Griffith: Cost of Chemistry

That leaves coach Phillip Fulmer six months to prepare Tennessee for a run to the Rose Bowl, site of this year's BCS national championship.

Fulmer has two major issues to deal with prior to the Sept. 2 kick off with Alabama-Birmingham.

The most obvious, the quarterback situation, will play out between the quartet of Erik Ainge, Rick Clausen, Brent Schaeffer and incoming freshman Jonathan Crompton.

The more pressing issue is the process of doling out new job titles and raises to his assistant coaches.

Fulmer wouldn't confirm reports that defensive coordinator John Chavis is being elevated from assistant head coach to associate head coach and running backs coach Trooper Taylor will have the title of assistant head coach for player development. But Fulmer wouldn't deny those reports, either, and sources have confirmed both transactions are likely.

"I'm not ready to discuss that,'' Fulmer said. "I have had conversations with (UT athletic director) Mike Hamilton about contracts, the salaries, the structure of our staff and changes in responsibilities.''

Both the money and title issues could prove challenging for Fulmer, who recently was rewarded with a contract worth $2.05 million annually.

Chavis earned $200,720 last season, while Taylor, in his first year on the staff, made $110,000.

Each is expected to get a healthy salary boost.

Chavis, who has had just one defensive staff change in his 10 years as coordinator, has turned down at least two assistant job offers from NFL teams that would have paid considerably more.

At the same time, Chavis has seen coordinators at Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama sign more lucrative contracts.

Richer deals also are expected for incoming defensive coordinators at LSU and South Carolina, where former Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Bo Pellini and former East Carolina head coach John Thompson were recently hired.

Fulmer said he intends to keep his staff’s pay competitive. Hamilton recently gave Fulmer an undisclosed amount of money from which to work. Hamilton said if Fulmer doesn’t feel it’s enough, he can make an appeal for more.

"I've always said stability and continuity have been important to our success,'' Fulmer said. "When I first took over, we were way down the list as far as salary structure for assistants. Coach (Doug) Dickey helped us get up to second or third in the conference.

"Now, we've had four or five changes at schools in the league, and we need to be sure we stay competitive so coaches don't leave for lateral positions.''

Taylor, who made his first year a special one, coaching two backs to 1,000-yard seasons and landing talented recruits, was banking on that loyalty when he turned down a job offer from Texas.

Taylor's decision to stay at UT likely hinged on his pending promotion and raise.

But what of the other assistants, many of whom have been on the staff for 10 years or more and produced their share of all-stars and blue-chip prospects?

There's only so much money in the pot to go around.

"I try to avoid it, but it's hard not to have an unbalance (in pay),'' Fulmer said. "But I have great respect for my entire staff.''

While Taylor's promotion may be well-deserved, it poses a threat to the hierarchy.

What about a veteran like Dan Brooks, who over the past few years has turned down a head coaching job with Western Carolina and a higher-paying defensive-coordinator position at N.C. State, while also ignoring overtures from South Carolina and Texas?

Brooks, who at one time also served as the Vols' recruiting coordinator, has recruited key players from the Carolinas for years. Most recently, Brooks landed Crompton, the cornerstone to the Vols' No. 1-ranked class.

Brooks also has proved to be one of the best interior defensive line coaches in the nation, producing two first-round NFL picks - John Henderson and Albert Haynesworth - in the same season in 2001. This season, Brooks rebuilt a defensive line that returned just one starter, and helped incoming junior college transfer Jesse Mahelona earn All-America honors.

Fortunately for the Vols, Brooks' feathers are unruffled.

"I'm not caught up in all those titles and all that,'' Brooks said. "I enjoy coaching at Tennessee. My job is to help make John Chavis the best defensive coordinator and Phillip Fulmer the best head coach in America.''

Other assistants at UT have shown the same selfless devotion, whether it be Larry Slade turning down an offer from the San Francisco 49ers, Steve Caldwell staying put despite coordinator opportunities at Ole Miss and Louisville, or Pat Washington declining Colorado's job offer.

Fulmer must count on his assistants' loyalty once again for the Vols to be successful.

Chemistry, Fulmer said, is as important as having talent and coaching the Xs and Os.

"Team chemistry is an ongoing process,'' Fulmer said. "You have to have that unselfishness, where everyone finds their role and plays it.''

Fulmer believes the other building blocks for a title run are in place. The rest, he said, will be determined somewhat by fate.

"To win a championship, you have to be talented, which we are,'' he said. "You have to be committed, which we certainly hope we will be I like this bunch of young men we have returning.

"We have to build depth to overcome injuries, and you have to be fortunate to get a good bounce. But that chemistry must be there.''

Bank on it.

Mike Griffith covers Tennessee football. He may be reached at knsgriff@aol.com.