You can go home again.

But before David Cutcliffe did, he had to be sure he and old friend Phillip Fulmer could still be good neighbors.

Cutcliffe on Monday returned the post he left seven years ago, offensive coordinator on Fulmer's University of Tennessee football staff.

Cutcliffe signed a two-year contract with a base salary of $275,000 and an additional $25,000 for media and apparel.

That's quite a bump from the $70,000 he was paid the first time Fulmer hired him as coordinator on Jan. 6, 1993.

Of course, quite a bit has changed in Cutcliffe's career and his life since he left campus in 1998, thinking he'd never return.

After six years as head coach at Ole Miss, three months as quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame and triple-bypass heart surgery in March, Cutcliffe is back with the program he helped win a national championship in 1998.

He and his family settled back in Knoxville last summer after his heart surgery to recuperate and evaluate his career direction.

"We moved back here because it was home,'' Cutcliffe said Monday after a press conference to announce his hiring. "We never expected this to happen in our wildest imagination.''

Before it did happen, Fulmer and Cutcliffe, close friends for more than 20 years, had to feel out whether they could coexist as boss and employee again.

"In six years as a head coach,'' Cutcliffe said, "I had developed some philosophies of my own and some strong feelings.

"I had to make sure we're on the same page. Can I be fair to you? Can I be a good soldier?''

The discussion was exhaustive.

"We felt good about it afterward,'' said Cutcliffe, "but that was a long process.

"I didn't want it to be a short process. I wanted to know in my heart and mind that it was the right thing for everybody concerned.''

The brief stay at Notre Dame prior to his heart surgery helped Cutcliffe make the transition from general back to lieutenant.

"You find out real quickly on a recruiting weekend,'' he said "You're standing there with your hand out and they about knock you down getting past you to the head coach.

'There's a little reality check in that.''

Fulmer said being assured he and his old friend are on the same philosophical page allows him to entrust the offense to Cutcliffe.

"I'm not a dictator over the offense,'' Fulmer said. "David will be able to run what he wants to. ... Certainly, I'll have input.''

Cutcliffe, 51, hasn't necessarily abandoned his dream of being a head coach again, another issue that had to be resolved.

Fulmer said it would be "terribly unfair" to ask Cutcliffe for more than a year's commitment.

"Hopefully,'' Fulmer added, "it'll work out much longer than that.''

Cutcliffe said his full devotion is to getting Tennessee's offense back on track.

"If it's meant to be,'' he said, "some of those things come to you.

"I've never gone into a day's work on one job seeking another job. You take care of the one you've got.''

Solidifying an offensive staff with the vacancies created by the dismissal of Jimmy Ray Stephens (line) and Pat Washington (receivers) is a priority.

The dismissals were announced Sunday. Cutcliffe said the decisions were ultimately Fulmer's, but that he had input.

One scenario being discussed is Greg Adkins taking over the offensive line. Adkins has coached tight ends and assisted Stephens, in addition to being recruiting coordinator.

If that happens, one option would be using the opening to hire a full-time special-teams coordinator. Nine full-time assistant positions are allowed.

Fulmer said he is considering a number of attractive candidates, including some in pro football.

Regardless of how the staff shakes out, Fulmer is confident Cutcliffe will help the Vols rebound from their first losing season since 1988.

"We didn't take care of the little things,'' Fulmer said.

"David has lots and lots of strengths, but that's one of them.''