Hating Fulmer is easy, beating him isn't

The Tide was coming off an undefeated, national championship season. It had won seven consecutive games against the Vols.

Why shouldn't it expect more of the same?

If former UT coach Johnny Majors couldn't stem the Tide, how could you expect anymore of his assistant? UT might have changed coaches but it hadn't changed its system.

And the system didn't work against Alabama.

For example, in 1990, a talent-laden UT team somehow managed to lose to an inferior Tide team 9-6. UT's offensive coordinator that day was Phillip Fulmer.

You can imagine what Tide fans must have been thinking: "If Majors ever leaves, I just hope Tennessee is stupid enough to hire that offensive coordinator as its head coach."

Unfortunately for Alabama, UT was that stupid.

Since Fulmer succeeded Majors in 1993, the UT-Alabama series has never been the same. Fulmer is 8-2-1 against the Tide. He's also a solid favorite to be 9-2-1 after Saturday's game at Neyland Stadium.

The longtime assistant has become the most hated man in Alabama. Could UT fans ask anymore of their football coach?

The two or three Alabama fans who don't blame Fulmer for Alabama's NCAA probation still can lament his hiring.

It took all of two years for Fulmer to turn the series UT's way. In 1995, the Vols routed Alabama 41-14 in Birmingham. That was the first of seven consecutive UT victories against the Tide.

The next thing you know, Alabama wasn't just losing to UT. It was losing to everybody, including the NCAA.

Since Fulmer became UT's head coach, Alabama has more NCAA probation sentences than SEC championships. Since Fulmer became UT's head coach, Alabama has hired four head coaches of its own.

Alabama hasn't just lost games and coaches. It has lost its good fortune.

Remember how the ball often seemed to bounce Alabama's way? Alabama's bad football is now matched only by its bad luck.

The Tide would have had a chance to beat UT this week if it hadn't lost quarterback Brodie Croyle to a season-ending knee injury last month. A few weeks later, it lost leading-rusher Ray Hudson to another season-ending knee injury.

The luck, like the series, has shifted UT's way. The change has become so evident, you know that if the Vols don't find a way to win Saturday, Alabama will find a way to lose.

In fact, UT's program has become so superior to Alabama's, beating Alabama is no big deal. Tide fans can thank Fulmer for that.

UT fans should thank him as well.

If you had told them in 1993 what Fulmer would do against Alabama, they would have insisted on making him "coach for life."

Fulmer has beaten Alabama repeatedly. He has helped make a case against it with the NCAA. And he has won a national championship with an Alabama quarterback, Mobile's Tee Martin.

He hasn't just changed the UT-Alabama series. He has changed the Auburn-Alabama series. UT, not Auburn, has become Alabama's most hated rival.

Hating Fulmer is easy for Alabama fans. Beating him isn't.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.