Hamilton says backlash not a surprise : govolsxtra.com

Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton described the backlash from football coach Phillip Fulmer's ouster as "typical and anticipated".

That doesn't mean it was any easier to take.

"It's been tough because you get your personal emotions and personal feelings involved," Hamilton said Thursday. "You've got personal relationships crossing with professional obligations. I think those are the toughest decisions you have in any job."

Hamilton said he's responded to every fan e-mail he's received since Fulmer's dismissal was announced on Monday.

Hamilton said he's fine with being questioned - to a point.

"I don't mind when people question your decision," he said. "That's part of the process. I mind when people question my integrity because I know who I am."

Hamilton took ultimate responsibility for the Fulmer decision, but added that others, likely administrators and boosters, were mostly in agreement.

"The decisions were made with a lot of prayer, thought, conversations and analysis," Hamilton said. "This is not something that was made emotionally, overnight or without a lot of due process."

Hamilton said difficult decisions are often highly debated.

"There aren't many 80-20 or 90-10 decisions you make as an athletic director," Hamilton said. "To sit here and think there wouldn't be some backlash or some anger or some emotion would be saying that I had my head in the sand."

Hamilton was preparing for backlash whether or not he kept Fulmer.

"There would have been backlash if we had gone a different direction," he said. "I know that. It's not fun. It's one of the parts of my job I don't relish. But I accept that that's part of the equation."

Most of the criticism toward Hamilton concerns the timing of the announcement.

Instead of waiting until the end of the season, Hamilton decided a coaching change was necessary and, therefore, needed to be announced.

"I believe you don't live lies and once you make a decision you've got to live with that decision and you've got to look those individuals in the face everyday," Hamilton said.

Hamilton also maintained the announcement was made early so fans could celebrate Fulmer's 17-year coaching career.

Hamilton said he had an institutional commitment to go to the next phase: a coaching search.

"There's a slight advantage," Hamilton said of making the announcement immediately. "There may be some other coaching searches that come available in the next two or three weeks but at least today there are some individuals that know that the University of Tennessee is interested in them."

Expected backlash or not, Hamilton has learned plenty from the most significant week in his six-year tenure.

"The thing I think I've learned," he said, "is that there's no cookie cutter formula to any of this."