did i just see on sportscenter that fulmer is officially out at the end of the year?

11/3/2008 11:03:54 AM

BAM!

Quote :

"Phillip Fulmer, who a decade ago brought Tennessee its first national championship in 47 years, will not return as the Vols' coach next year, multiple sources told ESPN.com. An announcement is being planned for later Monday at Neyland Stadium. The Vols (3-6, 1-5 SEC) have lost four straight games and are in danger of suffering their second losing season in the last four years. Fulmer, who's won 150 games at his alma mater and is the dean of SEC coaches, met with Tennessee officials Monday morning, and they reached a mutual agreement that it would be best for all parties if Fulmer was not back next season. There had been increasing scrutiny on Fulmer, who took over full time as head coach in 1993 and has been at his alma mater as a player, assistant coach and head coach for more than 30 years. The Vols won the national title in 1998 and were one of the top programs in all of college football in the 1990s, but the program hasn't been the same this decade. They've lost 31 games since the end of the 2001 season. "

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3679810

11/3/2008 11:06:19 AM

went to the tennessee scout board, where so far i've read threads about tommy bowden and chris peterson. their religion was brought up in both of those.

UT is more conservative than i realized.

11/3/2008 11:12:49 AM

I wonder where he'll end up.... There are some decent teams that will be looking for at least the recruiting edge he has. I'll wait for JB of course, but what do you think about SDSU? That's a 100% rebuild there and if they won 4 games next year it'd be an improvement over the last 3 or 4 years. He'd have a chance to build an at-large BCS contender in the Mtn. West with little scrutiny. There is a ton of talent in SC and if they don't go to UCLA or USC they go North.

11/3/2008 11:17:20 AM

any chance he just retires?

11/3/2008 11:20:14 AM

yeah, I think he will just retire, definitely wouldn't move out west or anything like that... MAYBE could see him as an O-line coach in the NFL but I think he is just gone



what a bittersweet/happy day

11/3/2008 11:33:33 AM

sniff sniff

Quote :

"Brent Hubbs VolQuest.com Editor As an 18 year old, I began my career in journalism and for the last 16 years, I have had the good fortune of going on a great ride. A ride in college football that will likely never be matched again at the University of Tennessee. Fulmer's 16 years brought plenty of joy to me and the Vol Nation. And today as the future Hall of Fame coach says farewell to the Vol Nation, the memories of the ride that Phillip Fulmer has taken everyone on is a vivid as yesterday. I was there for every practice of a 45-5 run, I saw kids grow into men both on and off the football field just as I watched Fulmer's family grow from grade school kids to college graduates. As I have paused and reflected the last few weeks about the journey Fulmer has taken me on, several moments will live with me forever. In February 1994, a gangly quarterback from New Orleans stood up at a microphone in the ball room of a hotel in the French Quarter and declared his next four years would be spent as a Vol. The head football coach and his staff had done the impossible. They had landed Peyton Manning. For a kid trying to figure out what recruiting was all about, it was a punch to the face that Fulmer was better than a good recruiter. In October 1995, I stood next to my good friend Mike Keith and I watched Joey Kent streak down the hash into the end zone and for the next two-and-a-half hours, I watched Fulmer and his team leave no doubt in ending a 9-year drought to the Tide. Never again would the question from fans be, "Are we ever going to be Alabama?" Later that year, Fulmer pronounced his program on the national scene with a win over 4th-ranked Ohio State to close an 11-1 season. The result put Tennessee on the cover of national magazines in the summer of 1996 as the pre-season No. 1 team. In 1997, I got the experience of the SEC Championship game and what an event that is. An experience I would have four more times thanks to Fulmer. The entire 1998 season was a ride that I should have written a book about and maybe someday I will. But the moment I will never get out of my mind is standing on the sidelines in Tempe, Az., and thinking, "I can't believe Tennessee has won the national championship." In 2001, I picked Tennessee to lose at Florida and was nearly assaulted by some players for not believing in them and then to watch that team beat a Florida team in what was the only regular-season game I have covered that truly felt like a championship game. In 2004, I watched in amazement as a freshman-led team went to Georgia and beat the third ranked Bulldogs, 19-14. Obviously, I could go on and on about the on-the-field success that Fulmer's program allowed me to see. But much of the ride I could have missed. In 2000 when I left radio to go into the Internet business, Fulmer could have shut me out. He could have fought my presence around his complex and his team, but he didn't. He allowed me to cover his team daily and allowed me to be successful. And he took the time to get to know me. In February of 2001, the night before I had open heart surgery, Fulmer called me on his way to Winchester to see his mom to check on me and to tell me I was in his prayers. Years later, he congratulated me on the birth of my two children. Today, many fans are happy. They are getting the new car they have wanted for years. And there is a part of me that believes that it probably is time for a change, but as Fulmer bids farewell to the program that he has coached in every game but one that has been played since 1980, it should be a farewell of thanks and not of glee. Having followed this program daily for right at 16 years, I have seen the sacrifice and commitment he has made to the University of Tennessee and to its fans. A couple of weeks ago, I left the complex as Fulmer stood holding his grandson and having a moment after practice to visit with his family before heading back upstairs to try to figure out a way to make a first down. It was the norm for a family whose home was just as much on campus as it was in Maryville. By no means has Fulmer been perfect as a coach and heaven knows that I have dogged him for his decisions on the field and some of his decisions in recruiting. But in 16 seasons, Fulmer's team never found NCAA trouble and out of every 4 trips to the field on Saturday, his team won three times. And so as the excitement of change grows to a fever pitch, this reporter who started covering Fulmer's team as a teenager tips his hat to the man who took the program to unprecedented heights and led me on the ride of a lifetime. Thank you, Coach and Godspeed. "

11/3/2008 1:34:21 PM

I just don't get what's changed from the end of 07 to November 2008. Did Tennessee actually think they'd be even close to Atlanta this season with Florida and Georgia in the same division? If Tenn fans say yes, then they're insane, if they say no, then the move should have been made sooner. I just don't get what's changed in 9 months. I guess Tenn felt like they would get negative press for canning a guy that just went to atlanta if they canned him in January??? Who knows?

[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 2:32 PM. Reason : .]

11/3/2008 2:30:21 PM

Well, they did beat the shit out of Georgia the last two years, and went to the SEC Championship game last year and had LSU beat until Ainge all of a sudden got retarded and then beat a solid Wisconsin team in the bowl game

11/3/2008 2:54:07 PM

Caulton Tudor's list of possible replacements for Fulmer:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/tudors-take-fulmers-exit-impacts-the-acc

Quote :

" One way or another, maybe several others, the demise of Philip Fulmer as Tennessee’s football coach likely will have an ACC link. By the numbers, here are the possibilities: 1. Mike Leach, Texas Tech: The Volunteers will make a strong play for Leach, but so will Clemson and schools to be named later. This is where orange becomes long green. The bidding will reach $3.5 million per season over, say, six or seven seasons. Clemson has the money. Tennessee, when all is said and done, has more money. There’s almost no chance Leach will win the national championship, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s an offensive marvel. Right now, the Vols need offense more than corn needs rain. 2. Mack Brown, Texas: Mackie played at Florida State, then coached at Appalachian and North Carolina. “Tew-lane” — as Mack pronounces it — doesn’t really count. Deep down inside, he’s always been a son of Tennessee, though. Mack and wife Sally have a home near Boone, which is relatively close to Knoxville. Mack’s funeral plot will not be in Austin. Neither will Sally’s. 3. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina: As much as they’ll always hate each other, which is a lot, Steve Superior and Mack the Knife aren’t all that far apart where roots dig grab dirt. Deep down inside, Spurrier would rather be in Knoxville than Columbia. He’d love to be the man who corrected the “Fulmer mistake.” 4. David Cutcliffe, Duke: Ol’ folksy is only two wins away from becoming an ordained football genius, a la Spurrier. Cutcliffe’s link to Fulmer is his biggest problem. But going 6-6 at Duke, and getting a bowl bid, would erase a lot of Fulmer DNA. Plus, he’ll begin with Peyton Manning’s endorsement. 5. Butch Davis, UNC: He’ll always be in play for another job. That’s just the route Carolina picked, and that’s not to say the Heels have taken the wrong fork in the road. It’s just the way it is. And if Brown should happen to wind up at Tennessee, then the Heels may have sweat out Texas again. Either way, the Heels are probably going to have to ante up again, if Davis just wins eight games and stays around for a third lap. 6. Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans: The Titans have a ton of money. The Vols have two tons. 7. Bill Cowher, Raleigh Taxpayer: Cap’n Chin will get a call. He’ll always get a call, whether it’s from Tennessee or the Tennessee Titans or Temple or TCU or, heck, Texas. Pick a “T”, pick any letter. Try as much as has, Cowher is still about as comfortable in front of a TV camera as a preacher in a pick-up bar. 8. Johnny Majors: Johnny Touchdown is to UT what Danny Defense Ford is to Clemson. 9. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech: Wild guess here, but there’s still that western North Carolina connection. Plus, the ornery rascal can coach. He’s less likely to be hugged than a holly bush. Compared to Fulmer’s rah-rah approach, Johnson would be the coaching equivalent of a spinal tap. But in the SEC, no pain, no gain. The good thing about Johnson, though, is that his bark is worse than his bite. His Navy players would fight for him. 10. Jerry Moore, Appalachian State: He may be old. He may be slow afoot. He may talk like Jimmy Carter. But wow, can this man ever build a program. You take Tim Tebow and give me Armanti Edwards. Other things being close to equal, Edwards wins. "

11/3/2008 3:13:28 PM

mack brown? no chris peterson?

11/3/2008 3:19:49 PM

yeah, thats really fucking stupid


Brown = no way
Majors = HAHAHAHA, no way
Fisher = no way
Spurrier = 95% no way


The rest are somewhat reasonable

11/3/2008 3:34:55 PM

i might be retarded, buti dont see anyways leach leaves tt

[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 3:39 PM. Reason : btw, "would erase a lot of Fulmer DNA." ewww ]

11/3/2008 3:37:46 PM

considering that he pretty much begged Miami to hire him in 2006, i think you're retarded

11/3/2008 3:39:25 PM

and this is why i usually just lurk st.

11/3/2008 3:41:38 PM

rich rod's move from a wvu team that he had a game away from a national title bid to michigan looks a lot like mike leach at tt right now. the only difference is mike leach doesn't come off as the douche that rich rod is, but i could be wrong.

11/3/2008 3:43:21 PM

Quote :

"There’s almost no chance Leach will win the national championship,"

WTF??? Why would he say that?

11/3/2008 3:48:02 PM

I would take him in a heart beat... hes been able to do what he has with the talent at TT... cant imagine what he could do with Tennessee's talent

11/3/2008 3:51:33 PM

right cause Crabtree ISNT the best reciever in the nation I'm not saying he wouldn't be successful at Tennessee, I'm just saying that it's not like he's winning with a bunch of scrubs

[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 4:00 PM. Reason : .]

11/3/2008 3:57:51 PM

you gotta be careful w/ that, though. his best year in 8 (before this year, obviously) is 9-3 and overall he's 74-37. is he finally getting TT to where he needs it or is just this a perfect storm, so to speak?

11/3/2008 3:59:03 PM

I dont think Leach's pass-heavy offense would be a good fit at UT with all the good running backs coming in...

11/3/2008 4:01:48 PM

^^^ what the hell type of logic is that?

maybe hes the best BECAUSE of the coaching??

TT is playing MUCH better this year than Tennessee, but I promise you there will be more NFL players coming off this Tennessee team than TT... which points to good coaching/system

^ he would adjust to the talent, it would probably be something similar to what the Eagles use in the NFL, very short "passes" that would basically be run plays

[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 4:06 PM. Reason : d]

11/3/2008 4:03:06 PM

^^^^I don't think that's what he meant.... if he had MORE talent imagine what he'd be doing right now. He'd have even more talent to work with at UT because he'd get even better recruits.


[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 4:05 PM. Reason : oh I was right for once!]

11/3/2008 4:04:19 PM

yeah, I wasnt trying to prove or disprove any of their arguments, I just wanted to bring up a reason why I dont think he would be a good fit

11/3/2008 4:05:47 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIE0xpwMWeo&e

Fear the Bammer mullet

11/3/2008 4:06:53 PM

Quote :

"maybe hes the best BECAUSE of the coaching??"

that might be a good argument if Crabtree came in and was not very good his first couple of years but he had like 1,900 receiving yards in his freshman season, you can't tell me that Leach coached him into the best WR in the country in one summer/fall before the season

11/3/2008 4:12:21 PM

sigh...

Leach has been there the entire time Crabtree has been there..


obviously he had a lot of natural talent, but you cant tell me that a prolific passing offense like Texas Tech which seems to break records every year since Leach got there isnt a MAJOR factor is a player's stats. There have been plenty of great receivers that didnt put up numbers like that, so its not just talent alone

[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 4:19 PM. Reason : d]

11/3/2008 4:18:47 PM

http://kansasstate.scout.com/a.z?s=173&p=8&c=1&nid=1547700
crabtree as a hs senior. NR wide receiver.

yeah, his success probably has nothing to do w/ leach.

11/3/2008 4:44:18 PM

^ BOOYA!


now that's the type of objective, hard hitting poasting I am talking about

11/3/2008 4:52:18 PM

he was a QB in high school

that might be why he wasnt ranked as a WR

[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 5:08 PM. Reason : adsf]

11/3/2008 5:07:40 PM

even better. leach took a kid who played qb in hs and made him the best wr in the country.

11/3/2008 5:10:45 PM

^ BOOYA again!

11/3/2008 5:12:23 PM

Quote :

"now that's the type of objective, hard hitting poasting I am talking about"

11/3/2008 5:14:52 PM

Quote :

"crabtree as a hs senior. NR wide receiver. yeah, his success probably has nothing to do w/ leach."

right, cause we all know that recruiting rankings, especially football recruiting rankings are infallible. nobody is arguing that Leach isn't a good coach, all I said is that he has some serious talent in Lubbock

11/3/2008 5:52:07 PM

Lane Kiffin.

11/3/2008 5:53:53 PM

^^ no. If Texas Tech had finished 6-6 this year you wouldnt have been like "damn, what a waste of talent! they totally underproduced!"



^ like him too... they need someone relatively young you can travel all over the country recruiting

11/3/2008 5:56:25 PM

I teared up a little watching part of his press conference just now.

11/3/2008 6:20:53 PM

I hope UT sucks for many years to come

11/3/2008 7:06:11 PM

if i was tenn. my order would be:

1. Leach
2. mack brown
3. butch
4. chris peterson (only put him fourth b/c he has not been successful against the competition that the other 3 on the list face)
5. disappointment


i am sure there are some other cocaches that would do a good job but if i was tennessee and could not lure one of those first four i would be a bit disappointed.

one exception: if they got spurrier. i pretty much consider this impossible considering the relationship that exists there, but if possible he would obviously be above disappointment on my list

one other exception: if they got paul johnson. i think he is an awesome football coach and could win a national championship at a school like tennessee but i don't think he would leave GT after one year. i would love to see him kill the sec every week with his option. would piss everyone in that conference off so often, i would love it.

[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 7:34 PM. Reason : .]

11/3/2008 7:32:06 PM

Quote :

"If Texas Tech had finished 6-6 this year you wouldnt have been like "damn, what a waste of talent! they totally underproduced!""

Actually I would have...also both Crabtree and Harrell were 4 star prospects coming out of high school according to rivals, so don't act like they were unheralded scrubs who Leach coached into heisman candidates (see http://rivals100.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=15573 and http://rivals100.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=39601 if you don't believe me)

11/3/2008 7:32:21 PM

My top picks for the next head coach at the University of Tennessee

1. Jon Gruden )It won't happen, but you have to call him and actually hear the word "No")
2. Butch Davis
3. Lane Kiffin
4. Jim Grobe
5. Mike Leach
6. Will Muschamp

11/3/2008 7:36:57 PM

jaybee, i don't think you want lane kiffin. just my opinion but what has he honestly proved? usc offense didn't produce at nearly the rate under him as before him and while he may have gotten the raiders to play hard (great job) they still were terrible.

i think he is just looking good b/c of the way he got treated and some of his coaching is getting overlooked.

he still has never proven anything as a head coach or really as a coordinator for that matter and UT is too good a football school to hire really an uproven commodity as their head coach.

i would want someone with HC experience and had success or at least someone who has been a really good coordinator for a while. again just my opinion.

11/3/2008 7:37:32 PM

^^^ first of all, as has already been pointed out, crabtree was a 4star qb.

secondly, 4star? two 4star guys? that's nothing dude. unless i miscounted, they have one single 5star guy since '04. compare those classes to places like tennessee or texas. 4star guys are not a big deal.

[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 7:38 PM. Reason : ^]

11/3/2008 7:38:31 PM

Quote :

"2. mack brown"

wat

11/3/2008 7:38:55 PM

^why would you not want a national championship coach that is a great recruiter, good gameday coach, and has won a ton everywhere he has been??????

i would take him over lane kiffin or any other coordinator that is supposedly great any day of the week

[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 7:40 PM. Reason : .]

11/3/2008 7:40:11 PM

Oh, I'd take Mack Brown. I'd also take Bobby Stoops or Pete Carroll for that matter.

Why would Mack Brown ever leave Texas?

11/3/2008 7:43:31 PM

phil fulmer is a national title winning coach and a great recruiter =P

also, mack brown kindof has this gig that's kindof one of the top in college football.

11/3/2008 7:44:15 PM

^ and ^^; i don't have a clue if he would. i was just listing based primarily on tutor's article.

and who knows about mack. he has been at texas a while, might want to re-locate somewhere closer to hometown, would dominate recruiting over here (granted nowhere near the talent base of texas), and tenn. would offer him a fortune i would assume. if it comes down to money i don't think mack could ask for a number that would be too high for tennnessee

[Edited on November 3, 2008 at 7:46 PM. Reason : .]

11/3/2008 7:45:55 PM

Quote :

"first of all, as has already been pointed out, crabtree was a 4star qb."

wrong, click on the link dude, he was rated as a 4 star athlete

Quote :

"they have one single 5star guy since '04. compare those classes to places like tennessee or texas. 4star guys are not a big deal."

did I say that they had highly touted recruiting classes? no, I said they had talent and as TOB said "stars are for hotels"...just because someone isn't rated as a 5 star prospect coming out of high school doesn't mean they aren't talented...Nate Irving was a three star prospect and he turned out pretty well didn't he?

11/3/2008 7:46:20 PM

Yea I'd love to have Mack brown if I'm tenn. but Why in the fuck would he leave texas?

11/3/2008 7:46:34 PM