Big Orange Report 11-24-08
By Warner Agee
"It's been like a funeral around here"
Enough already Mr. Fulmer, you have made your points and now it is time to show some class and decorum and politely leave the Tennessee football complex. To compare your situation to a funeral is both insulting, cold and calculating sir and you have managed to insult at least 90 percent of the entire fan base for Tennessee football with that statement made following last Saturday's win over Vanderbilt in Nashville.
A good doctor down in Georgia who posts on the website Outermonvolia.com probably put it in perspective better than any other person I have read or talked to in the last 48 hours. Paraphrasing now, the man demanded that Fulmer cease and desist with the whining and under-handed references to the fact that he could have gotten things turned around. The doctor called Fulmer's funeral statement an insult to all right thinking people and that losing a job should not ever be equated to a death of a precious loved one in a family. He went on to point out that while people in the financial and manufacturing industries were losing their jobs right here at Christmas time, Fulmer would essentially be walking away from Tennessee with 8.5 million dollars, the total of his one year salary plus the huge buyout of his contract.
Some felt compassion for Fulmer following his tearful press conference, but that is now turning to frustration and anger. It is becoming quite clear now that Fulmer felt he was Tennessee football, that he was bigger than the program and how dare the Athletic Director and University President relieve him of his duties as the head football coach. Well the big newsflash here is that Tennessee football prospered before Fulmer was the coach and it will flourish once again in the future without him and his antiquated, bumbling and predictable offensive system.
He has attempted to veil his contempt for Mike Hamilton and the others who were involved in the decision to terminate his contract, but has not disguised it very well on at least four or five different occasions now. He gives lip service to a claim that he loves Tennessee but his behavior betrays that insinuation. For a man who has won nothing substantial in ten years now and who had just lost to one of the most pathetic football teams in all of the NCAA, Wyoming, Fulmer's sense of entitlement to the job is still quite obvious and even starling to some.
He has spoken of great young talent on the team and that was again mis-leading. Tennessee's talent on hand is middle of the pack in the SEC at best and the depth at key positions in both lines will be paper thin next season. The new coach will need to string back to back top 20 recruiting classes together to even get the program pointed back toward the top of the league.
Fulmer should be put on notice right now, Tennessee fans will be watching closely for additional displays of selfishness and bitter distain for this proud university, its boosters and fans. He has already severely damaged his legacy and there is even concern now that Fulmer and some of his disgruntled staff have allegedly advised committed recruits to start looking around at other schools. As the good doctor pointed out, if this is true, then the bulging buyout should be challenged and withheld pending an investigation into exactly what has transpired with those high school players who are verbally committed to UT.
This is a very sad ending to a career of a man who oversaw one of the golden eras in Tennessee football in the 1990s. But is there any question that the time had come for him to go? Two losing seasons out of the last four, a 1-7 record over the past four years against the Vols' two biggest rivals, Florida and Alabama and then this year's humiliations vs. the pitiful squads from UCLA and Wyoming. But there is still one record Fulmer can get, if he loses to Kentucky on Saturday, it will mark the first time in the storied history of Tennessee football that the Vols have been defeated eight times in a single season. But of course, if that happens, Fulmer's recent behavior would indicate that he will tell the press that if he had just a little more time, he would have gotten it turned around for sure.
Search continues for new head coach
Athletic Director Mike Hamilton continues to play cat and mouse with the press over the search for a new football coach at Tennessee. Some names have emerged over the past few weeks, but it is difficult to ascertain at the moment if the job has actually been offered to anyone.
From the college ranks, the rumors swirl around three coaches. Butch Davis at North Carolina, Cincinnati's Brian Kelly and aerial ringmaster Mike Leach at Texas Tech seem to be in Hamilton's sights. Meanwhile, there are those who are still clinging to the hope that Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden will eventually decide to accept the position. Former Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin and Jack Del Rio at Jacksonville, may also be in the mix.
If Hamilton has found his man by next Monday, we would anticipate a formal announcement by the middle of the week. The sooner a coach has been named, the quicker recruiting can be moved from neutral to high gear once again. Two current coaches who are first year members of the staff, LaTrelle Scott and Stan Drayton are rumored to have been retained by Hamilton to stay in touch with recruits and then interview with the new head coach about a possible position on the staff.
That was before she packed the 30 or 40 pounds that have made
her the woman she is today.
