"I've got an old saying that I preach all the time: either you get better or you get worse, there's no way to stay the same." -- Penn State coach Joe Paterno prior to this season.

This time last year, the whole world believed that the game of football had passed right by Paterno. Now, thanks to his willingness to change, the Nittany Lions are back in the top 15 and vying for the Rose Bowl.

After years of trying to handcuff freshmen to his bench, Paterno began to put more of his youngsters on the field this year. He also opened up his passing game for the first time. To paraphrase Robert Frost, that has made all the difference.

Paterno's slight changes bring to mind Bear Bryant's much-more-drastic decision to switch to a wishbone offense in the late 1960s. Alabama had suffered through three lackluster seasons in a row (after a very successful streak) and The Bear felt that change was needed.

For him to dump his once-successful offense for a completely new kind of system was akin to the Mississippi flowing backwards. But the results speak for themselves.

"Change. Now it's time for change. Nothing stays the same. Now it's time for change." -- Motley Crue.

All coaches who have great success and longevity are willing to adapt and change as the rest of the world, inevitably, catches up with them.

For the first time, Phillip Fulmer stands at such a place, where he must either change or stay the same. And while changing what one knows is very scary, the risks associated with trying to sit still are much greater.

For a man who has won a national title and nearly 80% of his games, that fact must be terribly aggravating. (Whether those types of troubles come with the two-million-dollars-per-year territory or not.)

And I'm sure that Fulmer wouldn't want to hear that UT football has now entered into a new era. Unfortunately for him, the numbers say just that.

"This is the end. Beautiful friend, the end." -- Jim Morrison, The Doors.

Three weeks ago on my television show we discussed what I believe to be the three most-recent eras of UT football. Below, you'll find the same stats and records that I presented on the show.

Era 1: From 1985 to 1992 (Johnny Majors' 5-3 record that year is included here) the Vols had three top-10 finishes, won three SEC titles, had 10 players drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, and suffered only eight losses of 13-or-more points in 97 games. The overall winning percentage for this era was 70 percent.

Era 2: From 1992 (Fulmer's 4-0 portion is included here) to 2001, the Vols had six top-10 finishes, won two SEC titles, won one National Title, produced 11 first-round draft picks, and suffered only four losses of 13-or-more points in 115 games. The overall winning percentage for this era was 83 percent.

Era 3: From 2002 to now, the Vols have had zero top-10 finishes, zero SEC titles, and zero first-round draft picks. They've lost by 13-or-more points in seven of their last 46 games. The overall winning percentage for this era is down to 67 percent.

There's more.

From 1985 through 1992 UT had just three home losses of 17-or-more points.

From '93 through '01 UT had just one home loss of 17-or-more.

Since 2002, the Vols have suffered five home losses of 17 points or more.

Also, since the SEC split into divisional play, UT has faced Alabama, Florida and Georgia every year. They've lost to all three teams in the same season just twice in those 14 years. And both times have come since 2002.

UT is also in the midst of their first three-game losing streak since 1992.

"Is the best of the free life behind us now? And are the good times really over for good?" -- Merle Haggard.

This isn't to say that Tennessee isn't a top-25 program (in most years). But it does make it clear that UT is no longer in the top seven or eight programs in the country (as they were during the mid-to-late-90s).

And the lack of top draft picks points to an overall drop-off in talent since the Peyton Manning Era, regardless of what the recruiting analysts say.

Maintaining success has always been more difficult than first achieving it. The rest of the world takes a successful model, copies it, and then beats its inventor over the head with it.

But the good coaches adapt. They stay one step ahead.

With Randy Sanders falling on his sword, a new offensive coordinator will have to be put in place next year. Is that the change that will turn things around? Or are larger philosophical changes necessary, too?

Until those answers are in, there's no need to go jumping off any bridges. It's not the end of the world ... just the end of an era.