Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer is trying to stay afloat in Knoxville amid talk that he should retire or be fired.
That's prompting speculation of a possible return to UT by new Duke coach David Cutcliffe – Fulmer's former offensive coordinator.
Fulmer is on the hot seat because Tennessee is 3-4 – and in last place at 1-3 in the SEC, with a home game against No. 2 Alabama on Saturday. The offense, without Cutcliffe, has labored this season.
Cutcliffe called any theories or rumors that involved him returning to Tennessee “completely silly.”
The Vols, under Fulmer and with Cutcliffe, were 86-19 with two SEC titles and one national title. Without Cutcliffe, Fulmer's record is 64-30.
“I don’t think anything is going to happen to Coach Fulmer,” Cutclife said of his close friend and former boss. “I’m not even going to speculate on that. He’s such a good friend it would hurt me even to speculate.”
Cutcliffe said he understands why football watchers might connect his name back to the program that he left in December to coach at Duke.
“It’s because of my years at Tennessee,” Cutcliffe said. “That’s why it’s naturally talked about. But it’s not something I could even fathom. Like I said, Phillip Fulmer belongs at Tennessee. I wouldn’t say no or yes to either thought. I wouldn’t want to give credibility to either.”
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Vanderbilt 65, Tennessee 47, Jan. 24…
Signing day celebration at Neyland…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 164
rockytoptilidie writes:
I honestly think Clawson WILL be "sacrificed". Hell, I don't know. I do believe that WE (the fans) care more than the administration does...
volnbig11land writes:
No "offense" Cutcliffe, but I prefer you stay where you are.
Agree rockytoptilidie, Clawson will probably save cpf for one more year.
Then Chavis, then hammy, then ?????
blitzshoot writes:
No way is Cut coming back. I believe we have seen the problem is not so much the assitant coaches.
APATHY
shipperman#280095 writes:
You might be surprised. From what i have heard from some fairly credible sources, Fulmer is out. He may finish this season but he will have no more
SomeGuy writes:
Cut would be a huge improvement over Fulmer. But we can do better than Cut...
rockytoptilidie writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
blitzshoot writes:
Looking forward to see if UT actually puts an offensive line on the field. That would be a first.
fasteddief2010 writes:
I disagree with rockytoptillidie. JP wilson is not going to win the heisman (that will go to Colt McCoy) and our offense has finally come around and gotten adjusted to Coach Clawsons system. If you saw one of his press conferences, he stated that sometimes it took time for his system to work. This is one of those times. You cannot expect a team to adjust right away with things such as injuries and new playing positions. Stay the course. The VOLS turned the corner and we will ROLL the tide on Saturday. Yes, we will beat bama!
Their statement of WE QUIT last year will be a motto that I hope is hanging on the bulletin board in our locker room right now.
blitzshoot writes:
hope you'er right but 13-3 over miss st last sat night
didn't show me a lot.
This is the best team they will face all year. They should make this their bowl game and play lights out.
vscebail#247785 writes:
It seems that the "APATHY" at the top has trickled all the way down to the fans. How telling is it that they still have tickets available TO THE TENNESSEE/ALABAMA GAME four days before kick-off!
shipperman#280095 writes:
At least you have your dreams my friend. However come Saturday night it will be nightmares.
BAMA 35 UT 13
Americanvols68 writes:
The only positive change I see in the offense is a quarterback that can get the ball to the receiver.Also one that will stand in the pocket longer than 2 seconds.
Other than that everything is status quo.
b16VOLster writes:
There are for sure better options than Coach Cut out there. I just hope we dont have to sit through the football version of Buzz Peterson before we find Bruce Pearl.
yeavols#228407 writes:
What a bunch of media hype to create a story..garbage! And NO NO NO NO NO..Cutcliffe can stay where he is..we are looking for changes in the UT family..not the UT family re-arranging chairs in their living room for the fans. NOW GO GET A COACH and COUGH up the money..I just donated to UT yesterday when they called me on cell phone.
orangeinbama writes:
"Cutcliffe called any theories or rumors that involved him returning to Tennessee “completely silly.” "
SO glad HE said that. Now if we can get Spurrier to say the same thing it might get that idiotic thought out of some peoples minds & save some bandwidth on here...Spurrier's coming to UT is sillier than Cut's return.....
VolinCalif writes:
I don't think Clawson's dismissal would be a sacrifice. He's had a year to get his Off. into place. Auburn saw the writing on the wall and took action. Not that Clawson is a bad coach but it's a lot like a coach moving into the NFL for him coming to a 1A school. WE have Two great examples of how tough that chance can be right here in the SEC with SC and Aba. There is a reason why there are several Div's in college ball. Just like Weight classes in a fighter.
VolinCAlif
utwick writes:
I think Cut would love to come back to Tennessee especially at Fulmer's salary. It would be a large financial boost. Although Cut would help with the discipline, as head coach it might be hard for him to excell at coaching offense and/or QBs and still be the head coach. Very few head coaches can do this and Cut is not a young man and has had heart issues. If a change is made, UT needs to move fast and offer significant money to the candidate. At the same time, word his contract so that we aren't stuck with him if he doesn't produce and end up with a hefty buyout.
shipperman#280095 writes:
Spurrier won't say that. He is a VERY likely possibility for a short term coach
posivol writes:
winning the Special Olympics... Even if you're bragging about being "first", you're still a retard.
i call this the pot calling the kettle black.please remove rockytop from your user id,you have forever lost the right right to all things vols.other than being used as a tackling dummy,i see no purpose in your existance.
wildberry14 writes:
he wasnt saying that wilson is going to win the heisman. he was still talking about florida, which has the current heisman, tebow
utwick writes:
Addendum to my previous post at 12:55pm. Just to clarify things, I am not in favor of Cut coming to UT as HC. If Fulmer goes, I hope UT doesn't drag it's feet like it did in the hiring of Clawson. They need to move on it like Texas did with the hiring of Muschamp.
rockytoptilidie writes:
Thanks Wildberry, sorry for any confusion.
Posi, need a nipple, son?
byobbio writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
TnVolFaninSmyrna writes:
Did I miss the boat or did the KNS just say that Tennessee won a NC with Cutcliffe? If memory serves me correctly, Cut cut a trail to Oxford and left Randy Sanders calling the plays. Now, it can be debated whether or not Sanders used Cut's gameplan, but adjustments had to have been made during the game, which fell on Sanders' shoulders. To give Cut credit for helping win a lot of games is just, but to say he won a NC at Tennessee is pure blaspemy.
shoalcreekvol writes:
Blitz, you're right aobut the apathy. I don't know if you go to home games or not but apathy really shows on Saturdays during the pre-game show when the stadium should be rockin'.
FYI the Miss St game was not 13-3, it was 34-3.
shoalcreekvol writes:
Fairly credible sources say he is out?
Elaborate....
eduardo writes:
Brian Kelley at UC is the obvious choice. He is like Coach Bruce Pearl!
99gator writes:
i don't know what to make of clawson yet. of all the people on the tenn staff, he may deserve the most amount of slack.
do i think tenn is playing as well as they can offensively.....no.
but,
1. i don't think their offensive line is very good.
2. they are breaking in new qb's in a new system.
3. they don't have a playmaker on offense. i went on and on about this one in the offseason. mention gerald jones and lucas taylor all you want.....but, that's not going to cut it as a playmaker in the sec. tenn has to score on 10 play drives consistently because they have no big play players. yes, they may get one once in a blue moon, but they don't have a constant big play threat even to use as a decoy.
4. i am of the belief, as others have suggested, that clawson is not exactly getting to call all the shots on that side of the ball for whatever reason. i think the fact that there is a reason why a coach who no one had ever heard of from richmond was given that job. it could be that fulmer would be able to control him to some extent.
bigorangeslice writes:
Fulmer should call Tuberville.....they could compare notes on the most effective way to throw assistants under the bus.
Afterwards, they could also compare notes on the most effective way to stand on the sideline
shipperman#280095 writes:
That would be career suicide for someone for it to be told, so I would rather leave it at that
RockyTop1 writes:
Yes I can see it now, run run and pass. The first 25 plays are ALWAYS the same with Cut. Simlpy, NO Thanks!!
RockyTop1 writes:
Simply...that is..sorry for thew mis-spelling!! GO VOLS!!
shipperman#280095 writes:
Cut was basically responsible for the NC. He coached every game except the bowl game.
EyeNoEvrthng writes:
Coach Fulmer will be here as long as Jim Haslam wants him here . ( Don't you novice fans get it ?)
commonsense32 writes:
I will say that Cut is not a good choice. That being said Fulmer is gone, win lose or draw. The wheels have already been set into motion and there is nothing any of you Fulmerites can do to stop it.... Thank God.
With all of that being said, I agree with firing a coach in the middle of the season if it will accelerate your coaching search, although I think the list is already narrowed to at the most 3 guys, and I hope Muschamp wins that battle.
Whether any of you believe this or not is irrelevant, because in 6 long weeks or hopefully sooner Hamilton will announce that Fulmer will be "promoted to assistant A.D. and for those of you who think it will be a couple of rough seasons thats fine, because we have had some pretty crappy seasons for the last few years. I am fine with rebuilding. Rodriguez will have Michigan contending within 3 years. Wait and see.
blitzshoot writes:
I have heard a rumor that if he loses to Bama, he announces his resignation next week, that will be efffective after the last game. If he wins, it will not be announced until the season is complete.
EyeNoEvrthng writes:
NO ! Tee Martin ( a "team" player ) was responsible ! After 4 years , of losses to Florida and a "give away" to Nebraska in the 1997 Orange Bowl with a overrated "self proclaimed" one-man-team QB !
DadwasaVol writes:
Many, many posters on here wanted Cut gone. I hope they now appreciate this year's improvement in the OC position.
shipperman#280095 writes:
You are on the right track.
Or after the S Carolina game
EyeNoEvrthng writes:
You are correct . The players have already been told by the coaching staff. I talked to one of the Vols today.
blitzshoot writes:
No, I meant 13-3 until the fourth qtr when E. Berry went off. Just stating the fact that 13 points against Miss St , to me, did not show an offense the was progressing, rapidly anyway. I think Bama will try their best to jump out early and often. Seems obvious to everyone posting. I just hope it's obvious to CPF.
blitzshoot writes:
SportingNews mentioned him as well about a week ago.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Is it not speculating to say, paraph.."I THINK Coach Fulmer will stay."
"He is such a good friend". Keep your enemies closer than your friends.
TJ would just as soon have Tiny Tim as Cutcliff.
The average fan on the street in most SEC blogs thinks Phil is gone.
But what the he## do they and we know. I'll be waiting for Santa Claus in 64 days or so.
Back to digging more post holes for the deck in the woods.
blitzshoot writes:
agree 100%. Fulmer has always hired "down" to protect himself. IMO.
shipperman#280095 writes:
You are fuller of phooey than even WELOVETENNESSEEVOLS is. Geesh
Singaporehillbilly writes:
Do you have season tickets? The telling part is posters who complain about the crowds and they never attend or poster who suggest no attending the games when they are not season ticket holders.
blitzshoot writes:
Whoa nellie...I wouldn't go as far as WeLoveTennesseeVols.
That's stretching it.
EyeNoEvrthng writes:
After the Manning "give away" to the Packers Sunday, "Mr. Humble" talked about the team "we" and "us" played poorly ( just like he did at UT ) after single handedly giving the game to Green Bay !
beef4davols writes:
in response to rockytoptilidie:
"is like winning the Special Olympics... Even if you're bragging about being "first", you're still a retard."
WOW...just go to he11 after that statement.
blitzshoot writes:
I hear a lot about him. Good record. But can he adapt to the SEC level of play?
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