FULMER - Due Respect!…..

#127
#127
LWSVOL said:
peoples perspectives are different..

93-98 record was 63-7 (won't see at UT again in our lifetime, you and me).

99-08 record was 85-39 (your words, "running it into the ground") which we all would love to have seen these last 15 years.

09-23 record has been 90-81 since Hamilton fired Fulmer. Debates will rage long after you and I are gone who is to blame for this period. You likely blame Fulmer while I will blame Hamilton / Haslam. Hamilton doesn't make it happen without Haslam blessing.

We are all different and opinions differ based on our knowledge learned.
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SEC coaching improved greatly > 2000, the 1990s were some of the worst stable of coaches in SEC and it skewed the record but that is part of it. Spurrier and Fulmer stood out at the time, as the HCs were upgraded throughout the SEC Fulmer and Spurrier to an extent, didn't look as great IMO. Also, like someone mentioned Cutcliffe was a stabling factor for a reeling Vol program until he wasn't..
 
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#129
#129
GoVols1961 said:
I think Fulmer deserves some credit for building that program as well. He had a lot to do with recruiting and coaching before he became the head coach.
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GoVols1961 said:
I think Fulmer deserves some credit for building that program as well. He had a lot to do with recruiting and coaching before he became the head coach.
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But doing it as CEO of the program is an entirely different type of responsibility. When a program dips a little, as it did in the early 2000s, rebuilding as the Head Coach requires a more rounded and thorough skill set. Many of Fulmer's staunchest defenders believe he would have gotten the program back to it's elite status, with those opinions being derived from nothing but gut feelings. There were no concrete data points that indicated we were going back up. In fact, having had 2 losing seasons of his last 4, it looked like the back end of his career would be mired in mediocrity.
 
#131
#131
My opinion of Fulmer is what you might call „ambivalent“. Definitely mixed. He did some great things and oversaw some great mistakes
 
#132
#132
BernardKingGOAT said:
But doing it as CEO of the program is an entirely different type of responsibility. When a program dips a little, as it did in the early 2000s, rebuilding as the Head Coach requires a more rounded and thorough skill set. Many of Fulmer's staunchest defenders believe he would have gotten the program back to it's elite status, with those opinions being derived from nothing but gut feelings. There were no concrete data points that indicated we were going back up. In fact, having had 2 losing seasons of his last 4, it looked like the back end of his career would be mired in mediocrity.
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Major college football allows no let up when you are at the top. When you lose the edge, it can take a long time to regain it. Momentum is EVERYTHING
 
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#133
#133
LWSVOL said:
Excuse me. They "pushed" for it. Campaigned for it. Lobbied the powers that be for him.
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All for some version of a united front. Pretty much what they do all the time over on campus. Even if it turns out to be a disaster. They assume most everyone will have short memories.
 
#135
#135
BernardKingGOAT said:
Yes, I am aware of the momentum factor. Sort of my point. There weren't any signs in 2008 that we were headed back to elite status with CPF
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The visible slide had been going on since the SEC title game loss to LSU in 2001. We were the proverbial frogs in a slowly heating pot of water and no one pulled the plug until the damage was severe
 
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#136
#136
I look forward to the day when the two great coaches of my lifetime can be discussed with admiration for what they accomplished and without bitter relitigation of their failings real or imagined. Both Majors and Fulmer achieved great things here, and I'm grateful for the experiences and memories their devotion to our alma mater gave me. I hope Heupel can be to my children what Majors and Fulmer were to me.
 
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#137
#137
I respect the heck of out player/coach Fulmer. I know HOW he got the HC job wasn't great, but it's hard to argue the results. That 92 team was humming along with him in charge and another program would have gotten him had we not made the change.

Johnny deserves all the credit in the world for getting us back to where we belonged. An absolute legend. But, as much as it sucked, making the change was the right move.

Fulmer being hired as AD shows how far behind our athletic department thinking about was at the time. It highlights how we were able to continually make terrible coaching hires.

Glad all this is behind us now and we have Danny and coach Heupel now. Bright days are back on Rocky Top.
 
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#138
#138
We should have given Fulmer a sabbatical.

Fulmer actually built the program; not Majors. Just look at the program one he became that OC.

He actually needs a statue at Neyland for all that he accomplished!
 
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#140
#140
#1fulmerite said:
We should have given Fulmer a sabbatical.
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No.

#1fulmerite said:
Fulmer actually built the program; not Majors. Just look at the program one he became that OC.
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ridiculous..... program is bigger than both of them combined.....2 deserving CFB HOF coaches, but neither of their success at UT was mutually exclusive of the other.

#1fulmerite said:
He actually needs a statue at Neyland for all that he accomplished!
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Yes, but 10 years from now.

John Currie was already despised and on his way out. Fulmer didn't have to prove anything to anyone, but he chose to jump back in the fray and he hired Pruitt.

At best Fulmer was remiss in his oversight as AD. Now isn't the time to venerate his accomplishments. Funny enough, had he not injected himself back into the fray around 2017, I'd think it was the perfect time to build his statue.
 
#141
#141
Both Majors and Fulmer are examples of great coaches who stayed just a bit too long. The game evolved faster than they could adapt. But it is hard to let a proven coach go when he isn’t ready to leave.
Georgia (as much as I hate to give them credit) was one of the few programs brave (or crazy) enough to ditch a good coach who wasn’t getting them over the top. And it has paid great dividends
 
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#142
#142
#1fulmerite said:
We should have given Fulmer a sabbatical.

Fulmer actually built the program; not Majors. Just look at the program one he became that OC.

He actually needs a statue at Neyland for all that he accomplished!
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Statue????🤭🤭🤭🤭 You're as deluded about Fulmer is he is about himself
 
#145
#145
Only two coaches in Tennessee Vols football history have won even a single national title. One of them was the General, who brought home three or four, depending on how you count them.

The other is Philip. He's not a rock star. He was a talented player, but as a lineman he was not in the limelight. As a head coach, he "only" won one national title (and two SEC crowns). He was linked in history with a fella, Spurrier, who always seemed to be one step ahead. And then he was a bust as AD.

In spite of that, the man is still the second-best coach in Vols football history. He won three-fourths of his games, even with a couple of bad years among the 16 seasons he was in charge.

Those of us who lived through his tenure owe the man some warm regard, which seems to be more than a significant cabal here are willing to grant. It hurts nothing to say, "thanks, Coach, we appreciate you." Doesn't take a statue. Just a bit of courtesy to someone who gave us nice things.

Thanks, Coach Fulmer. We appreciate what you did for us. Some of us remember.

Go Vols!
 
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#147
#147
VFL-82-JP said:
Only two coaches in Tennessee Vols football history have won even a single national title. One of them was the General, who brought home three or four, depending on how you count them.

The other is Philip. He's not a rock star. He was a talented player, but as a lineman he was not in the limelight. As a head coach, he "only" won one national title (and two SEC crowns). He was linked in history with a fella, Spurrier, who always seemed to be one step ahead. And then he was a bust as AD.

In spite of that, the man is still the second-best coach in Vols football history. He won three-fourths of his games, even with a couple of bad years among the 16 seasons he was in charge.

Those of us who lived through his tenure owe the man some warm regard, which seems to be more than a significant cabal here are willing to grant. It hurts nothing to say, "thanks, Coach, we appreciate you." Doesn't take a statue. Just a bit of courtesy to someone who gave us nice things.

Thanks, Coach Fulmer. We appreciate what you did for us. Some of us remember.

Go Vols!
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I could not agree more!

The money he has been paid is actually minuscule compared to the increase in value he brought to the University, especially the football program. If truth be told, we are still indebted to the man!

If not for Fulmer, we woul have two less SEC Championships and one less national title. The guy only had two losing seasons in 16 years as a coach! That’s all; just two! And, add in those two SEC championships and NC plus playing for two more SEC championships. We still owe the man! Bring to Neyland Stadium a statue and do more than just name a street after him!
 
#148
#148
VFL-82-JP said:
Only two coaches in Tennessee Vols football history have won even a single national title. One of them was the General, who brought home three or four, depending on how you count them.

The other is Philip. He's not a rock star. He was a talented player, but as a lineman he was not in the limelight. As a head coach, he "only" won one national title (and two SEC crowns). He was linked in history with a fella, Spurrier, who always seemed to be one step ahead. And then he was a bust as AD.

In spite of that, the man is still the second-best coach in Vols football history. He won three-fourths of his games, even with a couple of bad years among the 16 seasons he was in charge.

Those of us who lived through his tenure owe the man some warm regard, which seems to be more than a significant cabal here are willing to grant. It hurts nothing to say, "thanks, Coach, we appreciate you." Doesn't take a statue. Just a bit of courtesy to someone who gave us nice things.

Thanks, Coach Fulmer. We appreciate what you did for us. Some of us remember.

Go Vols!
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Well said.

He is a true Vol through and through. Been around him many times and never seen anything out of line. He is not arrogant or thinks he is better than you.

I've asked favors many times. Call someone sick or dying. He has responded everytime. Never said no to any request.
 
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#149
#149
Fulmer does deserve our respect for what he did on the field. However all any Vol fan needs to know was after he was gone, not nary a single other P5 program in the country was willing to make him their HC, not one wanted him!!

There's a reason for that. I'm not sure I know why or what the truth was behind it, however it's as much of his legacy as his NC win.
 
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#150
#150
Remy said:
Fulmer does deserve our respect for what he did on the field. However all any Vol fan needs to know was after he was gone, not nary a single other P5 program in the country was willing to make him their HC, not one wanted him!!

There's a reason for that. I'm not sure I know why or what the truth was behind it, however it's as much of his legacy as his NC win.
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Maybe he didn't want anything else. He was getting older.

He got some calls but did not pursue them. I know that happened.
 
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