Never again...

[JMSqb11]

Dude, I don't think 7 or 8 & 5 seasons every 3/4 years with 5 win seasins inbetween is what Tennessee football is all about. Everyone knew that is where TN football was under Fulmer and knew as long as he was here it wouldn't get any better!

The guy had two losing seasons in 8 years. Quit acting like a 5 win seasons was going to happen every third year. He was fired in 08 because he simply hired the wrong OC.

 

[Dragon18]

The guy had two losing seasons in 8 years. Quit acting like a 5 win seasons was going to happen every third year. He was fired in 08 because he simply hired the wrong OC.

Can we please NOT do the Fulmer debate again???eace2:

 

[keckjm]

And if I remember right, Fulmer, recruited Boyd. He could no longer recruit, game had passed him by, etc.

Do you really want me to show you a few of the last classes Fulmer recruited starting with 2006?

 

[volfanecs]

Do you really want me to show you a few of the last classes Fulmer recruited starting with 2006?

Do you really want me to repeat his record and accomplishments??

 

[VolFan4Life87]

Funny. I didn't want Fulmer fired. I feel like a genius.

The teams we fielded under Fulmer in the final years were really beginning to lack in discipline and sound football fundamentals. I do think the game passed him by, but he will always be special to UT and I hate how things went down. To make matters far worse, well we all know the dumpster fire things have been since his ousting...

Truly think we have righted the ship with Jones. I've said it before, he may not be the best CFB coach in America, but he was the best coach for the job here at UT factoring in our culture as a fan base, the tradition, and the preceding pile of flaming crap coaching fiasco.

 

[smokey0625]

Hindsight is 20-20, I wanted fuller to stay as well. It's kinda like getting fired from it dram job, it's gonna take a while to get over it. No matter how bad u want to admit nothing is wrong...u worked at Burger King for a bit, u we're used to great paychecks. Then u were CEO of a large business... U got fired for watching ur stocks and staring in the mirror Too much.

Third times a charm

We are all, now, dumber for having heard that. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul.

 

[keckjm]

Do you really want me to repeat his record and accomplishments??

Please let me know what he did his last 3 years? You Fulmer lovers kill me! I've never seen people be so delusional over one man. He lost his edge and his time was up. It is what it is.

 

[Gandalf]

My problem with Fulmer is that he would treat the bowl games like vacations and never took them seriously. His bowl record can point to that. Those back to back Peach Bowls were painful.

Back then, bowl games didnt mean quite as much IMO as they do now. The goal was to get one that PAID. Winning was a bonus and national champion was hard since AP always hated us.

 

[mscc1998]

Kinda sounds like where Alabama fans are right now. They take it for granted that Bama is going to win. Anything less than a 12 win season is unacceptable.

 

[MSCE09]

As a UT fan, I will NEVER AGAIN take the good years for granted! I remember back under Fulmer, I used to complain about 8 or 9 win seasons and going to a bowl. I used to gripe about not only thinking we weren't winning enough but we weren't winning by wide enough margins. How foolish I was! After spending the last 6 years wandering around in the wilderness, I have come to the conclusion that we should appreciate the good times more! While we didn't win the SEC and National Championship every year, we had a winning program with sustained success! When CBJ finally gets us on that path again, NEVER will I take that for granted! I will enjoy and appreciate it every step of the way!

Its funny. I was talking to an UGA fan, they sound like us between 05-08 about Fulmer. I just laughed at him and said, "If you fire a coach for winning 9-10 games a year, I'll guarantee the next guy won't win 9-10 games but not in the way you are hoping."

 

[volfanecs]

Please let me know what he did his last 3 years? You Fulmer lovers kill me! I've never seen people be so delusional over one man. He lost his edge and his time was up. It is what it is.

How did the first 2 replacements do? Talk about delusional. And facts do not make me a "Fulmer lover". 1 year removed from the SEC championship.

 

[keckjm]

How did the first 2 replacements do? Talk about delusional. And facts do not make me a "Fulmer lover". 1 year removed from the SEC championship.

So your argument is because we had the worst AD in the history of UT that we should have kept Fulmer because the alt wasn't better? Do you enjoy mediocrity? Because the last five years that's what Fulmer brought here with the exception of 1 year. Sure 8 wins sounds great right now, but 8 wins or less had become ok with Fulmer late in his coaching career here. 8 wins is average to me. You want someone who can give you a shot at being 13-0 at the end of the year, and late in Fulmer's legacy here he wasn't that man. Fulmer was ok with 8-4 seasons or less. UT should never be ok with 8-4 seasons. I'm not saying that if you have a coach that goes 12-0, 10-2, then 8-4 we should fire him after the 8-4 season, but Fulmer didn't just have 8-4 type seasons, he had 5-7 and 7-5 seasons and never could win the big games late in his career. If we had kept Fulmer we were doomed to be average and nothing more. The man lost his edge, it's that simple. He lost his edge in recruiting and coaching, and had Chevis not been here to save his butt over and over the results would have been much worse late in his tenure here.

 

[calban]

Sometimes you have to destroy to create.
Prometheus

 

[knoxvols11]

Its funny. I was talking to an UGA fan, they sound like us between 05-08 about Fulmer. I just laughed at him and said, "If you fire a coach for winning 9-10 games a year, I'll guarantee the next guy won't win 9-10 games but not in the way you are hoping."

Yeah, but did you tell him the HC your referring to wasn't winning 9-10 games a year?

 

[knoxvols11]

How did the first 2 replacements do? Talk about delusional. And facts do not make me a "Fulmer lover". 1 year removed from the SEC championship.

Dude, the guy who Fulmer replaced is the same one who built the program he inherited AND is the same one who was coaching and was ONLY one year removed from BACK TO BACK SECC! Funny how you mention "SEC championship" and that's not accurate! I'm sure you meant SEC championship game?

 

[bullet20]

Hindsight is 20-20, I wanted fuller to stay as well. It's kinda like getting fired from it dram job, it's gonna take a while to get over it. No matter how bad u want to admit nothing is wrong...u worked at Burger King for a bit, u we're used to great paychecks. Then u were CEO of a large business... U got fired for watching ur stocks and staring in the mirror Too much.

Third times a charm

1st off who is fuller? As for the rest of the post WTF. :crazy:

 

[volfanecs]

Dude, the guy who Fulmer replaced is the same one who built the program he inherited AND is the same one who was coaching and was ONLY one year removed from BACK TO BACK SECC! Funny how you mention "SEC championship" and that's not accurate! I'm sure you meant SEC championship game?

Actually; I am even tired of this. Go big orange and Coach Jones. What a great win.

 

[volfanecs]

So your argument is because we had the worst AD in the history of UT that we should have kept Fulmer because the alt wasn't better? Do you enjoy mediocrity? Because the last five years that's what Fulmer brought here with the exception of 1 year. Sure 8 wins sounds great right now, but 8 wins or less had become ok with Fulmer late in his coaching career here. 8 wins is average to me. You want someone who can give you a shot at being 13-0 at the end of the year, and late in Fulmer's legacy here he wasn't that man. Fulmer was ok with 8-4 seasons or less. UT should never be ok with 8-4 seasons. I'm not saying that if you have a coach that goes 12-0, 10-2, then 8-4 we should fire him after the 8-4 season, but Fulmer didn't just have 8-4 type seasons, he had 5-7 and 7-5 seasons and never could win the big games late in his career. If we had kept Fulmer we were doomed to be average and nothing more. The man lost his edge, it's that simple. He lost his edge in recruiting and coaching, and had Chevis not been here to save his butt over and over the results would have been much worse late in his tenure here.

I am celebrating a really great victory and am proud of our team. Go Big Orange and Coach Jones. Moving on.

 

[hmanvolfan]

Funny. I didn't want Fulmer fired. I feel like a genius.

Bout as brilliant as that guy in your avatar not to mention your username doesn't bear that out.

 

[MFL]

Amen

 

[VFL1966]

I didn't mind Fulmer getting fired. His last few years were bad. I blame Hamilton ( he hired Kiffin and Dooley) more for getting us in this mess. If he hired a good coach like Butch Jones we could be going after a National Championship now. If you remember right Kiffin ran off Taj Boyd.

Fulmer recruited Boyd, we played in the SEC Championship game the year before he was fired...He was fired for one bad season with a new offensive co.

 

[deaconkane]

Fulmer recruited Boyd, we played in the SEC Championship game the year before he was fired...He was fired for one bad season with a new offensive co.

We started going downhill in 2004-2005. Wasnt in one season. He lost the team, recruiting was bad, alot of things were going on.

 

[BanditVol]

My problem with Fulmer is that he would treat the bowl games like vacations and never took them seriously. His bowl record can point to that. Those back to back Peach Bowls were painful.

The first 5-6 years he took them really seriously. I don't think he lost too many either.

 

[BanditVol]

We started going downhill in 2004-2005. Wasnt in one season. He lost the team, recruiting was bad, alot of things were going on.

We had two good seasons in 2006-7. We were second in the country in recruiting in 2007 also, and went to the SECCG.

Had Fulmer not hired Clawson, we might not be having this conversation now. Water under the bridge.

But I agree with the OP...our fanbase got VERY spoiled under Fulmer and that was part of the problem IMO. The last 4-5 years have hopefully beaten down the more unrealistic "bandwagon" part of our fanbase and they have found someone else to cheer for.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

For those who thought Fulmer should have been fired, every coach that has had that much tenure and that much success under his belt will see lean years sometimes. Not intentionally of course but when you are in such a demanding, time-consuming high pressured job like that there is absolutely no way any human can sustain THAT level of intense work ethic year in and year out and not work themselves to death! While most of us enjoy 9am-5pm jobs these guys are working 5am-9pm everyday! You can't tell me that at some point these coaches don't "phone it in" some years. You think Spurrier is still a tireless worker? You think Les Miles puts in that kind of time each and every year? I can guarantee you that Bobby Bowden did it, Joe Paterno did it, even Bear Bryant did it some years and we're talking about 3 of the most successful coaches in history.