Lots of Twitter chatter (especially from Mike Griffith) about bringing back Fulmer. AD Hart doesn't have a relationship with Fulmer so I wonder if he would even get a serious look by the powers that be at UT right now. Would Big Orange Nation welcome Fulmer back or would it be seen as a sign that the University couldn't get any other qualified coach to come to Rocky Top. The SEC is a semipro conference now and we need this hire to be a great one if we want to see our beloved Vols competitive and fighting for conference championships again anytime soon.
I like Phil and his place in the annals of UT football is honored and deserved. Further, I think he was treated shamefully by Hamilton back in 2008 and we are still reaping the rewards from that debacle. Plain and simple, Phil won by putting better players on the field than most the of the other SEC teams. In his heyday, Bama, Georgia, LSU, and South Carolina were struggling. The only real competition for him in those days was Auburn (better coached) and Florida (better players and coach), teams against which he had losing records. What he did was bring incredible talent to Knoxville and then pretty much let them play, which was good enough to win 150+ games. Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned teams have talent issues any more. Add in Texas A & M, Miss St, and a surging Ole Miss and the SEC is a gauntlet that overwhelming talent can't overcome alone. I really think the fan base would see Fulmer's hire as another desperate move, like Dooley, and I guarantee the other SEC coaches would preach that to every recruit - they fired him 5 years ago and now he's the only one who would take the job..... Hart will simply have to find a new guy with an established reputation that would consider UT a long-term prospect and then pay him well enough he won't leave if he's successful. Go Vols!!!
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asleep#212036 writes:
I like Phil and his place in the annals of UT football is honored and deserved. Further, I think he was treated shamefully by Hamilton back in 2008 and we are still reaping the rewards from that debacle. Plain and simple, Phil won by putting better players on the field than most the of the other SEC teams. In his heyday, Bama, Georgia, LSU, and South Carolina were struggling. The only real competition for him in those days was Auburn (better coached) and Florida (better players and coach), teams against which he had losing records. What he did was bring incredible talent to Knoxville and then pretty much let them play, which was good enough to win 150+ games. Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned teams have talent issues any more. Add in Texas A & M, Miss St, and a surging Ole Miss and the SEC is a gauntlet that overwhelming talent can't overcome alone. I really think the fan base would see Fulmer's hire as another desperate move, like Dooley, and I guarantee the other SEC coaches would preach that to every recruit - they fired him 5 years ago and now he's the only one who would take the job..... Hart will simply have to find a new guy with an established reputation that would consider UT a long-term prospect and then pay him well enough he won't leave if he's successful. Go Vols!!!
Share your thoughts
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