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Pennington: It's simple, just win
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As 2007 is left behind and the wraps are taken off of 2008, there’s a very simple formula that Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer can follow in order to ensure that next season is a smile-filled joy fest.
Just win.
The 2007 season, with all its ups and downs left fans yo-yo-ing back and forth between “fire ’em” and “keep ‘em” all year long.
With each clutch victory, the pro-Fulmer folks would run to their keyboards and praise their man on messageboards. And with each blowout loss, the anti-Fulmer people would fire up their cell phones and bellow to radio shows about the drop in the Vol program.
The media questions and fan complaints clearly disturbed the gentlemen in charge of the program. It can’t be easy to have every move dissected and second-guessed.
But there’s a simple solution to all of the questions and columns and ESPN reports and fan polls and newspaper cartoons.
Just win.
Today’s Outback Bowl is a chance for the Vols and their coach to create a Grumble Free Zone for the next six months.
Oh, sure, there will be some folks who’ll still call for blood, win or lose. That’s the state of the game now that head coaches make multi-millions and assistant coaches are creeping toward half-million dollar salaries.
But a bowl win will put a happy bow on the ’07 season for the vast majority of Tennessee fans. Bowls are over-valued, just as Iowa and New Hampshire have too much sway in our presidential primary system.
But that’s the way things are and knowing that’s the way things are, the candidates run to those two states for months and months of pandering. In college football, coaches should know that bowls count double for some reason, and they need to prepare accordingly.
Last year, the Vols bounced back from a 5-6 season to win nine games and earn an invite to a New Year’s Day bowl in a sunny Southern city. December was good. “Next year’s gonna be great,” became the positive rallying cry. All was well.
But then UT lost to an inferior Penn State team and the whole season’s worth of games took on a much different look when viewed through that lens. Instead of a happy world made up of candy cane forests, smiley faces, and big orange sunrises, the bowl loss turned 2006 into a Dr. Seuss landscape filled with dark, craggly peaks and poorly sprung leaks.
Vol fans do not like bowl losses. They do not like them here or there. They do not like them anywhere. They do not like them, Sam I Am.
So if the coaches want all questioners silenced? Win the bowl game. If the fans are too fickle at times? Win more games. If the media isn’t showing the love? Just win.
Winning is the magic dust. It’s the carnival barker’s elixir. It cures all. And everything else is secondary.
“He graduates his players.” Whatever. Whether all of them graduate or six of them are ineligible for a bowl game, the kids are more responsible for classwork than coaches are. And in big-time athletics, coaches aren’t hired and fired because of their players’ grades.
“He works with young men and shapes young lives.” Those are very noble activities, but that’s not why coaches get paid millions of dollars. The losingest loser in all of Losertown is also working with young men.
Those things are all just spins to take your mind off of what you really want: wins.
Want proof? For years, nice guy Buzz Peterson begged for a practice facility for the UT men’s basketball team. He was a life-shaper and a young-man-molder of the highest order. But the cash never came in and the facility never got built.
Enter Bruce Pearl and a whole bunch of wins and BINGO! The practice facility rose faster than a cat head biscuit. Money and praise and happiness all come with … wait for it … winning.
Besides, no coach who’s ever won a conference or national title has ever turned down a raise because, “heck, I’m just shaping young men’s lives.” That’s an honorable thing, but it’s not why people pour millions of dollars into athletic programs.
People pay money for wins. From Southern Miss to Ole Miss and from SMU to Timbuktu, athletic directors are demanding wins. “Why not us?” is the new motto on the college sports coin.
Tennessee has won a lot of games in their history. About 70 percent of their games all-time. They’ve also won a lot of games under Fulmer. But recently, they have not won quite as many as they used to. That’s led some fans to say, “why not us?”
A win today and Tennessee will finish 10-4. That’s right about 70 percent. Par for the UT course.
But a loss to Wisconsin and the Vols will drop to 9-5. Worse, they’ll fall to 23-15 over their last three seasons (a winning percentage of 60).
Those kinds of numbers lead to questions and grumbles and columns and ESPN reports and all manner of ills that tick off football coaches. I say it again, there is a simple solution.
Just win. A bowl win today puts a positive spin on the 2007 season and creates months of positive vibes heading into 2008. More wins in the Fall of 2008 will further hush the doubters and thrill the supporters.
Oh, it may not be right and it may not be fair, but there’s only one thing that sports fans really seem to care about. Just win. And New Year’s Day is a good time to start.
John Pennington hosts the Hall’s Salvage Sports Source on Sunday at 11 a.m. on WATE.
© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Posted by mattrob44 on December 31, 2007 at 3:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just Win,...Living in the past, in the 90's it was UT and Fla. Everybody around us has gotten better. LSU w/ Saben and Miles UGA with Mark South Carolina W/ Spurrier Uk, Vandy, Ala even Auburn has surpassed us. What is the answer? I dont know for sure but we need to get better. We are slowly getting left behind. Go Vols Beat Wisc.
Posted by Cherokee on December 31, 2007 at 3:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This article is very well-written and captures the extremist views of each side of the message boards. It's obvious that most columnists spend a fair amount of time taking the pulse of the fan base from message boards, although I would think that the bulk of the fan base is probably much more moderate than the views that can be found in a chat room.
I also think this article is a bit of a shot at Fulmer for his angry response to an earlier column. Fair enough, as Fulmer should simply have said nothing about that. His addressing it at all, especially in the angry manner, only served to highlight it and made him look a bit thin-skinned. Bottom line though is that this article is truthful. In a world where men playing and coaching a game make millions of dollars, they will be measured in W's and L's. I like Coach Fulmer and hope he can get this program back to the point of winning another SEC championship or two before he retires.
Posted by ncvol17 on December 31, 2007 at 3:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just win, with lame duck coaches, 6 mensa team members applying at KFC instead of practicing for the game and with OC candidates heading south of the program - just win is a tough order to fill..
Let's have a roast beef & smoked cheddar on dark & remember the good old days of Andy Kelly thru Tee Martin teams.
Posted by TommyJack on December 31, 2007 at 3:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Cherokee: I bet ole whynot36waystoloseyourlover will consider the article a CPF bashing.
Posted by GerryOP on December 31, 2007 at 3:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well said John. This is what us anti-Fulmerites have been saying all along! Never forget: Penn State, Cal Berkeley, U of Florida, U of Alabama. Wins make the rest of Good Ol' Teflon Phil's bumblings become unimportant.
A new year, a fresh slate. Just win, baby, just win.
Posted by 99gator on December 31, 2007 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
winning good.
losing bad.
glad that got straightened out.
from what i have read from your posts throughout the year....winning the bowl game means squat.
what will get people off phil's back is
1. an sec title and/or a trip to a BCS bowl.
2. beating fl and ga in the same season
3. winning games comfortably against teams like vandy would be reassuring too.
Posted by Cherokee on December 31, 2007 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
mattrob44, I agree the SEC has gotten better around us, but to say that SC, Kentucky and Vandy have surpassed us is simply exaggeration. UK had their best teams in many years the past couple of seasons and still couldn't beat us. We still own Vandy, SC has beaten us one time under Spurrier and finished ahead of us in the divison only once. Alabama has not surpassed us at this point even though they did beat us this year. And while I would say Georgia's run the past 5-6 years is better than ours, the fact is that we have beaten them 3 of the past 4 years. UT has fallen back in the pack a bit, but not below the likes of SC, Vandy and Kentucky just yet.
Posted by 1974Vol on December 31, 2007 at 4:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I liked Al Davis' version better - "Just Win, Baby!" Maybe the "Baby" part sounds too 60's or Vegas for Rocky Top, but I like it better than the Dr,Seuss reference.
GO VOLS, Just Win. Spank a Badger, Baby!
Posted by dewaynemac32 on December 31, 2007 at 4:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Touchdown.... Best LB? The last time i checked, Mayo was the best of the group. As far as the duke AD circus, I suppose all the times our coaching staff visited other schools, we created a circus. I guess it's ok for us, but not for others. Your comment on CPF is accurate, but his fall has nothing to do with academics or letting other staff's attend practice. It is simply a matter of a coach that has outstayed his welcome. The game has passed him by, and though his loyalty to Tennessee is honorable, if he loved us that much, he would see that his time as head coach has come to an end.
Posted by volguy on December 31, 2007 at 4:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Folks, I am not saying that UT couldn't and shouldn't do better, but how in heaven's name are we being left behind as one poster said, when it was the University of Tennessee which won the SEC East title? Yeah, we lost in the SEC Championship Game, but, guess what, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, ala-stinkin'-bama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Arkansas were all WATCHING the SEC championship game. The Vols were playing!!!
Posted by Cherokee on December 31, 2007 at 4:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dewaynemac, check again: TouchdownTN said "second best", not best, and I would agree that McCoy is our #2 backer.
Posted by volnmdtn on December 31, 2007 at 4:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dewaynemac32,
Excellent post! I totally agree with you,
Posted by pdhuff on December 31, 2007 at 4:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What else does the University of Tennessee Athletics Department need to provide so that Phil can win an SEC title? If those who deflect any opinions or comments away from Phil having any reponsibility concur, then the department must be at fault. The object is the SEC crown, period.
What else do they need to provide in that multi-million dollar budget so that the Vols do not fail for the tenth straight time in 2008? Why is there no accountability for the head coach whose hand-selected players under his guidance (Phillip Fulmer, Head Coach) did not grasp the grail again, after failing 8 times in a row before?
Where has the athletic department gotten off course and failed Phil? In what way did they short him? Just curious.
Or have they accepted the fact that they will fail again and again and again........
Posted by dewaynemac32 on December 31, 2007 at 4:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
my bad, you are correct.
Posted by 1974Vol on December 31, 2007 at 4:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Volguy, would agree with you except Vols didn't finish the deal. They didn't win the Championship. CFP is on probation with the Vol Nation ever since the 2005 season. Virtually every game has become a must win game for him. As Pennington says he had a big chance to get off the hot seat with win over JoPa and didn't do it. If he wins the SEC Championship, no one would really cares that much about this Bowl game, but he didn't. So this game is huge. When you don't win real Championships, then your Bowl game becomes like a substitute-championship game, the team gets a trophy, the players get rings, the fans get conference bragging rights, and everyone goes out on a winning note for the long off season. If the Badgers beat the Vols, the season won't be remembered as the one where they won the East, it will be remembered as yet another year when they didn't finish the deal and lost their last two games. So VOLS JUST WIN, BABY!
Posted by clausenforheisman on December 31, 2007 at 4:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Another great article John. It's a new year lets start it off right! Go Vols!!
Posted by AllVol on December 31, 2007 at 4:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That is the BEST article I have ever read on this entire site. Excellently well-stated, Mr. Pennington, and damned right. I'll forgive your affect/effect blunder. Just f'ing WIN Da-n it! It's as simple as that!
Posted by TommyJack on December 31, 2007 at 5:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Pennington is on the money. I'm sure most of the Faithful will call it a hatchet job, eh why36knot? How about you, eefor10c?
Posted by Ironcity on December 31, 2007 at 5:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Touchdown will you be Man enough to acknowledge you were wrong if we blow out Wisconsin? You seem to have inside information that the team an d the coaches are completely unfoucused and that there is no chance for victory. My guess is once the game is over you will start your rants towards recruiting. Once thats over you will scream because a couple of players transfer. Then you will scream about a player who gets caught up in a bar fight. You seem to have been around a long time. Relax and try to enjoy your team in Orange.
As for Penningtons comments about Buzz. He was a jerk that happen to be a good God fearing speaker in public. However in private he treated the players like crap. The players didn't respect him and they layed down on him. If I had played for him I probably would have to.
Posted by DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu on December 31, 2007 at 5:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Good stuff, John. "Winning is the magic dust." Has Hallmark made that greeting card yet? I want one.
I have $200 on the Badgers winning by at least 13.
Posted by AllVol on December 31, 2007 at 5:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ironcity, your insight into Touchdown's psyche is stunning. I'll bet the farm that you are exactly right. Now, ole Touchdown always makes some good points, but he's way over on the negative side of the Orange meter. Man, you nailed his butt to the wall. Come on TD, say something positive to prove Iron wrong. I'm beggin ya' . . . .
Posted by invisiblekid on December 31, 2007 at 5:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dewaynemac32, someone else used the same reasoning regarding it not being a big deal when the Duke athletic director and company showed up last week. The question I had was how many times has Fulmer or any of his assistants showed up at another program during the season or a week before the bowl game? My guess is it doesn't happen. If the entire Duke athletic department wanted to show up during Spring practice and tour the facilities, no problem. But this was just one more unwarranted distraction that Fulmer could have easily avoided.
Posted by pdhuff on December 31, 2007 at 6:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, Pennington, it is comforting to know that the memories will fade and perhaps be forgotten. Wonder which will go 1st. Vandy field goal missing by .... or frozen in place watching a bad Bama team grind up a lost Vol squad.... or watching the heart-stopping Ky win .... or the glorious win over the Dawgs ... or the Gator's (I just can't go there).......Oh well, 2008 here we come again, same van , few different passengers, same road and philosphy...Happy New Year! Go Vols.
Posted by IPOrange on December 31, 2007 at 7:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Who started this "bowl games aren't important" business? Man, I want to win every game, especially the bowl games. I don't understand that logic at all.
Posted by weisgarber2003 on December 31, 2007 at 8:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Just win." Wow! Fulmer surely won't like the simple, but accurate solution to his problems. But Pennington is right-on. The solution is to "put up" and the critics will shut up. And "put up" doesn't mean to whine, moan, and make excuses. It means to win, and win the way UT fans expect. Top ten finishes, BCS bowls, Conference championships, and respectability. But Fulmer cannot produce those expectations, evidenced by the last decade.
Posted by rootin4volz on December 31, 2007 at 9:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh great...99GAYtor is back. Dude should get a life.
Posted by nicksjuzunk on December 31, 2007 at 10:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
99gator is right on. Bowl games do mean more when the regular season isn't excellent, but overall, his points are right on. This qualifies as a "need to win a bowl game year" since we have some bad tastes in the mouth.
Posted by nicksjuzunk on December 31, 2007 at 10:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The perfect coach: This is who we need.
He was born in Tennessee and attended UT. However, he spent only one year there as a graduate assistant so he can now be considered "semi outside the family". Having traveled extensively in his coaching career, he has made stops at U of Florida, USC (Cali), LSU, and Texas. Thus, he has his recruiting bases shored up.
Despite his experience, he is only 30 years old, but has received his Masters Degree in the Spread Option with a Bachelors in Smash Mouth Football. He agrees to come to TN and immediately opens a home for the poor and donates blood... which amazingly is orange!
He donates his salary to the securing of his staff. John Chavis resigns to take a head coaching job at the University of _________ So he is able to hire Bill Cowher to be Defensive Coordinator. Peyton Manning decides to retire and become Offenisve Coordinator/QB Coach. Al Wilson is brought in to coach Linebakers and D-line.
The coach annually secures the top recruiting class with nothing but 5 star athletes. But just to prove a point, he recruits nothing but 1 star athletes during a 4 year span and still wins 3 National Championships while going 54 - 2.(there are swift calls for his ouster after both losses).
The SEC championship game is actually renamed, "Take the freaking trophy TN game".
80% of his players are drafted in the first 2 rounds of the NFL draft annually while 15% become missionaries or Pastors. The other 5% immediately become either president of the United States or Head Coaches.
I could go on but this is stinking long already. Any one else want to add?
Posted by weisgarber2003 on December 31, 2007 at 10:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"I could go on but this is stinking long already. Any one else want to add?"
Yes, forget about the born in TN angle. That is what we have had for the last 30 years, and with an athletics board that is reluctant to get rid of a "good old boy homey" it is difficult to get rid of the home grown hangers-on, regardless of the dismal record. Get the best coach available and forget the geography.
Posted by TommyJack on December 31, 2007 at 11:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nick: Get out of the jungle now, dude. You need to be around people.
Posted by BigVolinCarolina on January 1, 2008 at 12:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Said it before (after the 'Bama game) and I'll say it again: like the time had come for Coach Majors to step aside, it's time for Coach Fulmer to do the same.
Coach Fulmer started frustrating me in 2002 & 2003 with our overly predictable play-calling, and he lost me for good in 2005 when he started making excuses after losses ("if not for that fumble, we'd have won the game" etc...).
Obviously, a man like Coach Fulmer is a seasoned coach and does have an idea of what's going on. Bottom line for me is that I don't see us consistently improving. Our deficiencies from one season to the next are nearly always the same.
Posted by nmvol on January 1, 2008 at 12:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hope the Vols win but I will be suprised if they do. Fulmer has had a good run but win or lose against the badgers he is living in the past and should step down for the good of the program.
Posted by southernACmavs on January 1, 2008 at 7:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
2007, In 07 we learned some things. If you are a comman fan you do not matter ,nor have a true voice in this program.If Thorntons Million dollar club said jump ,Hamiliton would ask how high on the way up. Fulmer has very little controll over this program,Its hard to work like heck sitting in that plush office. Weve learned winning a SEC championship does not matter, getting to Atlanta is good enough.{EASTERN DIVISION CHAMPIONS}please. Weve learnt5-11 against Florida is ok ,expected in fact. They will probably lose again anyway. When a team misses a field goal its because of phills coaching,when we get Blew out by two average teams Its because our players suck. JUST WINN OR JUST SPINN , PAY MORE EXPECT LESS
Posted by T0MMYJACK on January 1, 2008 at 9:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
In fact, Nick, come hang out with me for the game. I'm sure we could become close friends. REAL close.
It worked for TouchdownTN and me. We are REAL close.
Posted by tngeoff on January 1, 2008 at 9:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
southernACmavs,
Interesting observations and sadly...true. Today is a huge test for Fulmer. If we lose...he will have a very, very, very, very, very bad day...but the excuses and positive spin will engulf the Volunteer Nation. It will stink in such a putrid way that no man may abideth by it's odor. But it will be the all new Tennessee football under Phil Fulmer.
The Plan - Starring Phil Fulmer:
http://www.mnstate.edu/alm/humor/TheP...
Posted by tngeoff on January 1, 2008 at 9:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yup...hater/loser...blah...blah...blah. Just watching all the SEC teams win...like last year...and thinking about how we have come to be the big letdown for the SEC under Phil Fulmer. Shoulkd we expect more today than we have gotten before? Why? Players are still lacking focus. Can't even qualify some of our best players academically for the stinkin' Bowl game. But like all the other Fulmer faux pas' we should just accept it. The new Tennessee football spirit! Our goal is excellence?
Excellence in performance:
http://fitnessmanagement.com/articles...
Posted by T0MMYJACK on January 1, 2008 at 9:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Give CPF all the hell you want, but leave those gorgeous players out of it. They are adorable. And so big and strong!
Posted by TommyJack on January 1, 2008 at 9:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
POSER WARNING...all caps TommyJack is on the loose.
Posted by GerryOP on January 1, 2008 at 10:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well done Geoff, well done! Good stuff! Perhaps you should pass your website on to PAF?
Posted by waterskier3 on January 1, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
sec is 4-0 in bowl games..... will fulmer keep up his end or will he do has he done lately and look like crap????? i'm not sure which team shows up but I HOPE ITS THE TEAM THAT CAN SCORE POINTS... because to win guess what we have to score more than the other team..... this is all pretty simple... i block, tackle, score more points and i win..... they are paying him 2 million to do that... man i'm under paind...LOL
Posted by tngeoff on January 1, 2008 at 10:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
GerryOP,
Thank you and Happy New Year! I wish I could pass it along!
Posted by GerryOP on January 1, 2008 at 10:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Geoff, Happy New Year to you too, sir!
Posted by 02champs on January 1, 2008 at 5:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Pennington's still a complete idiot.
Posted by bigfan502 on January 2, 2008 at 12:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
JUST WIN VOLS...WE DID WIN....ALTHOUGH AGAINST AN AROUSED WISCONSIN THAT PLAYED WITH FURY. MENTALLY FLAT FOR THE MOST PART, THE VOLS PLAYED WITH JUST ENOUGH EFFORT TO WIN...IT APPEARED THE VOLS WERE MUCH THE BETTER TEAM...BUT ONLY PLAYED GOOD ENOUGH TO HOLD ON...WHEN IT COULD HAVE BEEN A VOL BLOWOUT. BUT WINNING TONES DOWN THE CRITICS, JUST KEEP WINNING, VOLS.
Posted by jim_bell on January 2, 2008 at 5:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
TDTN, Where are you ? I haven't heard from you since FOOLMER lost touch with the team and coaches and even had the Duke AD at pratice. What is wrong with the PHAT MAN. I'm listening. I need an answer.
Posted by jdcvols on January 3, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
TouchdownTn, it was a pleasure having you over. JCVette, DsaVol and JRaymond all had fun.
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