Fulmer Joins Coker on Hot Seat

According to John Lindsay of the Albequerque Tribune, Fulmer, Coker lead big-name coaches on ‘hot seat‘.

It’s an interesting read that vaults Fulmer and Miami’s Larry Coker to the top of the list of coaches whose jobs are on the line. The article notes that no coach has led a team to a final number one ranking during his career and been fired by that team. He thinks that might change this year however, citing that Tennessee fans are upset that the Vols have not won a conference championship since that 1998 season of destiny.

Reasons for Fulmer being on the hot seat include the obvious 5-6 disaster from last season when the Vols missed being bowl eligible for the first time since 1988. If you also consider the off the field issues with player arrests and poor graduation rates and you can see his case building.

If that’s not enough, the article compares Fulmer’s recent home record to the run from 1993 until 2001. During that stretch the Vols were nearly perfect, losing only five games at home.

According to Lindsay, the Vols must win 8 games to save Fulmer’s job. That shouldn’t be a problem, right? He thinks it’s unlikely with the tough schedule that Tennessee plays this season.

My take: Obviously the criticisms of Coach Fulmer are running rampant right now after the meltdown last season. I think most of the arguments are fair. Fulmer should have won more SEC championships than the two he won in 1997 and 1998. I also think that Fulmer’s staff loyalty caused him to wait a couple of years too long to make needed staff changes.

Tennessee has struggled at Neyland Stadium in recent years for whatever reason. The Vols have had several big road wins but have been unable to protect their home turf in crucial games. However, I don’t think it’s fair to make comparisons to the 90’s run that Tennessee had. Most coaches would fall short of that mark.

I looked up the record of Fulmer’s teams since 1994, just to look back. I have to admit that it’s not as bad as I imagined. I guess with all of the constant negativity, I was thinking we were coming off several winless seasons. Seriously though, if you throw out last year and 2002 it’s a good record. Unfortunately, you can’t just throw out bad seasons. Add to that the lack of championships and the downward trend and I can see the cause for concern.

In my opinion it’s going to take six losses for any serious consideration of getting rid of Fulmer. Seven wins buys another season but not much more. My prediction is for nine wins. Granted, it’s optimistic, but it would be a lot less surprising than a preseason third-ranked team ending up 5-6.