Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer can expect to receive a one-year contract extension, UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said.

After the extension, Fulmer's contract will run through 2014.

Later this month, Fulmer and Hamilton will meet to discuss the season, as well as Fulmer's contract.

"I think a seven-year contract is very generous in terms of number of years," Hamilton said. "We'll get back to that."

Fulmer received a two-year extension in March, bringing his contract back to seven years after he did not receive an extension following the Vols' 5-6 season in 2005.

His current contract runs though 2013 and pays him $2.05 million annually.

Fulmer, who did not receive a raise following the 2005 or 2006 seasons, likely will see his compensation change as well, Hamilton said.

By virtue of playing in the SEC championship game, Fulmer will earn automatically earn a $75,000 bonus.

Last year, he earned an additional $37,500 for taking the Vols to a non-BCS bowl, the smallest bonus in his contract.

The largest incentive in Fulmer's contract is $250,000 for a BCS national championship.

But the fact that Fulmer has not had a raise since before the 2005 season will play a role in this year's likely raise.

"We'll discuss that over the next few weeks," Hamilton said. "That's a to-be-determined item. Phillip has not had a raise in his contract for this is the third year now, so I do want to look at that and maybe adjust that in some way. I couldn't tell you today what that's going to look like, but we will adjust it."

Fulmer's last raise made him the SEC's highest paid coach.

Since then Auburn's Tommy Tuberville, Alabama's Nick Saban and Florida's Urban Meyer have signed bigger deals.

Hamilton said market value will play a role in determining the amount of Fulmer's raise.

"We're still going to ultimately do what makes sense for the University of Tennessee," Hamilton said. "It's market, it's what makes sense for the University of Tennessee. It's what makes sense for Phillip Fulmer. It's performance. It's all those kinds of things."

Hamilton said he and Fulmer also will discuss assistant coaches' pay.

Last year, UT's assistants received multi-year deals for the time and their salary pool rose from $1.56 million to $1.721 million.

Fulmer will submit a plan for assistant coaches and coordinator pay, which Hamilton will try to accommodate.

According to Fulmer's contract, he and Hamilton are required to meet on or before Dec. 15 to discuss Fulmer's performance, the football program's status, as well as Fulmer's contract.

Any contract changes will be finalized after UT plays Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1.

Cutcliffe Not Contacted: Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe said he has not been contacted about any vacant head coaching positions.

Cutcliffe, who returned to Tennessee following the 2005 season after spending six seasons as head coach at Ole Miss, was cited by media reports as a possible candidate at Georgia Tech and Duke.

Hamilton, as is his policy, declined to say whether any schools had asked for permission to speak with Cutcliffe.

"I value David Cutcliffe," Hamilton said. "He represents the University of Tennessee well. He's passionate about Tennessee football and our success. He is committed to the same things that we're committed to and our fans are committed to and that's winning championships.

"We want him to be here as long as he wants to be here as a coordinator. In such a time he has an opportunity to be a head coach and wants to be a head coach, I'll do everything I can to help him achieve that goal."

Dave Hooker contributed to this report. Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.