.

Even the 92 team's (players) tanked on purpose to get Johnny out the door, they played down and outright terribly against Arkansas to get Johnny fired. Then at the end, their FG kicker hit a really long field goal and we lost by 1 point.

I think Johnny did want more money, but it would have been well deserved / he had the team rolling every year since 89.

Fulmer was a bystander, but he never fought for Majors as he did for Randy Sanders.

It was not Johnny's win and loss record, but he made a fool out of Dickey during that fundraiser, and his fate was already sealed before the 92 season began.

They did offer Johnny a job in the athlete department but he went back to Pitt.

Always wondered what things would have looked like if JM stayed and was able to be the AD after Dickey retired. Bet, Fulmer would have been on a super hot seat in 05 even if Dickey had not retired.

 

[BanditVol]

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.

My parents know Joe Johnson. My father says that Joe told him the following.

1. The story about the raise is true, I am not sure about the demand so much, but Majors contract was about to expire and he wanted a raise.
2. Joe stated that Majors had bad relations with the AD.
3. Joe stated that Majors did not get along with his staff.
4. Joe stated that Majors did not get along with some of his players.
5. Joe stated that Majors did not get along with many of the boosters.
6. Joe took the raise off the table and forced Majors to renegotiate, which is essentially the same as a firing. (i.e., taking back the Universitiy's last offer and forcing Majors to respond. Majors got it and quit.).

In short, given his ineptitude in ruining the 1992 season and his inability to get along with...ANYONE....Majors was let go.

 

[USAFgolferVol]

The tanking explanation is bu**sh**. No way Charlie Garner and Heath Shuler tanked. They are extremely pro-Majors. Very rarely, if ever, do either one of them speak of Fulmer in the same light as they do Majors.

 

[BanditVol]

This is what I remember...

Johnny always had a problem with drinking too much gin.

In the offseason between 91 and 92 Johnny went too far (drunk) at a fundraiser and Dickey had enough.
It just so happened that JM needed heart surgery before the 92 season started.

Fulmer took the helm before JM recovered in 92, but JM's fate was already sealed during that fundraiser.

Even the 92 teams (players) tanked on purpose to get Johnny out the door, they played down and outright terribly against Arkansas to get Johnny fired. Then at the end, our FG kicker hit a really long field goal and we won by 1 point.

I think Johnny did want more money, but it would have been well deserved / he had the team rolling every year since 89.

Fulmer was a bystander, but he never fought for Majors as he did for Randy Sanders.

It was not Johnny's win and loss record, but he made a fool out of Dickey during that fundraiser, and his fate was already sealed before the 92 season began.

They did offer Johnny a job in the athlete department but he went back to Pitt.

Always wondered what things would have looked like if JM stayed and was able to be the AD after Dickey retired. Bet, Fulmer would have been on a super hot seat in 05 even if Dickey had not retired.

We did lose to Arkansas that year. Arkansas was winless and had lost to THE CITIDEL ... AT HOME...at which point their coach was fired. And we were undefeated and no. 4 in the country. One of our worst losses ever, in the same category of GSU IMO. Maybe worse in a way.

Maybe the players did tank against Arkanasas, who knows, but Johnny's first game back was LSU and we won 20-0 though it was an ugly win.

The worst thing about 1992, was that we had to lose three games to NOT go to the inaugural SECCG. And we did! Somehow Majors made it happen.

I did hear that a lot of players were sick of Majors. Don't know if they were the majority or not.

 

[USAFgolferVol]

My parents know Joe Johnson. My father says that Joe told him the following.

1. The story about the raise is true, I am not sure about the demand so much, but Majors contract was about to expire and he wanted a raise.
2. Joe stated that Majors had bad relations with the AD.
3. Joe stated that Majors did not get along with his staff.
4. Joe stated that Majors did not get along with some of his players.
5. Joe stated that Majors did not get along with many of the boosters.
6. Joe took the raise off the table and forced Majors to renegotiate, which is essentially the same as a firing. (i.e., taking back the Universitiy's last offer and forcing Majors to respond. Majors got it and quit.).

In short, given his ineptitude in ruining the 1992 season and his inability to get along with...ANYONE....Majors was let go.

Really? You remember exactly what you were told by someone else who was told with this much detail? FROM 30 years ago? You are FOS!

 

[BondJamesBond]

The definition of a huge raise for a college head coach sure has changed. I recall that UT offered him (ballpark) 275k per year and he wanted 350. They give raises now bigger than that salary. Granted it is a big percentage raise.

 

[BondJamesBond]

Really? You remember exactly what you were told by someone else who was told with this much detail? FROM 30 years ago? You are FOS!

OP was told this by his father. If his father is still living, he might have been told this in the last week. Dismiss it if you like but this post gives no reason for a rational person to attack his integrity.

 

[LWSVOL]

There were other rumors I had heard back then.

Other assistant Coaches almost revolted when Majors came back too early and Fulmer held them together. LSU game at halftime was specifically mentioned.

Majors liked to drink and he said a few things while inebriated that Boosters did not like. This hastened his departure.

Never really heard the Fulmer backstabbing rumors back then but Fulmer was definitely going to get a head coaching job elsewhere that year if not at UT.

this is the basic truth at the time... The revolt happened at LSU at halftime after offense failed to punch it in the endzone right before the half. Majors went into his tirade on the coaches in front of the team and several left locker room and said they were done. CPF pulled them back in. I heard this myself from one of the assistants at the time.

Majors did return to early to work because Fulmer had the team at 3-0 with wins over Florida / Georgia. His doc had not even released him. Dickey found him in the office on a Sunday..

Majors later went off on his former team mate Bill Johnson at a booster reception about his salary. Loud and intoxicated. This was mid October and set in motion the firing later in month. He had lost his coaches, players, boosters and Dickey. Was an easy call by this point.

There was chatter about Fulmer maybe being sought by other programs in the post season but that was not as big a factor as the above.

I'm quite confident in the accuracy of this.. PS: Didn't bother reading all the other stories that I'm sure are in this thread..

 

[GAVol]

Always wondered what things would have looked like if JM stayed and was able to be the AD after Dickey retired. Bet, Fulmer would have been on a super hot seat in 05 even if Dickey had not retired.

Johnny Majors as AD would’ve been like a sitcom.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

There were other rumors I had heard back then.

Other assistant Coaches almost revolted when Majors came back too early and Fulmer held them together. LSU game at halftime was specifically mentioned.

Majors liked to drink and he said a few things while inebriated that Boosters did not like. This hastened his departure.

Never really heard the Fulmer backstabbing rumors back then but Fulmer was definitely going to get a head coaching job elsewhere that year if not at UT.

So no one else ever heard the story that CJM pissed (literally) on the shoes or leg of an important booster?

Probably not true but by god its my favorite story about that situation..

 

[Cobb-Webb 1989]

I did hear that a lot of players were sick of Majors

Yep

lol
You sure did not want to get in Johnny's dog house. I think Greg Gaines got in it and did not play until Seatle drafted him and if you fumbled the ball you were headed to his dog house.

 

[BanditVol]

Really? You remember exactly what you were told by someone else who was told with this much detail? FROM 30 years ago? You are FOS!

I remember quite a bit from thirty years ago. This was a huge deal at the time and I had inside information. Not going to forget something like that.

But disbelieve it if you want. I could GAS what you think.

Rest of the board...this guy is still smarting from a verbal beating I gave him last week. FYI.

 

[sami]

I'll always believe that it was a little bit of all of the above, but I remember being thrilled at the time when Majors was let go. It was past time for a change, as history would bear out.

 

[USAFgolferVol]

OP was told this by his father. If his father is still living, he might have been told this in the last week. Dismiss it if you like but this post gives no reason for a rational person to attack his integrity.

I'm not attacking his integrity. He laid out specificity with extreme detail from something he heard from 30 years ago. I know people who were around Johnson. None of them have ever given such a one-sided account

 

[BondJamesBond]

I'm not attacking his integrity. He laid out specificity with extreme detail from something he heard from 30 years ago. I know people who were around Johnson. None of them have ever given such a one-sided account

I don't know how one would take "You are FOS," as anything other than an attack on his integrity. But whatever you say. After all, you also knew people who knew Johnson. Sounds like you were tight.

 

[planterg]

I am not a DR.
However at my age I have known a lot of people that have had major heart surgeries. I have had many conversations with friends about how the patient's personality would be different after recovery. Decent people become hateful asshats more times than not. Abusivive, hateful, asshats become intolerable. I always figured that happened to John Majors, aided by alcohol addition.

Maybe the brush with death gives realization that our time here is short and they choose not to waste any of what is left on being nice.
Maybe they were insufferable to begin with and just covered it well.
Nothing is absolute, my father went from asshat to the sweetest most gentle, kind person you would ever meet. It amazed everyone that knew him.

Perhaps someone could point me toward medical research on this phenomena . I would like to read up on it.

Lots of truth here. I had open heart when I was 20 and man it made me angry, irritated all the time and generally not a nice person. I can only imagine if I had been 60 plus years of age.

 

[VolArmy74]

Majors was getting screwed by UT. He was the dean of SEC coaches and the winningest coach in the league but was getting bottom of the league pay.

Phil wasn't tough on the team. Which would become a reoccurring theme for his squads if Cutcliffe wasn't policing things. Majors was tough on the players and many preferred it Phil's way, unsurprisingly.

While Johnny was sick Phil wasn't just playing Joe Johnson (end around on Dickey) he was also playing politics with the most influential boosters. That was another game Johnny didn't play well. He was like Saban in that regard.

The boosters really liked that ego stroke. Majors comes back for LSU, Phil goes back to OC and we can't score all of a sudden. Then the losses hit and we can't score. Fulmers agent rumored he was being pursued for other jobs. (This became a reoccurring theme. He was never approached for jobs by the Carolina Panthers, Clemson etc etc as was rumored over the years)

Phil had built the political capital playing the game behind the scenes that allowed a coach that had won multiple SEC titles, a Sugar Bowl and had 2 top 10 finishes in the prior three years, to be fired. Not just any coach. A bona-fide UT legend. For younger fans, imagine Peyton Manning winning a national title, coming back here to coach after, rebuilding the program, getting a couple of SEC titles and then firing him for having a 3 loss season.

Then Phil had the gall to throw the biggest fit he could for years on end because he got fired after two losing seasons in 4 years and no SEC championships in a decade. Phil knew how he got the job and never hired an assistant capable of becoming a head coach. I'm surprised he even retained Cutcliffe.

Johnny had a fitting nickname for Fulmer, "Judas Brutus".

Phil ushered in the era of dysfunctional boosters with more influence than they ever should have over day to day decisions. Fulmer sold his soul to them to get the job. It was the same boosters that finally approved his firing. Mike Hamilton had done to him what he'd done to Majors years before.

 

[beamerman]

I would say some of both. Since Fulmer was interim the year before and won big I would say that he did some off the record calls about HC interest but since he is a TN guy I would say he wanted his home school. If the President was tired of Majors and fired him for it then I can see how Majors can see it as a backstab by Fulmer. You know coaches talk as Fulmer probably let him know that other schools had interest in him for HC. There are always 3 sides to every story, his, hers, and then the truth.

I always heard both as well. Majors always thought it was more Fulmer’s fault than his but Majors had a lot of issues. Perfect storm. Similar to what happened this year. Need a coach gone, something was found that qualifies for termination. I still maintain if Majors sits out the year he returns for several more years as Tn head coach. I maintain if Pruitt had been 6-4 or better his issues would have not been found.

 

[beamerman]

Majors was getting screwed by UT. He was the dean of SEC coaches and the winningest coach in the league but was getting bottom of the league pay.

Phil wasn't tough on the team. Which would become a reoccurring theme for his squads if Cutcliffe wasn't policing things. Majors was tough on the players and many preferred it Phil's way, unsurprisingly.

While Johnny was sick Phil wasn't just playing Joe Johnson (end around on Dickey) he was also playing politics with the most influential boosters. That was another game Johnny didn't play well. He was like Saban in that regard.

The boosters really liked that ego stroke. Majors comes back for LSU, Phil goes back to OC and we can't score all of a sudden. Then the losses hit and we can't score. Fulmers agent rumored he was being pursued for other jobs. (This became a reoccurring theme. He was never approached for jobs by the Carolina Panthers, Clemson etc etc as was rumored over the years)

Phil had built the political capital playing the game behind the scenes that allowed a coach that had won multiple SEC titles, a Sugar Bowl and had 2 top 10 finishes in the prior three years, to be fired. Not just any coach. A bona-fide UT legend. For younger fans, imagine Peyton Manning winning a national title, coming back here to coach after, rebuilding the program, getting a couple of SEC titles and then firing him for having a 3 loss season.

Then Phil had the gall to throw the biggest fit he could for years on end because he got fired after two losing seasons in 4 years and no SEC championships in a decade. Phil knew how he got the job and never hired an assistant capable of becoming a head coach. I'm surprised he even retained Cutcliffe.

Johnny had a fitting nickname for Fulmer, "Judas Brutus".

Phil ushered in the era of dysfunctional boosters with more influence than they ever should have over day to day decisions. Fulmer sold his soul to them to get the job. It was the same boosters that finally approved his firing. Mike Hamilton had done to him what he'd done to Majors years before.

This is why some of us were delighted that Fulmer is finally gone and mystified the university was dumb enough to rehire him in the first place. Karma.

 

[cobbwebb0710]

LMAO now we know why Fulmer compared Pruitt to Majors. He was about to attempt to put a knife in his back too!

GBO!!

 

[Keefus]

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’d say a little of both IMO, but I’m not in the know just me speculating.

 

[Capt Straight]

I had an aunt who lived in Topside where Majors did. He loved to drink and once when his dogs got into a fight with my Aunt's, he came down stumbling drunk and cussed her out. He was still coach at the time.