Tennessee offensive coordinator Randy Sanders stepped down Monday after a third consecutive loss left the Vols in danger of their first losing season in 17 years.

Sanders, who considered resigning immediately, will stay on as quarterbacks coach for the remainder of the season. Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said the staff would share play-calling duties for the remainder of the season.

A source within the UT football program said former UT offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe has been contacted to replace Sanders.

The Vols, ranked No. 3 in both preseason polls, are 3-4 overall and 2-4 in the SEC and unranked for the first time in three years. UT is ranked 99th in the nation in total offense and scored only 32 points in its last three games.

"I didn’t expect to be doing this," Sanders said, voice quivering, during a Monday afternoon press conference. "I’m going to miss this place, but the fact is there is a whole lot more to life than Tennessee football."

"The last few weeks have brought me to that realization."

Cutcliffe said he has not been offered a job by UT and is more concerned with Sanders, who is a close friend.

"My number one concern is for Randy the person," Cutcliffe said. "Randy is like a brother to me."

Cutcliffe was an assistant at UT from 1982-98 before leaving to accept the head-coaching position at Ole Miss. Cutcliffe was fired by Ole Miss after the 2004 season.

Cutcliffe joined Notre Dame as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach, but underwent triple-bypass heart surgery on March 9 and resigned. He returned to Knoxville and has been doing work for various media outlets.

Sanders, 40, spent 22 years as a player and coach at UT. A former star quarterback at Morristown East High School, Sanders played at UT from 1984-88 but was never a starter. Sanders remained at UT in 1989 as a volunteer coach and gradually rose up the ranks.

When Cutcliffe left for Ole Miss, Sanders was named his replacement. Sanders’ first assignment was the Fiesta Bowl, playing a role in UT’s victory over Florida State for the national championship in 1998.

Fulmer said he was surprised by Sanders’ decision.

"Randy, in an unselfish gesture for what he feels is in the best interest of the team, has asked to step aside at the end of the season," Fulmer said.

"I’m sad that it has come to this but I also understand how volatile and demanding the world of college athletics is."

Sanders was seen in an emotional meeting with his family after UT’s loss to South Carolina 16-15 on Saturday. Sanders downplayed the significance of the public criticism as it relates to his family.

"It’s not a response to any criticism," he said. "It’s a response to what I see. I’m trying to be accountable for how we have played."

UT’s dismal offensive performance this season had made Sanders a frequent target for fan criticism. Sanders said he did not feel any pressure from the athletic department to resign.

"Coach Fulmer has been great about this," Sanders said. "It wasn’t something he approached me with. It wasn’t something that anybody else approached me with.

"I came to him with it."

Sanders said he would have actually benefited monetarily had he been fired and not resigned.

"I’m not trying to beat him to the punch," Sanders said, referring to Fulmer. "I’m not resigning to keep from getting fired."

Sanders said he didn’t know if he would have still resigned had the Vols won their two most recent games. UT fumbled three times inside their opponents’ 10-yard line against South Carolina and Alabama.

Fulmer did, however, address the question.

"If we made a few of those plays," Fulmer said, "we probably wouldn’t be having this press conference, in my opinion, but we didn’t and we are."

Sanders said he couldn’t ask his players to sacrifice their individual roles for the betterment of the team if he wasn’t willing to do the same.

"Things have gotten a little bit out of kilter this year," he said. "I don’t necessarily know that it’s all my fault but the fact is it’s my ship."

When asked if more coaching changes were possible, Fulmer would only say he was focused on the remainder of the season.

Cutcliffe has long said that he is more interested in a head coaching position than becoming an assistant. Those types of offers don’t regularly come until after the season.

UT will close practice this week as the Vols prepare No. 8 Notre Dame.

Sanders said he is focused on UT’s final four regular season games.

"I can promise you that even though I’m not going to be back doing it next year," Sanders said, "that’s not going to slow my effort and my desire to get this done."

Soon, Sanders may focus on two sports altogether different than football.

"I always said that one of these days I’m going to go fishing in the fall," he said. "I’m going to go play golf when the leaves are changing.

"Maybe it’s time. I don’t know."