John Hancock Article

[WA_Vol]

Tennessee's new staff taking shape: Two Woods to return to Big Orange Country

Nov. 17, 2005
By John Mark Hancock
Copyrighted – All Rights Reserved

KNOXVILLE -- Even as the 2005 football season still has two more regular season games to play for the Tennessee Volunteers, Coach Phillip Fulmer’s revamped coaching staff is already beginning to take shape for 2006. That staff will include not one, but two, people named Woods, one of whom is a former player for the Vols and the other that is a former UT coach.

According to very reliable sources within the U.T. Athletics Department, here is what will take place soon on The Hill:

* Sparky Woods, former South Carolina Head Coach, former Mississippi State Offensive Coordinator, and currently Mike Shula’s Running Backs Coach at Alabama, will become the new Running Backs Coach at Tennessee, returning home to his East Tennessee roots and replacing Trooper Taylor. A 30-year coaching veteran, Woods will bring a wealth of experience to the staff. He began his coaching career in the last year of Bill Battle’s ill-fated regime on The Hill in 1976, following his graduation from Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City. In addition to his other SEC stops, he has coached at Kansas, North Alabama, Iowa State, Appalachian State (where he was also a head coach), Memphis, and Virginia. He also coached for the New York Jets in the NFL. While he has been a big part of the success of the Crimson Tide running game since coming to Alabama, half of his coaching career has been coaching quarterbacks, the position he played at C-N, and that will be of benefit at UT as well. Woods pulled off the only modern victory South Carolina had ever had over the Vols until this year when he was head coach there in 1992, the loss many think sealed Johnny Majors’ fate, and was the Offensive Coordinator at Memphis when they won their only game over Tennessee and Peyton Manning in 1996.

* David Cutcliffe will be announced shortly as Tennessee’s new Associate Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, and Quarterbacks Coach. He fits the bill that Fulmer wants to develop quarterbacks and to revive an offense which has dropped to nearly dead last this season among all statistical categories for a major college program. They remain best of friends and he has Fulmer’s utmost confidence, which is important to him in these trying times.

* Cutcliffe and Fulmer will hire Thomas (“T.D.”) Woods, the former Tennessee Wide Receiver from Gallatin, and former Wide Receivers Coach at Ole Miss when Cutcliffe was the Head Coach there, as Wide Receivers Coach, a position that is sorely in need of an upgrade in coaching, as that unit has under-performed for several years despite having heavy talent. He will replace Pat Washington, who has been on probation since last season due to his lack of production.

* As previously reported, Offensive Line Coach Jimmy Ray Stephens is unlikely to be back. Fulmer himself will assist Greg Adkins with the OL, being a more hands-on offensive line coach. Fulmer is perhaps the best OL coach in America.

* The rumors about NFL assistants and former UT assistants Doug Marrone and Kippy Brown returning to Tennessee are untrue. Both like the NFL and the money they are making in that league without having to recruit, so don’t expect either one of them to come back, even though they have been contacted.

Taylor has run afoul of several coaches on the current staff, most notably Defensive Coordinator John Chavis, who has complained that his cheerleading style masks his deficiencies as a coach and feels like Taylor has gotten raises in salary that were unwarranted. Chavis, a no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners coach, has the respect of all of his players. Taylor, on the other hand, is starting to sound like Majors, complaining loudly that he was not given the salary increases he was promised when he turned down another job. The rift appears irreparable.

It appears the straw that broke the camel’s back for Taylor is when he went to Fulmer and requested that he be allowed to call the plays at the Notre Dame game when Sanders stepped down as Offensive Coordinator. Fulmer denied that request, telling him that he wasn’t experienced enough to do so, and Taylor is now scouting around for other coaching opportunities elsewhere.

While he has been a good recruiter for the Vols, his running backs unit has under-performed this year and their lack of discipline has led to numerous critical fumbles that have cost UT some games. In addition, he was given added responsibilities in the areas of player development and special teams, both of which have shown glaring deficiencies this year. Trooper’s personality and demeanor has caused dissension among the staff. Expect him to wind up at Oklahoma or some other Big 12 school.

Defensive Ends and Special Teams Coach Steve Caldwell has been linked to one of Tennessee’s most prominent athletic boosters, Duke Clement of Memphis, a wealthy UT alumnus and real estate developer who was a confidential witness in the NCAA’s case against Alabama, and who also testified in the criminal conviction of Crimson Tide booster Logan Young in federal court earlier this year. Clement’s wealth was pegged in the millions last year in the divorce. Clement is a personal friend of Fulmer’s, which may spell trouble for Caldwell. Clement was named last month as one of UT’s top boosters in terms of donations and influence.

Fulmer himself recommended that NCAA investigators interview Clement in the Young case. Young attempted to hire Caldwell as a coach at Alabama, according to Caldwell, and the two have remained close friends, which raises eyebrows in and of itself for a Tennessee coach to be having such a continued association.

The bulk of these changes should have been made long ago by Fulmer. The handwriting was on the wall when the Vols lost badly to Nick Saban’s LSU Tigers in the 2001 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, having knocked out LSU’s starting quarterback and tailback in the first half. Saban deftly outcoached UT that night. The Citrus Bowl win over a very average Michigan team that followed lulled Fulmer and some Vol fans into believing no changes were necessary, or perhaps he used it as cover to not make any changes since he didn’t want to do so.

The back-to-back collapses in the Peach Bowls in 2002 and 2003 to inferior ACC teams were absolute embarrassments. Alarms were being sounded all around that the UT football team was in deep trouble in terms of coaching. NFL scouts who regularly come to practices have said in private for years how poorly coached some of the units are. However, no changes were forthcoming.

Some thought the big win over Texas A&M in the last Cotton Bowl foreshadowed a great season this year. It is now apparent that the Aggies were a bad team. The three losses in a row to Auburn in two straight seasons were all runaways in terms of who had the best-coached team.

There is no doubt that Tennessee is always loaded with talent. Fulmer has Top 10 recruiting classes every single year. However, there is equally no doubt that his coaching staff is not Top 10 nationally. Virtually none of them are in great demand by anyone else. Fulmer has let down the very players he recruits by not having a top staff to coach and develop them. He has also let down the donors who pour money into the program hand over fist to pay his salary and build unrivaled facilities.

This total bomb of a year didn’t have to happen. Fulmer bears total responsibility for letting things slide to the point they have. His hires are critical to get the program back on track. The wheels are off the wagon and a major fix is required. Fulmer must be more proactive for the rest of his career and recognize the changes that need to be made before such a season as this ever happens again.

Expect both Cutcliffe and Chavis to command salaries in the $300,000 range annually. They will be given more authority than most coordinators to run their units the way they see fit. If there are spots to fill on the defensive side of the coaching staff, such as those currently held by Caldwell and Larry Slade, who may also resign, Chavis will have a big hand in selecting those people, just as Cutcliffe will on the offensive staff. Fulmer will be the CEO of the program, but will leave much of the game planning and schemes to his coordinators for the first time ever, as he returns to his first love, coaching offensive linemen, on a more involved, intense, personal basis, in addition to his Head Coaching duties.

By bringing back David Cutcliffe, Sparky Woods, and T.D. Woods to the UT campus, and possibly also former UT Linebacker Dale Jones, who was named NCAA Division II Special Teams National Coach of the Year in 2002 at Appalachian State, Phillip Fulmer will have nearly 100 years of combined university coaching experience in those four men alone, even though they will represent only half of his staff. When you add in Fulmer’s own experience plus that of the other coaches he will have on board, there will be nearly 200 years of combined coaching experience on The Hill.

There have already been some rumblings among UT boosters that Fulmer is simply bringing on more inbreeding on his staff and is not serious about a true national search to upgrade it. There is no question he intends to keep his hires within the Vol family if at all possible. He certainly values loyalty. By making these moves, he is drawing a tighter circle around himself. The consequences of that can be both good and bad, and the merits of it will surely be debated by the fans and donors.

There will be no excuses next year for a lack of ability to get the job done during practice or in preparation. These men will know how to win games and have done so at other places. If they don’t do it in 2006, with all the talent that is on campus already, everyone, including Fulmer, should be looking for another job in another field or simply retire. It will be do or die for the Fulmer regime next season. His reputation and his job may both be on the line with these hires, and he is staking both of them on them. There is no margin for error next time around.

(John Mark Hancock is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes weekly opinion commentary for this website that is syndicated and distributed to other media. If you are interested in his copyrighted sports articles and human interest stories, please contact him directly by e-mail at jmh@icx.net).

 

[SURFSIDEBEACHVOL]

The part about Taylor is somewhat surprising. If true, I wonder what effect it will have on recruiting?

 

[HilltopperVol]

Wow. I think if the above occurs one of two things will happen. One we will improve greatly and develop the talent that we have. Two you will see no change in the performance and Fulmer's seat will get extremly hot. I think we all would agree we would choose improvement but we may have to endure a couple more mediocre or bad seasons for things to truly change. I too was surprised about Taylor, if true.

 

[Freak]

Wow, who is this guy? Does anyone still have a copy of the article he wrote (the end of October I think) about the Sanders situation?

 

[volmanjr]

WOW!

 

[CSpindizzy]

If true I hope it is not too late for the current talent we have on board. We have a great cast of players but I'm afraid that many could already be tainted goods.

If there have been this many changes I'd hope that the same speed and intensity is made on the ST front. As we've seen this has been a severe weakness for us and a game-winner for our opponents: dropped balls, punting, returns...all about field position.

 

[patrick]

that was an interesting article. if those coaching changes actually occur what happens if Tennessee does not improve? Probably nothing.

This is unbelievable. loyalty, loyalty, inbreeding, inbreeding. There are great coaches out there that would love the chance to coach at UT. this alleged national search is a freaking joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[WA_Vol]

Originally posted by vol_freak@Nov 17, 2005 12:02 PM
Wow, who is this guy? Does anyone still have a copy of the article he wrote (the end of October I think) about the Sanders situation?

[snapback]193971[/snapback]​

Taking stock of where the UT football program is now



By John Mark Hancock
Oct. 13, 2005
Copyrighted – All Rights Reserved

Sadly for all its fans, it is still true that the Tennessee Volunteers have not yet beaten the Georgia Bulldogs in Knoxville in this century. The last UT victory in the series was in 1999. There will be no championship again for Tennessee for the seventh straight year. Head Coach Phillip Fulmer's career appears to have peaked with the national championship and back-to-back SEC championships in 1997 and 1998. It has been all downhill ever since then.

In the wake of what may be the worst home offensive performance in Fulmer’s tenure, many are debating whether Erik Ainge should have been given a shot at quarterback in the third quarter of Saturday’s game at the very least. Now the Vols’ season is essentially over. There is no championship to play for. The only thing left to decide is whether they play on New Year's Day or in some other less significant bowl. Since Rick Clausen will be gone next year, they need to be getting Ainge some valuable experience so that if Jonathan Crompton doesn't pan out, Ainge will have had more reps in practice and game knowledge going into 2006. They must now look to the future.

The Vols appeared lackluster, undisciplined, unprepared, and generally lacking in intensity, enthusiasm, and mental toughness. All of these can be traced back to poor coaching and a lack of leadership. Penalties were far too common on both sides of the ball, but especially on offense. Perhaps this is a carryover effect from the off-field problems that have plagued the team this summer, as there is no question that this might be the most talented bunch Fulmer has ever had at UT.

Most UT faithful were all for Fulmer replacing Johnny Majors, despite the circumstances under which it occurred. However, Majors left a team that was loaded with talent. He had finally gotten UT back to national prominence. While Fulmer is a great recruiter for sure, Majors was also good at it, too, with Fulmer's & others' help.

Majors had a revolving door of assistants because he was very demanding and very hard on them. However, he hired the best & the brightest. He held them accountable for the positions they coached on the team. Many of them have benefited from that and gone on to be head coaches and coordinators in the NFL.

Fulmer just hasn't kept the coaching talent level up on a par with the player talent level. That is the reason the Vols haven't won any championships since 1998 are unlikely otherwise to do so again during his tenure. Until and if he jettisons the dead weight on his staff and brings in brighter, fresher minds, UT will continue to be adrift despite ample athletic talent.

Tennessee hasn't won a big game at home in ages. They simply haven't protected their home turf. This wears on the home crowd. They will have tons of empty seats for the remaining three home games against South Carolina, Memphis, and Vanderbilt. The Capital One Bowl in Orlando against a Big 10 team that is probably better than the Big Orange is the very best they can hope for now. Many are suggesting this team may lose two or three more games and be relegated for the first time to the Music City Bowl in Nashville.

For the second straight big SEC East game in a row, Florida and Georgia, Tennessee got beat in the kicking game. Georgia had better punting, better coverage, better returns, and everything about their special teams were better than the Vols were. Credit UT’s defense for hanging in there, but their other hallmark down thru the ages has been the kicking game. They simply must get someone else on their staff that knows how to coach special teams. General Neyland must be spinning in his grave. Surely Bobby Bowden or Frank Beamer, the two closest Neyland disciples in the nation, have someone on their staffs that Fulmer can hire that can do a better job than Steve Caldwell is doing.

Saturday’s game marked three wins in a row for Georgia at Neyland Stadium for first time in the entire history of the series, dating back to 1899. That is the sad commentary on Saturday's game for those the donors and alumni who pump money into the Big Orange program and must be counted upon to fund the massive stadium improvements that Athletics Director Mike Hamilton has in mind for the next several years.

When your wide receivers coach can't even coach the talent we have at wideout to go down the field the needed yardage for a first down, and they run a 2 yards and out route instead of the 6 yards and out route that was needed to make the critical late first down on the first series of downs on what could have been the winning 99-yard drive, they simply must fire Pat Washington. His inept coaching is inexcusable at this level of football. None of UT’s receivers can get open enough to catch the ball, nor can they get open enough to do anything with it when they do catch it. That is coaching, pure & simple, teaching them how to properly run routes and get open. The Vols haven't had anyone open on slants, curls, hooks, or in the flat all year to speak of.

UT didn't have to run either Brent Schaeffer or James Banks off the campus. Schaeffer's offenses were no worse than some of the others on the team. They could have worked with him and gotten him tutored and eligible with the required number of hours this past summer. Banks begged to come back. He should have been given at one last chance. Both may have learned their lessons.

On top of that, Schaeffer may come back to bite UT running Urban Meyer's option offense at Florida soon. The lack of the availability of the talents of both these guys are a big loss to the team, but the All-America wideouts the Vols have that aren’t being coached properly is a mystery. Many of them will play in the NFL but are underachieving due to poor coaching in college. Also inexplicable is the lack of utilization of the UT tight end, who would provide a mismatch in every secondary they have faced.

The home crowd was into the Georgia game from the get-go Saturday. No way the home fans can be blamed for this loss. They were loud & proud. The team and most especially the coaches simply let them down. The crowd got back into and behind them in the second half comeback, too.

For the second straight big SEC East game in a row, Florida and now Georgia, the Vol offense was totally shut down. UT’s schemes are far too predictable. Their formations are dead giveaways to everyone now. They desperately need new blood in the Tennessee offense. Sadly, the most it appears anyone can hope for is to bring David Cutcliffe back, as Fulmer won't fire anyone on the offensive coaching staff.

Tennessee hasn't gotten a decent rush on a punter all season. On top of that, they rarely field punts well. They got pinned deep several times in the Georgia game. Precious field position was lost by soft special teams play. That alone could very well have cost UT the game.

Fulmer is at a similar crossroads to Tommy Tuberville when he pulled the trigger, fired a lot of his staff, including both coordinators, and brought it fresh coaching talent. If Fulmer survives, he simply must do the same. This should have been done years ago. He should have been replacing at least a couple of his staff already at a minimum. Now it will require wholesale changes. This season is shot. The Vols could easily slide to 7-4 or 6-5 from being #2 in the nation. They could be the biggest bust of 2005. They have to beat Alabama in order to make the season even respectable in the SEC, which will be one tall order in Tuscaloosa, as they will be smelling blood in several ways. Beating both Bama and Notre Dame now seems to be an impossible dream after the Georgia performance. Still, unless they make massive changes in this coaching staff, things will never get any better for UT football. If Fulmer won't make them, he will have to go, too.

Tennessee and Auburn are barely hanging around in the Top 20 nationally as the third best teams in their respective divisions in the Southeastern Conference, behind Georgia and Florida, respectively, in the East, and Alabama and LSU in the West. Unfortunately for the Vols, they have to face what may be the best team in the West on their home field in Tuscaloosa in two weeks, and then have to go play Notre Dame, a team in the Top 10 nationally, on foreign soil as well in South Bend. That makes the South Carolina game at home in between those two a dangerous one, as UT may be the only quality team that Steve Spurrier, the Ole Ball Coach, can beat in his first year as the head man in Columbia. You can bet the Gamecocks will be sky-high coming into Neyland to face a wounded and demoralized Volunteer team. Watch out for Tommy West’s Memphis squad and a rejuvenated Vanderbilt in the final two home games as well. None of them will be easy now.

With Steve Caldwell and Pat Washington in charge of special teams primarily, there is no wonder why our kicking game is so screwed up. Special teams are coached by a committee of Caldwell, Washington, Trooper Taylor, and John Chavis. However, Caldwell has always been primarily in charge and was assisted by Shane Beamer (Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer’s son) when he was a grad assistant there.

Since Majors was replaced, special teams have been an afterthought at UT, instead of the primary focus the kicking game should be according the General Neyland's maxims. Majors was a triple-threat single wing tailback when he played for Bowden Wyatt, the General’s handpicked successor, in the 1950's. He ran, passed, and was the punter, too. We haven't had anyone holding our kicking game accountable since he was fired.

The head coach is responsible for our abysmal special teams play. We simply must have Phillip get personally involved in that area and find someone else to be in charge of it. Steve Caldwell has no clue how to coach special teams or much of anything else for that matter. I'm beginning to doubt whether Trooper can coach special teams, either. The kickers, kick returners, and kick coverers are not being developed.

Much of the criticism of Randy Sanders focuses on his role as Offensive Coordinator. However, he is only carrying out what Fulmer wants. His postgame comments on Fulmer's own TV show this indicate he would do things differently if he were in charge, but is hampered by what Fulmer requires him to do.

However, it is highly questionable whether Sanders, a former backup quarterback himself, knows how to develop QB's. We haven't had a QB that has improved since Cutcliffe left. Cut knew how to develop QB's. That is a special skill. QB is the key position in the offense that Fulmer wants to run. UT won't be able to keep recruiting top QB's without a coach to develop them.

Take a look at what Mack Brown has done to rebuild the Texas program. When he took over, the "other" UT was at a low ebb. He is considered a snake oil salesman by some, but he is obviously a good recruiter, talked his team into a BCS bowl berth last season, and he has surrounded himself with a better staff than Fulmer has.

Brown is a Tennessee native, grew up in Cookeville, and would be highly motivated to succeed in Knoxville, as he still has the fire in his belly to prove something. He may win a national championship this year at Texas, which would be the prime time to go out on top and move elsewhere.

For that matter, is it out of the realm of possibilities that Spurrier might come back to East Tennessee? Certainly he would find the going a lot easier to win the SEC championship at the Tennessee helm than at South Carolina. The rumor mill will start in earnest soon, so stay tuned.

As everyone knows, Jimmy Ray Stephens was only hired by Spurrier to get Danny Wuerrfel to sign with UF. The only other places Stephens has coached other than UT and UF are Vanguard High, Union County High, Buchholz High, Gonzales Tate High, Williston High, and Fort Walton Beach High, where he coached Danny, all in Florida.

One of the weakest resumes of anyone on the UT staff is Steve Caldwell, a protégé of Larry Lacewell, who has been in charge of our "special" teams for years. Other than UT for 11 years now, and a year at Ole Miss, the only other places he's coached have been Arkansas State, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Pacific, and Nevada.

Still, Pat Washington, who has been at Auburn, Louisiana-Lafayette, TCU, & Baylor before the 11 years he has spent at UT, is the worst coach on our staff. He is the primary backup to Caldwell in "coaching" special teams. Who else in bigtime college football would hire any of these three guys? The answer is no one.

At the very minimum, these three coaches need to be replaced by Fulmer if UT is ever get better. The only coaches he should hang on to for sure are Chavis and Dan Brooks. As for Taylor and Greg Adkins, they appear to be hard-working recruiters but their coaching ability is unclear. That leaves Larry Slade and Sanders. I don't care for the style in which Slade coaches. A more fiery coach is needed for our DB's.

As for Sanders, he may be a good RB or WR coach. He has coached both positions in the past. As an OC, he is simply carrying out what Fulmer wants. The only way the Vols are going to get better on offense is for Fulmer to either bring back Cutcliffe (unlikely, as Cut will most likely take the UK head job in 2006) or get some new blood with fresh ideas that knows how to utilize all of our talented skill players, also unlikely but a better choice to make. Sanders has proven he can't develop QB's but he might be worth keeping as RB or WR coach to reward his loyalty to Fulmer.

All in all, at least half the staff should be replaced, and not necessarily on just the offensive side of the ball. If Fulmer is bold enough to do that after turning in one of the worst flops of the year in 2005 for someone making over $2 million annually, he will see vast improvement of this team over night next spring. Otherwise, he will most likely never win another SEC championship the rest of whatever career he has left at UT.

The bottom line is that Tennessee is a big-time program with a huge budget, top talent, plenty of donors who pour large amounts of cash into it, and facilities to rival anyone. The fans deserve a far better product on the field than they are getting. They consistently recruit talent that is the best or nearly the best in the nation. That talent deserves the best and brightest coaching minds to develop it, but the coaching they receive is no better than average at best. Until and if Fulmer realizes that, busts like last Saturday will continue to happen with regular frequency year after year. How long will that continue to be tolerated?

 

[Georgiavol]

The point that Hancock made regarding NFL assistants is very true. It's hard to lure quality coaches away from the pro's, as the money is a lot better in the NFL and a lot of coaches detest recruiting pimple-faced 18 yr olds and their sometimes overinflated egos.

 

[surrealvol]

I have to say a double WOW...WOW...I do think, though, that we will be a different team next year and I am expecting big things!!!

 

[CSpindizzy]

Originally posted by surrealvol@Nov 17, 2005 12:04 PM
and I am expecting big things!!!

[snapback]194012[/snapback]​

As we always do. I just hope we don't get big disappointments in return.

Basically my attitude is wait and see. I don't expect a miracle next year. I'd hope there is a turnaround but obviously there are some deep issues in this team that just firing people won't correct. There is a mindset and an attitude with the players that also has to be wiped out. If these coaches coming in can wipe that away in the off-season they are worth every penny. But again, it's a lot of head trauma so to speak. it'll take some time to get it all wiped and start over.

If these guys come in before the bowl game I think we'll see a taste of what is to come just with the morale standpoint.

 

[TBALLVOL]

If what Hancock says is true, I could get excited about those changes. Still, Fulmer will have layed his best cards out on the table and if this hand does not win, he's out of the game. There will be a big pot left on the table and I would guess that Cutcliff would expect to take Fulmer's place at the table. Unfortunately for Cutcliff, he holds the same hand as Fulmer and unless he can discard and convince the Vol Nation that he can turn up four aces I think the Vol Nation will call his bluff and just start a new game.

 

[hvwarrior58]

this has positives and negatives.

positives:
1.sparky woods would be great for rbs and could help with lots of inexperiece.
2.atkins and fulmer would be more hands on with the ol.
3.special teams might finally have a real coach.
4.td woods could create a little stir in the wrs.

negatives
1.caldwells des are always among the best in the nation, why lose the consistency?
2.troopers on field effects arent great, but he is a great recruiter and was an awesome wr coach, maybe keep him as a recruiting advisor or keep him over td.
3.still no fixture for losing slade.

 

[Liper]

Originally posted by hvwarrior58@Nov 17, 2005 1:18 PM
this has positives and negatives.

positives:
1.sparky woods would be great for rbs and could help with lots of inexperiece.
2.atkins and fulmer would be more hands on with the ol.
3.special teams might finally have a real coach.
4.td woods could create a little stir in the wrs.

negatives
1.caldwells des are always among the best in the nation, why lose the consistency?
2.troopers on field effects arent great, but he is a great recruiter and was an awesome wr coach, maybe keep him as a recruiting advisor or keep him over td.
3.still no fixture for losing slade.

[snapback]194076[/snapback]​

Sparky Woods is not what we need. I have never heard much good about him...from other college coaches that I've spoken with. Granted, those are just a few opinions, but they came from people that I respected with football. He was pathetic at USC as well. Moreover, I question his character for reasons I don't want to put in print.

Here's my biggest beef with this whole thing: Fulmer's delusional arrogance has prevented him from making the proper staff changes in a proactive manner years ago when they were apparent to all that walk upright. Many of us "lunatic fringe" fans have been clamoring about this for years - and at the positions in question.

Should Foulmanure follow through and make these changes, it is a de facto admission of guilt that he was wrong the entire time and the lunatic fringe was right. It took him taking the program down to make changes under the spirit of self-preservation.

He's an average football coach and always will be, I suspect. But he's a hard working guy and a good recruiter. His only other responsibility within the confines of football are to hire a quality staff to train the players he gets them.

When you wait 5 years too long, your first chance quickly becomes your last. In this case, his delusional viewpoint has probably kept him from seeing just how perilous his position is right now.

1999 "Players playing for the names on the jersey instead of the T on the helmet."
2000 "We were breaking in some young quarterbacks."
2001 "We were a half away."
2002 "We're not making excuses but the injuries were a big factor in a disappointing season."
2003 "Another successful 10 win season. We just didn't execute or have the big plays we need to get over the hump."
2004 "Great job with two young QBs. We were young in the secondary and gave up too many big plays."
2005 "We didn't execute very well. Just a few plays here and there and we're right in there."

 

[volbreaker]

Originally posted by Liper@Nov 17, 2005 1:46 PM
Sparky Woods is not what we need.  I have never heard much good about him...from other college coaches that I've spoken with.  Granted, those are just a few opinions, but they came from people that I respected with football.  He was pathetic at USC as well.  Moreover, I question his character for reasons I don't want to put in print.

Here's my biggest beef with this whole thing: Fulmer's delusional arrogance has prevented him from making the proper staff changes in a proactive manner years ago when they were apparent to all that walk upright.  Many of us "lunatic fringe" fans have been clamoring about this for years - and at the positions in question.

Should Foulmanure follow through and make these changes, it is a de facto admission of guilt that he was wrong the entire time and the lunatic fringe was right.  It took him taking the program down to make changes under the spirit of self-preservation.

He's an average football coach and always will be, I suspect.  But he's a hard working guy and a good recruiter.  His only other responsibility within the confines of football are to hire a quality staff to train the players he gets them.

When you wait 5 years too long, your first chance quickly becomes your last.  In this case, his delusional viewpoint has probably kept him from seeing just how perilous his position is right now.

1999 "Players playing for the names on the jersey instead of the T on the helmet."
2000 "We were breaking in some young quarterbacks."
2001 "We were a half away."
2002 "We're not making excuses but the injuries were a big factor in a disappointing season."
2003 "Another successful 10 win season.  We just didn't execute or have the big plays we need to get over the hump."
2004 "Great job with two young QBs.  We were young in the secondary and gave up too many big plays."
2005 "We didn't execute very well.  Just a few plays here and there and we're right in there."

[snapback]194093[/snapback]​

Wow Liper great post!!
Side note- The hardest headshot I ever got was from a TD Woods forearm while laid-out across the middle while he was playing safety in HS....faded back in seeing yellow spots and hearing old Chicago songs...we were freinds so I never let him know that....hope he does'nt read VN....would'nt want to give him the big head coming in!!!!

 

[Vol67]

Take what this writer says with a grain of salt.

He's been disbarred
Tried to be a sports agent who tried to use Crack as part of his deals
Busted for Drugs
Held in contempt of court by the Tennessee Supreme Court

 

[smokedog#3]

if this is true they need to fire fulmer now. they are delaying the inevitable, and running the program into the ground.. if hamilton allows this he should be run out of town as well.

 

[checkerboard_charly]

how for sure true is this? i knew cut would be hired, but this guy sounds like he knows for sure.

 

[WA_Vol]

Originally posted by Vol67@Nov 17, 2005 8:24 PM
Take what this writer says with a grain of salt.

He's been disbarred
Tried to be  a sports agent who tried to use Crack as part of his deals
Busted for Drugs
Held in contempt of court by the Tennessee Supreme Court

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Someone else mentioned the same thing about him.

 

[WA_Vol]

The article is very interesting, but a couple of comments i find very difficult to believe.

The main problem I see with his analysis is I dont see Fulmer getting fired next year. If we have a similar year to this year, he may be on the hot seat, but not fired.