Rifleman
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- Nov 28, 2012
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We did have an incompetent AD who made a poor choice in hiring Kiffin. Still doesn't mean Fulmer didn't deserve to be fired.
In honesty, I do actually think not firing Fulmer would have been a mistake, but the hiring Kiffin and Dooley were absolutely the larger mistakes. Impatience + Lack of Plan = Disaster
This board spent years arguing the pros and cons of firing Fulmer, and analyzing the mistakes he made game by game, recruit by recruit. Right?
Yet, how much time did anyone spend thinking about the next step forward? Even, Hamilton didn't spend any time thinking about it!
Do we want to spend the next couple of years just reacting emotionally to what is happening on the field and creating a poisoned atmosphere? We can do that. We are really, really good at doing that.
Or, we could try to be patient and see how this plays out.
What I actually think:
1) Butch Jones, while a flawed coach, is light years ahead of Kiffin and Dooley.
2) We have talent coming in finally that will be transformational.
3) We now have an AD who showed he is not willing to give a bad extension to a mediocre coach. The fact that we are giving Dooley 1.25 million a year is enough to induce a seizure.
4) It is almost impossible to be objective about these things--when we lose we hurt like few fanbases can even imagine--but that also makes this fanbase special.
I hope we can dial it down a little, but I don't expect it.
5) If we can step back a bit, the last 22 months have been a heck of a ride. This is the most fascinating moment I can remember since I've been following Tennessee football. Every recruit, every play, every practice seems so critical, so make-or-break.
6) Go Big Orange Forever.
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