Former University of Tennessee offensive lineman Reggie Coleman, like many other former Vols, says he's a big fan of Coach Phillip Fulmer.
"I think the program is just a couple of playmakers away from the teams of the mid-to-late 1990s," Coleman said. "We just don't have the game breakers that some other programs have. There's no one on the Vols that scares the opponent."
Coleman knows about players who put the fear in other teams in the SEC. He played with some players who are lighting up NFL fields today like Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and Cedrick Wilson. "We had the best recruiting class in the history of the school back in 1997. Cosey Coleman, Andre Lott, Deon Grant, Travis Stephens, Fred Weary, Lewis, Henry, Wilson and the list went on.
"We had playmakers, we had leaders, we had a special group," Coleman said. "I think one thing that was different back then was that we had leaders on the field, rather than on the sideline. We were more scared to face Peyton Manning when we screwed up than Coach Fulmer. The guys on defense were more scared to have to answer to Al Wilson than Fulmer.
"It wasn't that we weren't concerned with being accountable to Coach, it was more that we had to be accountable to each other. I just don't see that with this generation of players. We had the mentality that if those guys were going, we were going too. If one guy took a step forward, we would all step up."
Coleman says that the landscape of college football has changed over the years. However, when asked: "Has the game passed Phillip Fulmer by?" Coleman was quick to disagree.
"Football is a simple game. Guys have to block, tackle, catch, throw and kick. The game can not pass you by, and it hasn't passed by Coach Fulmer. It's kind of like a leak: You fix it and then another leak springs, and so on and so on. Finally, you have to spackle the whole thing."
"If you ask me, we're still paying for 2002. For some reason, we fell off the run we were on from 1995 to 2001 in 2002. Along the way, we had to rely on some young guys who weren't ready to play, and we're still paying for it."
As for parity in college football, Coleman says that the NFL is to blame.
"When you have a quarterback ready for the NFL coming out of Vanderbilt (Jay Cutler), you know times have changed," Coleman said. "Guys are wanting to get to the big bucks as quickly as they can. So, when we made the decision 10 years ago to go to the top programs in the country we did it knowing we'd have to work our butts off to get on the field.
"Today, kids are going to lesser programs so that they can get on the field sooner. What that has done is it's created major parity in college football. When I was there, we had pretty much sure wins over Kentucky, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. It's not that way anymore. Any of those teams could beat Tennessee on any given day."
Don't misunderstand here, Coleman says there is a lot of talent at Tennessee and a championship could be sooner than later.
"I love guys like Demonte Bolden, Eric Berry and LaMarcus Coker," Coleman said. "Coker is as shifty a back as I've seen at UT. And, I like receiver Josh Briscoe. There's something about him that I like.
"Listen, there's talent over there. I just don't see the gladiator that is leading the program on the field. I really think that is the major problem. We are just missing leaders in this society. We bought into the program when I was there. I don't think these guys are buying into the program. We bought into what the coaches told us to do. We did whatever they told us to do and did it with everything we had."
Saturday night's game against Arkansas State was special for Reggie Coleman because ASU was his home school growing up in Jonesboro, Ark.
"Arkansas State was just 5 minutes from my house," Coleman said. "They tried to recruit me but my top three were Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee."
"I wouldn't trade my college career for anybody's. We had a great run when I was at UT and I expect it to happen again. Like I said, football is a simple game. These guys just have to take care of the fundamentals and the winning will follow, like it did for us."
Mark Packer hosts the Locker Room, presented by Parkwest Medical Center, on Sunday at 10 p.m. on MyVLT2. His guests tonight are Reggie Coleman and John Adams.
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Comments » 13
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
Thank you, Reggie, for coming home and saying these things. I wish you and the rest of the Vols in the NFL would make some more trips and talk to this team directly, man-to-man, without the coaches. We seem to have lost our mojo and you guys might help us find it again...
Thanks again, Reggie...
antron98 writes:
This is Antron Peebles i agree with Mr.Coleman it seems to be no since of urgency out there on the field, no leaders no head bangers. Iam a little older than Reggie so i can speak of people like Jason Parker, T. Hines, S.Galyon, T.Noel, T.Fair, M. Nash,J.Kent. These are people that set a standard for our 90's teams.It was take no prisoners . They built the DYNASTY that we had in the 90"S. I wanted to be like T.Hines Al wanted to be like T. Hines. It wasa dominoe effect with the attitude of the team from the early 90's to the late. Somewhere between 99and 2000 the ball has been dropped with the players. I think we were more together as a team and wanted to please each other. If you wasn't wearing ORANGE AND WHITE it was a problem. Your not our friend on the field! like REG said there is no threat, nobody wants to take that leader position and take control,and check their own teamate! FLORIDA WAS NOT THE BETTER TEAM AND CAL WAS NOT THE BETTER TEAM THEY JUST WANTED IT MORE THAN WE WANTED IT, AND I SAY WE BECAUSE I STILL BLEED ORANGE ! WE HAVE TO WANT IT MORE AND LAY IT ALL OUT ON THE LINE ! GET YO MIND RIGHT PLAYERS. THE COACHES CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH!
DannyVol writes:
Back in my day...
I'll be a Tennessee fan to the day I die...but, what an obvious bunch of PR phooey! Apparently, former players have been asked to publicly defend the coaching staff, even if it means blaming current players. Pitiful.
The problem is not society, parity, leadership etc., but the fact that stubborness has prevented the playbook and defensive schemes from changing since the days of Coleman et al. Our plays are all but community property in the SEC! The bubble screen and Mustang package have not kept many SEC coordinators awake at night -- for about six years.
Week after week we hear Fulmer say, "I liked our leadership during practice this week." Either those are just empty words to fill time during a press conference or the man really believes it.
One of the main jobs, if not the main job, of being a coach is finding ways to motivate players. Sometimes, different teams react better/worse to different types of motivation. That is ultimately the responsibility of Phillip Fulmer. Period.
Additionally, the coach is also responsible for identifying and bringing in recruits who will best fit his program and style of motivation. A player who is "coachable" at one program may not be at another.
Don't buy into this propaganda. Many of us, while we appreciate what Fulmer has done for the program, realize it's time to move forward by getting a coach who will make our team
competitive again...and who will be willing to adapt when the need arises.
cgbtn writes:
If the coach has no impact on the outcome of games, he should not merit a $2 million salary. The comments from mssrs Coleman and Peebles remind me of what Johnny Majors used to say: "I have no responsibilty to motivate the players. They have to motivate themselves."
BuckFama writes:
Yeah guys, these fellas who ACTUALLY PLAYED football and ACTUALLY HAVE FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE OF FULMER AND THE PROGRAM are obviously out of their minds and have been hip-mo-tized in order to say things with which you disagree.
Remember : athletes who have played football at the NCAA and NFL level are propagandists. Fans who post to fansites know the real truth, and their opinions are the opinions that warrant merit.
doctorvol#211700 writes:
thank you to Reggie and Antron for caring and providing some insight. most of us are clueless/experts.
waterskier3#226480 writes:
I for one appreciate the input from former players. I think they are right in that this generation of kids are used to instance gratification and that shows when they work hard and things don't work out. however other coaches are dealing with it and succesful so fulmer needs to also.... that's the bottom line... anything less than 9 wins and he will be fired next year...
DannyVol writes:
Again, Fulmer's contributions to the University should be appreciated by every member of the Tennessee family and by every Volunteer fan. There is nothing negative in that statement.
But since I disagreed with the comments made by former UT players about the present abilities of Coach Fulmer, I have been called "ignorant" and "clueless".
Maybe as mere fans, especially those of us who want another coach, we don't quite understand the insignificance of our opinions. So let me ask a few questions to help clarify that:
1. Should we just be happy to wear orange on Autumn Saturdays?
2. Should we not worry about the state of the program even if it's been sliding downward for years?
3. Should we not worry about not winning an SEC title in nine years despite stocking the NFL with more players than any other program?
4. Should we keep our mouth shut even if we have been patient and held comment for a long time?
5. By wishing for another coach who will hopefully have a fresh, modern approach to the game, are we not being true Big Orange fans?
6. Do the opinions/statements of former players change the fact that we have not been competitive for years?
I have defended Fulmer on many occasions for several years and am not one of those fans who expect to win every game. However, I would like to expect us to have coaches with a solid gameplan and players who leave it all on the field, even in defeat.
Those debacles at Berkley and Gainsville were the final straw for me regarding Fulmer. Our coaches poorly prepared our players and our players and coaches quit in the 4th quarter of both games.
Two years ago, we were 5-6 and it was called
an "abberation". Last year, we barely escaped a bad Air Force team due to poor preperation. Then we were beaten in the bowl game by a much less talented Penn St. team -- due to poor preperation. This week we gave up 27 points and nearly 200 yds. rushing to an Arkansas State team that has been among the worst 1-A teams for the past 12 years. What's next?
I hope that we turn it around in the next two weeks before Georgia comes to town. However, if we prepare for Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky and even Vandy like we have during the past several years, it's going to be a long season and we will have a new coach next year. I'll take no pleasure from that because it will mean a hideous season.
Go Vols.
DannyVol writes:
No, I don't expect everyone to "go along with it". I expect that many fans think that Phillip Fulmer and Tennessee football are synonymous.
And don't kid yourself. Fulmer is a lot sharper, especially when it comes to his image, than you think. Behind that "awww shucks" persona is a man with a very keen business acumen.
As for the ex-players making comments, it would have carried a lot more weight if they had not attacked the spirit and mindset of the current players in a public forum. The current players bust their tails in practice just as much as any team has. To basically attack their charachter was just plain weak. It was without merit because it in no way accomplished anything positive. The only thing it accomplished was to deflect blame from Fulmer, thus my "PR" comment.
Don't come onto a site like this and expect everyone to go along with a status quo mentality that has led to the decline of the program.
mikeinknoxville writes:
Agree with reggies comments...I was nothing but a second string high school player who got on the field mainly on kick-offs and late in the game. For the first few games on the kick-off team I would run down in my lane and give it my best shot. It took a team-mate of mine Steve Chandler getting in my face before I started to run down the field with reckless abandon. Similar stuff goes on in most games. The great defenses have some real vocal leaders on the field. To me its not about who's to blame coaches or players...I am satisfied that the coaches will prepare the team well and I am equally satisfied that the players will reach down and find a little extra. We hear a lot about talent and maximizing talent..but on the field heart is the true maximizing agent.
DroopyDrawers writes:
Most of Fulmer's words are empty. He always says, "Dad-gum it, we missed a block there or we need to get better here."
He is a great recruitor because he always talks about the players family. People love to hear their own name.
Georgia is his biggest game in a long time.
Chief needs to step it up also.
I agree we do need leaders.
DannyVol writes:
The kids don't get paid 2 million a year. In theory, they are simply college students who also happen to play football. I think that very point was famously made by the Oklahoma St. coach a few days ago -- and most people aside from the media agreed. All these kids are responsible for is school, practice, games and being good citizens. Yes, they should be protected to some extent. I would want mine to be.
No one deflects blame from Fulmer? I see that everyday on this site and in the media. What are you doing? What was Coleman's point since he did it so publicly? The "P" in "PR" is "Public".
Since you have not read all of my posts, how do you know what I have mentioned? I used to defend Fulmer years ago when replacing him would have been premature. The truth is, a lot of people changed their minds about Fulmer recently -- and no, not just because of just wins and losses, but how bad we looked. These were not "any old losses". We did not look like we belonged on the same field.
If Coleman was concerned about the program and the attitudes of the players, was the best way to address it via the media? Maybe it would have been better to make an appearance in person to talk to the players face-to-face. To me, his concern seemed to be more about the way Fulmer is being perceived. I mean, the article does begin by saying what a fan of Fulmer he and others are.
No, I do not like the attacks made by the former players. (What does the time of my post have to do with anything? Not everyone is M-F, 9-5) Anyway, there were some articles about UT players "taking plays off". I think if you really watched the games, if you were being honest, you would have seen some quit in them Other than that, I did mention the coaches quit as well...like punting on fourth down inside of six minutes only to get scored on again anyway. That's quitting.
If you like Fulmer and want him to stay, fine. You have a lot of company in your opinion as do I in mine. But please, at least be honest about the fact that as Fulmer's seat gets hotter, you will see more and more of this...you guessed it...PR phooey.
DannyVol writes:
Okay, it's time to agree to disagree and move on. There's a camp that thinks Fulmer has "lost it" and a camp that thinks he is a victim of "cycle".
I still say it's PR, but have not convinced you, so it's time to stop talking about it.
I don't know how many times I have said, regardless of how people feel now, we should appreciate Fulmer for what he has done for the program. But, we are back where we atarted as a program when the Majors coup went down.
My apologies...12 hour shifts in the middle of the night for six months straight will make you sensitive to a lot of things.
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