If our forefathers had believed the "no control" part, we would still be paying taxes to a European government.
With how competitive the SEC became, I don't think we ever could have gotten back to what Phil had in the 90s. BUT, having said that, I think our floor for the past decade would have been 7 or 8 rather than 4 or 5. He had a monster recruiting class that included Tajh Boyd and Bryce Petty coming in when he was fired. He could still recruit. I feel confident that if we'd just kept Fulmer we'd probably have another couple of wins over Florida and Georgia and maybe would've picked off Saban at least once.
I thought Phil was on the decline but I also thought we should have handled it better. Phil should have been offered to have 2 more years and a retirement year where he transitioned into a role within the athletic department and brought up his predecessor, I wanted Cuttcliffe. Dang Hamilton was a giant douche that destoryed us for a decade. Phil's love for UT is beyond question, this has the feeling of the 90's program now. If football succeeds every sport succeeds.
I remember the animosity towards Phil here in ‘08. It’s easy to dismiss it now but it was ugly. “He just sits on his fat ass and takes the check and ruins our football program.” Hamilton very likely made the right decision by firing him. The bad decision was hiring Kiffin, although in the immediate aftermath it was absolutely the correct hire. This fanbase was as amped as I’ve ever seen it. Should’ve put a hefty USC buyout in the contract tho.
