Scoop on Phillip Fulmer

[Lady D]

Found this on a UT Vols forum site. Don't know how much truth there is to this but I'm sure some. I have not been impressed at all by the new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson. He has not made any positive impression on me at all. Looks like the end of the Phillip Fulmer era. I need to check the Knoxville News Sentinel website myself.

Scoop on Fulmer from inside UT athletics!

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The word coming from a friend of mine that is a graduate assistant at UT said that Fulmer is stepping down after the end of the season. The main reason given was to spend time with his family since he is a grandfather now and the lack of support that has been given. The final straw was the statement given by AD Mike Hamilton in the Knoxville News Sentinel on Sunday where he has considered changes. He wants the best for the program and the players and is going to finish the season. Announcement to be made following the Alabama game on Saturday regardless of the outcome.

Source is reliable. Just an FYI. Hope all are happy now! Going to miss the big guy!

 

[Kurt]

1. Rumors about coaches on hot seats come one a minute.
2. Grad assistants are usually not in the loop.
3. It says the announcement to be made following yesterday's game?
4. If Fulmer is not the coach next year it won't be because he quit.
5. Please don't fire him. He should coach as long as he wants, just like Bobby Bowden.

The latest from govols is this post from Fulmer and the linked image.

?All I know,?? Fulmer said, ?is we?ll keep working to get it fixed.??

 

[Lady D]

1. Rumors about coaches on hot seats come one a minute.
2. Grad assistants are usually not in the loop.
3. It says the announcement to be made following yesterday's game?
4. If Fulmer is not the coach next year it won't be because he quit.
5. Please don't fire him. He should coach as long as he wants, just like Bobby Bowden.

The latest from govols is this post from Fulmer and the linked image.

I read the part about Fulmer stating that. But I've lost interest in the Vols. This season is a lost cause. No one wants to go to Tennessee because of their lack of being able to win key games, ie, Georgia, Florida, Alabama. There is a problem with being able to recruit good players. They do not want to come to Tennessee. I don't blame them.

Having a good defense is not going to win games for them when they cannot put points on the board. It's time for him to go because nothing is going to change from year to year. That is why I pick against them every week on here for the most part.

 

[BeachSiO2]

This discussion has been occurring since much earlier in the season. The reality is that Fulmer has been able to surround himself with good coaches and players that make the team better. This is exactly what a head coach is expected to do. HOWEVER, he has not been able to do that recently. Tennessee has never been a hot bed of talent for recruiting and the areas that are, southwest Tennessee are leaning even more strongly toward other programs, Bama particularly. Then throw in what Richt, Tuberville, Miles, and Meyer, etc. are able to lock up in their own states and the recruiting pie is even more sliced up with Tennessee getting a smaller share of good players.

Then we move into the discussion of assistant coaches. Cutcliffe has been the brains, quarterback mentor, and disciplinarian of Tennessee every year he coached there. When he left the first time, this happened. It is no surprise to some of us long term followers that it happened again. Quarterback development is a huge part of college football and there are very few as good as Cutcliffe in that area. Finally, Trooper left so there was a further loss of continuity and a new offense was installed.

This reminds me of the fall off in Johnny Majors day. The only option for Fulmer is to find another David Cutcliffe and someone who can compete in recruiting, I just don't think it will happen with the current regime.

 

[Kurt]

Having to recruit nationally takes a lot more energy and enthusiasm. UT needs to score big with a new coach or they could sink lower. You are so right about Cutcliffe.

Having a first-year QB is always a challenge, but upper-tier SEC teams push through with team play and staunch defense. No longer possible at UT right now.

Meyer fires RB coach Stan Drayton after last year because of a lack of production and ball security. Fulmers hires him. That tells you a lot right there.