You can’t blame Philip Fulmer for anything

#126
#126
DaddyChad said:
I’m beginning to suspect Fulmer was just a great recruiter that fell into great coordinators being in place.
Click to expand...
He really only ever hired one (Clawson). Cutcliffe and Sanders were on staff, and he brought Cut back. Chief was there the whole time.
Fulmer was 86-19 with Cut, and 66-33 without
 
#129
#129
Orange defense said:
He hired Pruitt thinking that he could win here with his ability. He wasn’t involved in the Pruitt mess. Pruitt is the one that is responsible for this mess.
Click to expand...
Catch a clue. Philmer is in this ******* deep. Hopefully they will pull his buyout, I mean retirement money so we don't have to pay that.
 
#130
#130
82_VOL_83 said:
Catch a clue. Philmer is in this ******* deep. Hopefully they will pull his buyout, I mean retirement money so we don't have to pay that.
Click to expand...

They can't do that unless he was terminated for cause, which was not the case. If it was, they would have not allowed him to announce his "retirement." They would have stated it upon the announcement of his departure to avoid legal issues down the road.
 
#131
#131
Orange defense said:
He hired Pruitt thinking that he could win here with his ability. He wasn’t involved in the Pruitt mess. Pruitt is the one that is responsible for this mess.
Click to expand...

I disagree. I do believe his intentions were somewhat genuine but also delve serving as a way to get back in the lime light after his firing.

His lack of employment after leaving here speaks volumes.

He lacked the oversight he needed. He should have intervened and didn’t. That’s on Fulmer.

However, Pruitt was the major issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: onevol74 and 82_VOL_83
#132
#132
volsrock09 said:
Not trying to be a d*ck, but if someone under me makes a mistake and I do not catch it/fix it then I will be the one getting my butt chewed. The "I didn't know" excuse wouldn't work at all. I like Fulmer and was hoping he would be the one to turn it around but it is just as much his fault as Pruitts for not making sure they were being compliant.
Click to expand...

Not just as much Fulmer's fault but Fulmer does have responsibility. Fulmer was an interim guy and on his way anyway. All these schools are cheating, we just got caught and looked stupid in the process.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 82_VOL_83
#133
#133
VFL-82-JP said:
I think the durations given on coaching and AD contracts have very little meaning any more, except as a fig leaf reassurance to recruits and their parents that the leadership they're signing on with will be the leadership throughout their time at the institution.
Click to expand...
For head coaches sure.

I doubt football player care much if the AD has 1 or 4 years left on his contract.
 
#135
#135
SaintLouisVol said:
They can't do that unless he was terminated for cause, which was not the case. If it was, they would have not allowed him to announce his "retirement." They would have stated it upon the announcement of his departure to avoid legal issues down the road.
Click to expand...

Look at his AD contract.
If he "retires" he gets NO further salary, payments, or benefits.
If he is "terminated" without cause then he receives about 450,000 per year through 2023.
He is going to receive 450,000 through 2023.
Looks like he was terminated (fired) to me unless UT is in violation of the contract.
They are all just trying to cover up the termination.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Perspective
#136
#136
Raebo said:
Look at his AD contract.
If he "retires" he gets NO further salary, payments, or benefits.
If he is "terminated" without cause then he receives about 450,000 per year through 2023.
He is going to receive 450,000 through 2023.
Looks like he was terminated (fired) to me unless UT is in violation of the contract.
They are all just trying to cover up the termination.
Click to expand...


I agree with you absolutely that he was terminated. IMO, they allowed him to use the word "retirement" to save face and to appease certain factions of the boosters.

My point is that he was not fired "for cause," which would be the only way he is denied his buyout per the terms of his contract.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Raebo
#137
#137
VFL-82-JP said:
I don't believe Phillip had any idea that we were cheating. I think he has too much integrity to stand for that. But then, I'm pre-disposed to think the best of a coach who brought us championships.

The one form of culpability Phillip can not avoid is that of command responsibility. The bigger a scandal is, the further up the chain of command it reaches. It seems the current scandal is big enough to warrant the removal of not only the head coach, but (more gently) the AD as well.

Note, I think Phillip was closing in on retirement anyway. I think the speed with which Donde found Danny White is circumstantial proof that Phillip had already told her he was getting close.

But he clearly would not have wanted to leave at that exact time, under those conditions. He was gently pushed out, almost for sure.

At the end of the day, I don't think you can call him a cheater. Just the guy who hired and led one.
Click to expand...
I'm not going to compound here. One thing though: "Phillip" inherited a stockpile of talent, capitalized on it and then left it far below the level he got it. It's not an opinion. I hear people say "after all he's done for the program", when sympathizing with his situation. Make no mistake, UT has done a he'll of a lot more for Phillip Fulmer than he's done for UT
 
#139
#139
I blame Fulmer for this mess, and I supported the hiring of Fulmer for AD when all that BS happened with Currie. I was fooled into thinking he was there for the right reason, but obviously, he wasn't. It was his hire and therefore his responsibility. With ALL the stuff that happened, there was no way he didn't know what was going on IMHO. If he didn't know, he wasn't doing his job.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tastycar
#142
#142
VFFL@THE BEACH said:
Not just as much Fulmer's fault but Fulmer does have responsibility. Fulmer was an interim guy and on his way anyway. All these schools are cheating, we just got caught and looked stupid in the process.
Click to expand...
An interim that just got an extension
 
#143
#143
TheDeeble said:
For head coaches sure.

I doubt football player care much if the AD has 1 or 4 years left on his contract.
Click to expand...
Normal ADs, you're probably usually right.

A championship-winning former coach AD, like Barry Alvarez or Phillip Fulmer? I think the recruits--and especially the recruits' parents--pay more attention then.
 
#146
#146
What's the over / under on those here who blame Fulmer since he was the man at the top would've also stormed the US Capitol for the man at the top's total make believe lala land Q crap? Asking for a friend.
 
#147
#147
T.N. Buckingham said:
There was a fire there to be better. The decision to change the focus of the offense post-Manning was a great move allowing us to step up to the next level. The hiring of Mike Barry was an upgrade on top of what was already a strength at Tennessee.

But young, hungry Fulmer gave way to old Henry VIII Fulmer: arrogant, satisfied, and stale.

I don't take away the quality he represented for a long period of time here. But that doesn't absolve him from responsibility for where this program is at right now.

The decline begins with him...and he only took things on an even lower level while he was athletic director.
Click to expand...
I think Spurrier to an extent broke him.
 
#148
#148
USAFgolferVol said:
I'm not going to compound here. One thing though: "Phillip" inherited a stockpile of talent, capitalized on it and then left it far below the level he got it. It's not an opinion. I hear people say "after all he's done for the program", when sympathizing with his situation. Make no mistake, UT has done a he'll of a lot more for Phillip Fulmer than he's done for UT
Click to expand...
I've heard that argument before, that Phillip inherited talent, couldn't amass it himself. It is demonstrably false in three ways:

(a) He was on Johnny Majors' staff all those years before becoming head coach. He was one of the key guys pulling in the talent that he then inherited. So he inherited in significant part from himself.

(b) He won his first conference title in 1997, five years after taking over from Majors. Every single player Phillip inherited when he took over (including from himself) was already gone by then. All the players who won that title came from the Fulmer era, not the Majors era. A year later, he won a national title for us. Again, long after all the Majors-recruited players (many of whom were actually recruited by OC Fulmer) were gone. He won the East in 2001, 2004, and 2007...respectively, 9, 12, and 15 years after Johnny Majors retired from Tennessee. Phillip's success wasn't inherited, he recruited and developed it himself (with help from his staff, of course, all head coaches depend on their staffs).

(c) He was renowned as a recruiter at the time. Movie and TV portrayals even play off that reputation. The Blind Side is one good example, but just one of many. He was known as a strong closer in the living room throughout his coaching years.

In short, (a) he gets some credit for Johnny's successes as a member of Johnny's staff, not the other way around, (b) his best seasons were all long after the original squad had graduated and passed on, and (c) the conventional wisdom of his recruiting ability is 180 degrees out of what you claim.

Any coach who brings your program championships, you should say one thing to him before anything else: thank you, Coach.
 
Last edited:
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.
Advertisement



Back
Top