Posted: Yesterday 11:18 PM
The Phillip Fulmer Era Is Officially Over at UT..........
There may not be an announcement next week or even the next, although I'm fairly certain it will come within that time. The Phillip Fulmer Era is now officially over at UT. Tonight's embarrassing loss with fans pouring out of the stadium in the 3rd quarter, confirms the total disgust of the entire Vol Nation.
Fulmer has no one to blame but himself for tonight's loss or for the demise of his regime. The fans were there early & loud tonight. It was the loudest Neyland Stadium had been all season long & perhaps as loud as it was when we played & beat Florida in 1998.
However, there were more Alabama fans at Neyland Stadium than at any time in history. Had they known tickets would be so cheap, there would have been thousands more there. Tickets were going for $10 or less each, & the only buyers were Bama fans. It was a pathetic turnout for this classic rivalry on the part of the home team's fans, but those that were there were loud & proud. Gaping holes in the north & east upper decks were evident thruout the game, & many rows on the west side lower deck stayed empty the entire second half, as fans began to leave at the half, even though we were still within 10 points at halftime.
Fulmer was far too loyal to inferior assistant coaches. He was far too loyal to seniors & juniors who were less talented than sophomores & freshmen, & who failed to provide needed leadership. He simply has worn out his welcome among UT fans. Apathy has set in on The Hill.
The only game left on the schedule that is a reasonably sure win is Homecoming against Wyoming. The stadium may be half empty for that one, even though it won't be on TV except by pay-per-view. One wag asked me if that meant that would pay UT fans to watch it. That's how bad it has gotten in Big Orange Country.
Saban beat UT with a team made up of mostly freshmen & sophomores, a team that has virtually no talent beyond the starting 22, a team that has the least depth of any Bama team in history, a team that should still be reeling from probation but that is on a path to the national championship game.
Mike Hamilton will have to act soon to stop the bleeding before more Big Orange blood is spilled. He has the full backing of Dr. John Petersen to pull the trigger & get a new man at the helm for 2009. An announcement will be prior to the end of the season that Fulmer is either retiring or resigning & being bought out. He will basically be forced out & paid off, whatever it is called, effective at season's end.
Fulmer has won only 1 out of the last 10 games he has hosted at Neyland against Top 10 teams. It would be an abomination to let him hang around to try to win more games than the General did. His national championship of a decade ago is now a distant, hollow memory. He is a shell of what he used to be as a coach. He is a nice man, a decent man, but has now outlived his usefulness to his University. It is time for him to move on & for him to realize it himself.
UT's top choice has already been contacted & been apprised of our interest in him. An all-out effort will now be made to secure him privately through his agent, even though a search firm will ostensibly be retained to vet all potential candidates. He is a top name in football, a top coach who is a proven winner. UT will settle for nothing less, no coordinators or up & coming head coaches from smaller schools.
Look for him to be in place in plenty of time to salvage recruiting, & also look for him to challenge for the SEC Championship each of the next 2 seasons. UT has 8 games at home in 2009 & plays 9 of its 12 regular season games in Tennessee in 2010, with 7 of them in Knoxville, & 1 each in Nashville & Memphis, so the Vols have the most favorable schedule they've had to win it all the next 2 years.
