Did anyone ever try to hire Fulmer away?

#126
#126
Backwards K said:
Y'all are a bunch of idiots. Fulmer loved his University, loved his job and didn't want to go anywhere else. He was happy and SUCCESSFUL at Tennessee. Even in his worst stretch (2000s as defined by you experts) he went to the SECCG three times.

If you are glad UT fired him, I hope you have enjoyed the past 5 years. But, I don't understand the hate piled on a man who played at UT, coached at UT and brought the program to its most successful run since the early 1950s.

The majority of the folks who spend so much time piling on Fulmer are the same ones who loved Lane Kiffin and Tyler Bray.
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Don't waste your time. You can not reason with the Anti-Fulmer crowd.
 
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#127
#127
volfanecs said:
He can also take credit for recruiting the solid program that he "inherited".
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He was also a good offensive line coach and off. co-ordinator. Listen, he deserves both the credit and the blame for the program under his watch. I try to be objective, and objectivity is in short supply here.
 
#129
#129
1972 Grad said:
He was also a good offensive line coach and off. co-ordinator. Listen, he deserves both the credit and the blame for the program under his watch. I try to be objective, and objectivity is in short supply here.
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There is plenty of objectivity...as long as you agree with the Anti-Fulmer crowd.
 
#132
#132
This still going on?

I doubt anyone ever tried to hire Fulmer away for the simple fact that there was no reason for them expect him to go. He was already one of the highest paid coaches in the business, coaching at a top 10 school, his alma mater. What would another college hope to offer him to leave? The only jobs out there possibly more enticing than the one he had were in the NFL and back then, you usually had to have pro experience to be considered. And since Fulmer did not and since his perceived strength was his recruiting, I don't see why many NFL teams would have been interested in him.
 
#134
#134
oregonvol said:
This still going on?

I doubt anyone ever tried to hire Fulmer away for the simple fact that there was no reason for them expect him to go. He was already one of the highest paid coaches in the business, coaching at a top 10 school, his alma mater. What would another college hope to offer him to leave? The only jobs out there possibly more enticing than the one he had were in the NFL and back then, you usually had to have pro experience to be considered. And since Fulmer did not and since his perceived strength was his recruiting, I don't see why many NFL teams would have been interested in him.
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Also, teams wanted the next YOUNG coach with new ideas. It worked so well for us when we tried. it.
 
#135
#135
I'm frequently considered a Nega-Vol and hater, but it baffles me how so few can see that Fulmer did so many great things for the football team from continuing the strong recruiting and building of the program he inherited (regardless of how he inherited it). He recruited some unbelievably talented classes and for years was able to pick up the pieces UT needed year in and year out. He was able to keep the shelves stocked and plenty in reserve to fill in as players left. He guided some unbelievably talented offenses and defenses and special teams were never a worry for many of his years here. He's truly HOF worthy and he did win a NC here, for most of us on here it's the only one we've ever seen.

He also let things slide around the mid '00s and everything began unraveling. Recruiting classes slipped, holes weren't filled. The play became sloppy, etc.

Just because he did good for awhile doesn't mean he made mistakes down the road. And, just because he made mistakes down the road, it doesn't mean he was a horrible, waste of a coach for all his time here.
 
#139
#139
CPF's tenure as head coach at UT can be compared to atta-boys and ah-****s. He had a good stack of each built up. As the rules say, 1 ah-**** = 10 atta-boys. CPF lost a lot of respect for the way he handled the last few seasons... that will be part of his legacy, arguing won't change history.
 
#140
#140
Fulmer made UT a power house period. He was the top coach in college in the mid 90's. He is the reason UT is UT in this era. That being said I myself fired him many times while watching them on TV. But I got a lot of love for Phil and I know Volnation does to if you been around awhile. I see the same hunger in Butch as I did in Phil ...We have hope folks hang on.
 
#141
#141
majorvol said:
Fulmer made UT a power house period. He was the top coach in college in the mid 90's. He is the reason UT is UT in this era. That being said I myself fired him many times while watching them on TV. But I got a lot of love for Phil and I know Volnation does to if you been around awhile. I see the same hunger in Butch as I did in Phil ...We have hope folks hang on.
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Oh, we could argue this all day long. Majors built the program up to a point that Fulmer took over. There are two questions I always ask myself when I judge a coach's overall success, and legacy.

1. What was the state of the program when he was hired or promoted?

2. What was the state of the program when he was fired or departed?

If you compare their hiring and firing dates, under Fulmer the program took a few small steps backward. Under Majors, it took a giant leap forward.
 
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#142
#142
touch44 said:
Carolina Panthers in 99
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That's the one. Carolina did make a run at him after the NC year. Fowler and co. speculated quite a bit about it on Gameday and the College Football Awards show/Heisman show that year.
 
#143
#143
TNnative said:
Oh, we could argue this all day long. Majors built the program up to a point that Fulmer took over. There are two questions I always ask myself when I judge a coach's overall success, and legacy.

1. What was the state of the program when he was hired or promoted?

2. What was the state of the program when he was fired or departed?

If you compare their hiring and firing dates, under Fulmer the program took a few small steps backward. Under Majors, it took a giant leap forward.
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Which only shows that one coach hung on for too long or had hit a dry spell. You also leave out the fact that Majors was 1-3 post-Phil in 1992 on as talented a team as we had in those days with Shuler under center. I love Johnny, but he lost that team himself with his own security issues.
 
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#144
#144
burntorangeVOLffle said:
Exactly. When Fulmer was a "hot" coach there wasn't an internet tracking every coaching rumor across the country. CPF wasn't going to throw his name around like Franklin did or take interviews as a negotiation tactic like Gundy. End of the day though, he wasn't going to leave TN for another college job. I'm not sure how much interest he really had in an NFL job.
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^^^ This^^^ He didn't put himself out there, I do think schools put out "feelers" for him but I think it was pretty well known he wasn't leaving TN so I don't think you heard much about it in the news. I do think he could have went to a number of other places in his prime if he wanted to.
 
#145
#145
I remember sitting in the stands in Tempe when we were winning the national championship, and there was the guy sitting a couple of rows behind us yelling for Phil's head on a platter. Just as halftime started and his real ranting and raving began, I turned around and explained to him that I had driven all the way across the country to watch this football game and he was completely ruining the experience for me and the others around us. He argued saying that Phil is the worst coach in college football. I agreed and said, "obviously you are correct since he is the only man to coach a team to an undefeated season this year and is winning the national championship game as we speak."

He started to argue back but the other people around started to clap so he backed down and shut up. My point is that haters gonna hate! Phil was a great coach for a good while. He may have stuck around too long, but that does not negate the good he did. Of course other schools were interested, but they knew better than to even try (was anyone trying to hire Bowden away?).
 
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#146
#146
majorvol said:
Fulmer made UT a power house period. He was the top coach in college in the mid 90's. He is the reason UT is UT in this era. That being said I myself fired him many times while watching them on TV. But I got a lot of love for Phil and I know Volnation does to if you been around awhile. I see the same hunger in Butch as I did in Phil ...We have hope folks hang on.
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Florida State and Nebraska were the best 2 college football teams of the 1990's by a wide margin. .890 and .868 winning percentage respectively. From there it drops to Marshall, Florida, an then Tennessee at .813 percent. I think that Fulmer would rank behind Bowden, Osborne, and Spurrier in the mid 1990's.
 
#148
#148
"Phil can get a job anywhere". Trouble is no one would touch him with a ten foot pole. Outlaws for players, no discipline whatsoever and rampant drug usage ........ for some reason no one wanted those things that seemed to be associated with him.
 
#149
#149
LookinUp said:
"Phil can get a job anywhere". Trouble is no one would touch him with a ten foot pole. Outlaws for players, no discipline whatsoever and rampant drug usage ........ for some reason no one wanted those things that seemed to be associated with him.
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Fulmer coached in an era when Tennessee won. Sad young fans didnt get to see that but no doubt CBJ will renew that.
 
#150
#150
I think he got offered the East Tennessee job but said no. He is serving as some kind of consultant to them.
 
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