I am not defending Fulmer, but I am very fond of him. He is essentially the only coach I knew growing up a Vol fan. Everyone has that favorite guy that they remember when they attended or watched their first Vol game. My first recollection is watching those "orange guys" running through a T. (Exact words at 3 years old)
However, I have 2 things that people see as loyalism or not facing reality, but I feel they deserve some truth.
1. I think that Fulmer showed in his past that he could always rebound when seasons (W-L Wise) went rough. Just go through his W-L Records year by year. Another thing is this area was recruiting. Yes it was failing big time. Remember everyone loving Kenny O'neal as this awesome JUCO? People had hesitance towards CP as well. However, Fulmer's last class was on its way up. He had a QB to build around and Boyd prolly would have been a 4 year starter. Can't say that definitively because we don't know.
2. (And this was my biggest problem) Name one person that was equally qualified or better than Fulmer to replace him? You can't say Kiffin because there were certain unknowns in the Hiring process. After his first season, VN felt great. Hell, I did too. But, a HC is just there for Coaching. He is also there for compliance, loyalty, and being there for UT. Now ADs across the country are supposed to have a list of coaches to hire if they become open to looking for a new coach. I think Hamilton messed it up if he decided to start looking the way he did. Not one person he interviewed had any track record equal or better to Fulmer's last 5 years. His last 5 years is the generally the average of what folks said his decline started. (Once again, people argue 2001 and some say 2003 or 05. I don't care just making an average of it.)
In conclusion, I agree, had we kept him and averaged 8 wins a season the last 4 years, people would be clamoring for why not firing him. However, I think we would not see the fiscal effects and what has happened. We wouldn't see the attrition we have seen. We wouldn't see the roller coaster of emotion we have seen. Kiffin would have been the perfect OC HC in waiting. Why? Because he was an outsider. I never liked we gave him the keys to the car and said take off. I only liked him until after season 1. The nail in the coffin for Fulmer was hiring the wrong OC. It came out that Clawson was gonna be the unofficial Head Coach in Waiting to take over in 4 or 5 years. So around now, Fulmer would be gone or on his way out. Can you really say the last 4 years were better than keeping Fulmer? Fulmer was fired up. Hell, if I was at my job for that long and they approached me about firing, I would do whatever possible to keep my job. I really think Fulmer would have shaken the staff and fixed it. But in the end, WE DON"T KNOW. Just like the "Keep Fulmer Crowd" DID NOT KNOW that the last 4 years happened the way it did.
Anyway, that is my 50 cents.
