UT Administration

[Savannahbayvol]

“Here right now, there’s not a better set up anywhere in the country than what we have right here,” Barnes said. “I have been doing it a long time and with Randy Boyd, Donde Plowman and Danny White with the staff he has put together with what’s going on in athletics it blows my mind how much it’s changed here the last three years.”

Kind of takes a shot at Fulmer

From On3

 

[Voltopia]

Nah. That's boilerplate PR talk supporting an athletic director department. I doubt it has any reflection on anyone Barnes has worked with before. Everyone says stuff like that in support of their programs. I would read into that statement about as much as I'd read into any comment meant for the press. It doesn't mean Barnes isn't sincere, but coaches routinely offer up positive remarks as part of their talking points.

Hell, Peyton Manning wasn't even an employee of the UTAD, and he had to offer up positive supportive statements about Derek Dooley, Butch Jones, and Jeremy Pruitt over the years. Derek Dooley and Butch Jones of all things. Anyway, it's all part of supporting a program and putting on the best face for it.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Mostly tips his hat to Randy, Donde, Danny, and Danny's staff. I appreciate that.

@Voltopia : man, don't get so cynical that you forget to enjoy life. There's good in the world, and some of it is in the UT administration these days.

Go Vols!

 

[Voltopia]

Mostly tips his hat to Randy, Donde, Danny, and Danny's staff. I appreciate that.

@Voltopia : man, don't get so cynical that you forget to enjoy life. There's good in the world, and some of it is in the UT administration these days.

Go Vols!

lol hold up. First off, I enjoy life just fine. Second, why is rejecting the notion that Barnes was "taking a shot" at Fulmer cynical? If anything, I feel like that's the opposite of cynicism.

I didn't challenge the statement Barnes made, I just rejected that it was throwing shade at Fulmer. C'mon now.

 

[GAVol]

It just took us an extra 20-30 years to learn what most schools already know. Coaches should coach and administrators should run the school. That’s not a shot at Fulmer. It’s just hard to be good at two jobs which are so different.

 

[GAVol]

…and really, Fulmer didn’t problems other than somehow thinking a guy who couldn’t speak English could be a head coach. He was just the guy at the end of a line of bad administrators. I think he always was going to just be a stop gap.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

lol hold up. First off, I enjoy life just fine. Second, why is rejecting the notion that Barnes was "taking a shot" at Fulmer cynical? If anything, I feel like that's the opposite of cynicism.

I didn't challenge the statement Barnes made, I just rejected that it was throwing shade at Fulmer. C'mon now.

My bad, brother, I misread you.

 

[VOLfrombama]

I think most knew/expected when Fulmer was hired that it was a stop gap measure. Pruitt had some mild success his first year and seemed to be recruiting ok for a mid tier SEC team. It generated hope. Little did we know that Cornbread was sewing malcontent within the program by being himself and having that North Alabama hillbilly cockiness that he was notorious for and would end up being his own worst enemy and the reason for his own demise nationally.

I also don't think that Barnes took a shot directly at Fulmer. Did Phil make some boneheaded decisions? Absolutely, he did. But nobody predicted how badly things would go within the football program until it happened. So anyone looking back to 3+ years ago with anything but disgust or disdain has on the thickest orange glasses ever.

 

[butchna]

“Here right now, there’s not a better set up anywhere in the country than what we have right here,” Barnes said. “I have been doing it a long time and with Randy Boyd, Donde Plowman and Danny White with the staff he has put together with what’s going on in athletics it blows my mind how much it’s changed here the last three years.”

Kind of takes a shot at Fulmer

From On3

And DiPietro and Cheek. He prolly appreciates Dave Hart who ignored some with a proactive move to hire him almost immediately when Texas made him available.

 

[butchna]

Nah. That's boilerplate PR talk supporting an athletic director department. I doubt it has any reflection on anyone Barnes has worked with before. Everyone says stuff like that in support of their programs. I would read into that statement about as much as I'd read into any comment meant for the press. It doesn't mean Barnes isn't sincere, but coaches routinely offer up positive remarks as part of their talking points.

Hell, Peyton Manning wasn't even an employee of the UTAD, and he had to offer up positive supportive statements about Derek Dooley, Butch Jones, and Jeremy Pruitt over the years. Derek Dooley and Butch Jones of all things. Anyway, it's all part of supporting a program and putting on the best face for it.

Don’t remember him making such an endorsement of the Longhorns hierarchy…or here previously.

 

[volinsd]

Phew... was worried about arrests or injuries within the admin for a sec there.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

lol hold up. First off, I enjoy life just fine. Second, why is rejecting the notion that Barnes was "taking a shot" at Fulmer cynical? If anything, I feel like that's the opposite of cynicism.

I didn't challenge the statement Barnes made, I just rejected that it was throwing shade at Fulmer. C'mon now.

Agree, Barnes has been here long enough to experience a total train wreck with AD's and upper level Admin people. Unfortunately for Fulmer his constate meddling in UT affairs has gotten him the title of worst AD in UT history but you can't pin Barnes comment as just a Fulmer shot.

 

[Voltopia]

My bad, brother, I misread you.

All good. I admit I got a little prickly too - just didn't see anything resembling a shot in the comment and had a moment there.

 

[LexVol71]

And DiPietro and Cheek. He prolly appreciates Dave Hart who ignored some with a proactive move to hire him almost immediately when Texas made him available.

I got to know Dipietro a bit and found him to be a likable, personable guy. It was fun to spend time with him. I hate it but, yeah, you're right. Bad stuff happened within the Athletics Dept. while it was under his watch. Probably more to do with Cheek, but the buck stops at the top.

 

[Voltopia]

Agree, Barnes has been here long enough to experience a total train wreck with AD's and upper level Admin people. Unfortunately for Fulmer his constate meddling in UT affairs has gotten him the title of worst AD in UT history but you can't pin Barnes comment as just a Fulmer shot.

Yeah, I mean, Barnes spoke positively of Fulmer at several junctures while he was the AD - and not just in the context of the AD, but fellowship as well. I don't think he would be going out of his way to take a swipe at Fulmer years after the fact. Just putting the shine on the current AD and his efforts to grind.

 

[BigOrangeMojo]

“Here right now, there’s not a better set up anywhere in the country than what we have right here,” Barnes said. “I have been doing it a long time and with Randy Boyd, Donde Plowman and Danny White with the staff he has put together with what’s going on in athletics it blows my mind how much it’s changed here the last three years.”

Kind of takes a shot at Fulmer

From On3

Don't forget, the reason Barnes looked so heavily at UCLA was because Fulmer neglected that relationship....

I dont see this as a slap in the face but the last AD Barnes worked with at Texas and Fulmer were incompetent fools...

 

[butchna]

I got to know Dipietro a bit and found him to be a likable, personable guy. It was fun to spend time with him. I hate it but, yeah, you're right. Bad stuff happened within the Athletics Dept. while it was under his watch. Probably more to do with Cheek, but the buck stops at the top.

Good guy who allowed internal politics to overwhelm his responsibilities. It’s a monster. I was distraught when the Pruitt fiasco reared its head…based on our former responses. Boyd and Plowman calmed me down relatively early. You felt ADULTS were in charge for the first time since the 90’s.

 

[OrangeTsar]

It just took us an extra 20-30 years to learn what most schools already know. Coaches should coach and administrators should run the school. That’s not a shot at Fulmer. It’s just hard to be good at two jobs which are so different.

And another thing we had to learn, the right coach (just like the right General in a war) can make ALL the difference in the world. We signed clown after clown based on unfounded wishful thinking before White finally recognized someone who actually knew what he was doing

 

[GAVol]

And another thing we had to learn, the right coach (just like the right General in a war) can make ALL the difference in the world. We signed clown after clown based on unfounded wishful thinking before White finally recognized someone who actually knew what he was doing

I agree, but honestly we probably got a little lucky that White just happened to know a guy. Going onto probation after having 5 coaches in 15 years, we had a real hitting challenge on our hands.

 

[Woodlawn VOL]

I agree, but honestly we probably got a little lucky that White just happened to know a guy. Going onto probation after having 5 coaches in 15 years, we had a real hitting challenge on our hands.

Everybody gets a little lucky sometimes. Bama did it with Saban, they went through many before hitting paydirt. GBO

 

[GAVol]

Everybody gets a little lucky sometimes. Bama did it with Saban, they went through many before hitting paydirt. GBO

Yep… nobody talks about that, but they had their share of swings and misses too.

 

[05_never_again]

I think most knew/expected when Fulmer was hired that it was a stop gap measure. Pruitt had some mild success his first year and seemed to be recruiting ok for a mid tier SEC team. It generated hope. Little did we know that Cornbread was sewing malcontent within the program by being himself and having that North Alabama hillbilly cockiness that he was notorious for and would end up being his own worst enemy and the reason for his own demise nationally.

I also don't think that Barnes took a shot directly at Fulmer. Did Phil make some boneheaded decisions? Absolutely, he did. But nobody predicted how badly things would go within the football program until it happened. So anyone looking back to 3+ years ago with anything but disgust or disdain has on the thickest orange glasses ever.

Except he wasn't, and I'm not sure he ever was.

It wasn't like he hired Pruitt and then as soon as that was over they started looking for another AD. He signed a 4-year contract when he initially came on in 2017, and then got an under-the-radar 2-year extension in 2020, something like 2 years before his initial contract was going to expire. The contract that he was under at the time he "retired" ran through 12/31/23.

I don't think he had plans to go anywhere for a while; he had been waiting ever since he was fired as football coach to take that job.

 

[BigBadVol]

And now this:



The NCAA has their tail between their legs.

 

[VOLfrombama]

Except he wasn't, and I'm not sure he ever was.

It wasn't like he hired Pruitt and then as soon as that was over they started looking for another AD. He signed a 4-year contract when he initially came on in 2017, and then got an under-the-radar 2-year extension in 2020, something like 2 years before his initial contract was going to expire. The contract that he was under at the time he "retired" ran through 12/31/23.

I don't think he had plans to go anywhere for a while; he had been waiting ever since he was fired as football coach to take that job.

The extension happened May 2020, right after Cornbread had some minor success and folks at the university were feeling good about themselves. Sorry if that wasnt clear in my post.

Maybe he didn’t want to go anywhere but I don't know of anyone outside of his home who thought he was a long term answer as AD. Of course he didn’t look for another job. Why would he? But it wasn’t his decision anyway.

 

[Volfan1000]

“Here right now, there’s not a better set up anywhere in the country than what we have right here,” Barnes said. “I have been doing it a long time and with Randy Boyd, Donde Plowman and Danny White with the staff he has put together with what’s going on in athletics it blows my mind how much it’s changed here the last three years.”

Kind of takes a shot at Fulmer

From On3

I would not be surprised if the Deacon gets another extension to his contract after this season.

I think his current deal runs through the 2027-2028 season.