Strange: Pearl wants Fulmer-like expectations

The general perception is that Tennessee's football coach and its men's basketball coach aren't exactly cut from the same cloth.

One is small-town Middle Tennessee, an offensive lineman by nature. The other is hyper Boston, a circus ringmaster by nature.

Then there are respective bodies of work to consider.

One is the dean of SEC coaches in his sport, trying to recapture the magic of his terrific earlier success. The other is living his terrific early success.

And so when the show rolled into an RV Park on Monday on the banks of the Little Pigeon River, it was interesting to gauge the chemistry of these two seemingly disparate Caravan-mates.

First of all, appearances: One of them showed up in a day-glow orange blazer and, surprise, it wasn't Pearl.

"I was wearing orange blazers before he was born,'' said Fulmer.

An exaggeration, but you get the point. Pearl is the current rock star in the men's athletic department, but Fulmer's been there, done that.

Fulmer has lived life in the big leagues, for good and bad, and is in position to offer counsel. Pearl, ever the team player, is eager to receive it.

When Fulmer got to the podium Monday, he told his audience, "I said, 'Bruce, you've screwed up. You spoiled 'em too fast,' but so did we.' ''

Fulmer was alluding to his grand start when he replaced Johnny Majors. By his five-year anniversary he had won two SEC titles and a national championship.

In two years, Pearl has transformed UT men's basketball, made it relevant again. But he wisely doesn't interpret his popularity as anything to rub in Fulmer's face.

"The expectations on football are probably always going to be different,'' Pearl said. "And I don't know that that's fair but it's because he created this incredible expectation.

"If we keep winning in basketball, we'll wind up doing the same. But because we expect so much from football, a 10-win season or a nine-win season isn't as exciting as a 22-win season in basketball.

"And it should be.''

Pearl generates excitement anywhere he goes. Monday was no exception. But the welcome for the football coach appeared just as warm. Perhaps those who have grown disenchanted with Fulmer aren't the type to turn up at Caravan rallies.

Pearl got a laugh when he asked the crowd to applaud Kentucky for finishing fourth in the SEC East.

Fulmer got a laugh when he mentioned UT's compliance diligence and added, "I just hope our sisters to the south are doing the same thing.''

Whatever the perceived style differences, Fulmer and Pearl both claim they're not so unalike when you get down to substance.

"We share a lot of the same challenges,'' said Pearl. "He's ahead of the game when it comes to seeing the big picture.''

Fulmer, understandably, has grown accustomed to being the biggest man on campus. That doesn't mean it serves his purpose to have football be a monopoly. A winning basketball program is an ally, not a threat.

Take recruiting, for example.

"To have basketball doing really well,'' said Fulmer, "and to bring a prospect into that environment, that energy, is nothing but a positive.''

The lineman and the ringmaster can, at the end of the day, coexist. They can, and have, even snuck off with their wives for a quiet dinner.

Furthermore, says the ringmaster, don't sell the lineman short, whether it's on the field of play or working a Caravan crowd.

"The coach has done this a lot longer than I have,'' Pearl said, "yet he brings the same energy after 15 years that I'm bringing after three.''