August just won't go away.
You attend SEC football media days in late July, get all revved up for college football and then have to wade through what has become the longest month of the year. This August seems interminable.
It's just the way the calendar falls, cruelly depriving us of college football the last weekend of August, making us wait all the way to September.
The wait is intensified by the expectations. You don't have to leave the city limits to find them.
New eras don't come along often at the University of Tennessee. Phillip Fulmer was UT's coach for 16 full seasons. His predecessor, Johnny Majors, was the coach for another 16 seasons.
You measure the new coach's tenure in months. Although he hasn't been on the job nine months, you couldn't tell it by the headlines.
He has angered opposing coaches and fans while endearing himself to large segments of an orange-tinted fan base that was ready for a coach more colorful than careful. He has hired and fired a strength and conditioning coach, then hired another one. He has tried to fire an administrator, only to find out he didn't have the firepower.
He has been better at hiring than firing.
UT fans were initially more excited about the big-name staff the head coach hired than the head coach himself. Don't forget: he took less money, so he could give more to his assistants.
Less cash, but more brash: That's the new UT coach.
You know he can hire. You know he can recruit. You know he can make a tape recorder purr and a reporter's pen pulsate.
And you want to believe he can coach.
His mentor, Southern California coach Pete Carroll, swears by him. That's a good start.
The anticipation for this season isn't relegated to the local guys.
The SEC is going for a fourth consecutive national championship. Florida might be the favorite, but don't forget about Alabama.
An Ole Miss quarterback not named Manning made the cover of Sports Illustrated. Jevan Snead also is on a Manning-like course to the NFL.
UT isn't the only conference team with a new man in charge. Former Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen got the head-coaching job at Mississippi State, thanks to a recommendation from Heisman Trophy quarterback Tim Tebow. Gene Chizik lost so much at Iowa State that Auburn hired him.
Brace yourself for another Tebow reference.
Have you heard he might be the best college football player ever? And you know about the promise, right?
I thought so.
But Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is the most recent Heisman winner, and he's back, too. So is Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, who is Heisman worthy as well.
You want to see great quarterback play, watch the Big 12. You want to see quarterbacks wish they were playing in the Big 12, watch the SEC, which might outdo itself on defense this season.
You want evidence that the Mountain West deserves to be in the BCS, watch the Big East. Then call your congressman.
The Big Ten has something to prove, too, and it won't have to wait until the Rose Bowl. USC comes calling on the Buckeyes in September.
Matt Barkley might be USC's next great quarterback. He also might not beat out Aaron Corp.
This season isn't just about the kids. It's also about Penn State's Joe Paterno and Florida State's Bobby Bowden.
Paterno wins games without attending them. Bowden loses games he won.
How long can college football's marathon men last?
Answer: Maybe longer than Steve Spurrier if South Carolina's offense goes belly-up again.
Another answer: Maybe longer than Notre Dame's Charlie Weis if he can't capitalize on a more favorable schedule and a more experienced team.
The former coach circling overhead is Tommy Tuberville, the second Auburn coach to be fired within five years of an unbeaten season. He wants to coach again, and that's no Aggie joke.
Fulmer also is circling. He says he's looking for a big stage, where he could compete for a national championship.
Didn't he just have that? And didn't he go 5-7?
But this is no time for old news. A new season is fewer than two weeks away.
That's a hint, August. You've overstayed your welcome.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 29
coxo921 (Inactive) writes:
Less Cash more Re-Hash should be the line/motto for KNS...the retread of story lines is almost laughable.
dvhill100 writes:
True words. The only good thing about August is it is closer to September. I am so ready for the season to begin.
murrayvol writes:
"Didn't he just have that? And didn't he go 5-7?" Ouch!
Incoming!
qspr91iz writes:
I am confident that CLK will lead us to a 8 win season and a bowl win. I also believe we will get a top 5 recruiting class in February including some big uglies named Uko, Leifheit, and Stone.
GO VOLS!!!
Volfan1 writes:
"You've overstayed your welcome."
And so have you, Adams.
mdvol writes:
Could be worse. Could still be April. Do we have a starting QB yet?
Lean_and_Hungry writes:
Gerald Jones's injured ankle really,really hurts...but then again, we have no one who can throw it to him anyway
doubledown writes:
As a good exercise, watch Pete Carroll's video's on youtube.com about what he's like on gameday, with the players, with his staff, etc.. This is going to be a nice change with Kiffin on board.. Go Vols!
ncvol17 writes:
I like Adams..but then again I look at UT from outside the shadows of the East Tn Mtns..Where we see a real life perspective of my alma mater and the rest of the SEC in the clear light of reality...GO VOLS through the prism of reality..
FWBVol writes:
OK, John, we get the point you don't like Phillip Fulmer. This is four or five times in the last week you've taken a cheap shot at him. I support Lane Kiffin, and maybe it was time for a change, but enough with blind siding Fulmer. He's not in the game this year so you can pack away the poison pen until Lane upsets you.
surfmaster writes:
ESPN reporting Gerald Jones out 4-6 weeks. Has anyone else heard about this? I haven't read any news about it on this site. I realize its an oxymoron to use "news" and "govols.com" in the same sentence.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/st...
the10sevol writes:
john adams seems to be firing the zingers tonight. tequila sunday, maybe?
GBO
MDiv writes:
Hey Adams: Why the pot shot at Fulmer? In case you haven't noticed, Lane Kiffin is the new head coach at UT.
vol_chaz writes:
Adams hearts Tebow...ok, we get it...
rjrich#235198 writes:
Someone call the Witch Doctor - we need his help! Gators are "cheating" again. When Tebow runs a toss sweep or screen pass he's yelling "HALT THIEF" and the running backs are taking off - one ran all the way to Miami before he felt safe. (Heard Calipari watched the video and went into a seizure!) No Fair!! GO VOLS!!
CT_VOL writes:
It's articles like this that make August feel "endless"!
JohnsonCity_George writes:
Make a reporters pen pulsate? I'm going to puke.....
DannyVol writes:
Wrong. Adams is the only one who sucks. He is petty, short-sighted and his attempts at playing the devil's advocate are embarrassingly sophomoric. To summarize, he is a poor writer.
allvol32 writes:
I give KNS and GVX a lot of credit for doing what they do as well as they do. ESPN is one of the premiere broadcast giants and it just made a huge investment in the SEC.
KNS is just one of many struggling small to mid market newspapers making a valiant effort to survive.
How many posters on this site subscribe to the newspaper? 90% of us are just sponging off of the free content that KNS has provided for us.
Best of luck KNS/GVX - I hope you guys are always around - agree or disagree with the editorial content but Knoxville wouldn't be the same without your presence.
allvol32 writes:
Do you subscribe to the paper Chuck? If you're that dissatisfied with the free content on this website then I suggest that you not waste your time reading it - or complaining about it!
CrankE writes:
"This August seems interminable."
This columnist is interminable.
"he can make a ...reporter's pen pulsate." (if you know what I mean...) Just like Chris Mathews, I guess.
"Brace yourself for another Tebow reference." Brace? Given your unrequited bromance with Teebow, I'm surprised you don't use lyrics from Meat Loaf's, "I Would Do Anything For Love" in each column you write.
"Fulmer also is circling. He says he's looking for a big stage, where he could compete for a national championship.
Talk about CIRCLING!
"But this is no time for old news." (...he writes after regurgitating weeks and months old headlines)
That's a hint John; You've overstayed your welcome.
VOLfanstuckinFL writes:
Tell me about it. I have been in Afghanistan for 5 months and this is the longest month I have had as of yet, maybe because I come home next month. The only regret I have is I won't get to see the look on the gator fans faces when UT rolls through the swamp and gives them thier one loss. GO VOLS!!!
gnm53108 writes:
When was he welcome?
DC_Vol writes:
Allvol32,
I agree with you 100%. How anyone can complain about receiving free coverage of our beloved Vols is beyond me? KNS could easily make this a paysite.
I think the KNS staff does a great job of keeping us up to date on UT football! Yes even Adams. I don't always agree with what he writes, but I respect a man who tells his honest opinion despite the backlash of public opionion. Whether you admit it or not or a agree or not, Adams is a big reason we have Kiffin as our head coach right now. Just from observation, a Kiffin coached team appears to place more focus on recruiting, more competition for playing time and overall provided a renewed hopeful spirit by the fan base.
What other writers would have challenged the mediocre status quo of UT Football the past several years? Whether you like Adams or not, you must admit, it took great courage to stand up to the Fulmer football machine and demand a change.
I am fan of Fulmer and appreciated his 13-0 National Championship season, but it was time for a change. I am also very excited to see what Kiffin will do! Go Vols!!!!
madmax22 writes:
Do you ever think why the most unathletic sportswriters (i.e John Adams, Paul Finebaum) think they are experts on the game. I doubt either one could make first team on an eight year old pee wee team when they were in college.
madmax22 writes:
Actually they did make it a paysite and it failed. They had to start providing it for free in order to get people come here.
CrankE writes:
madmax22; That's exactly right.
I've found it interesting that KNS claims journalistic neutrality on the one hand, yet paints this entire site in Big Orange on the other.
On the one hand, perfectly happy to bash UT like a Finebaum wanna-be. On the other, perfectly happy to use the image of UT and the colors to draw in advertising money.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I certainly agree with the part about Finebaum and Fulmer, but I confess this is the first time I've heard Finebaum referred to as a Vol fan(;-P)! If he is, he surely seems to hide it well. But maybe you were joking. If so, good one!
brokebackvol writes:
Worst thing that ever happened to the KNS was when the Knoxville Journal ceased publication. Now there is no real competition for the stories of UT sports, and we the fans are the poorer for it.
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