Phil Fulmer's new contract with the University of Tennessee is a lot of things, and most of them are bad.
Some of the most vocal criticisms have come from the class-envy and Utopian crowds that are screaming that he's getting a raise while academic programs are being cut. This is typical of these groups, just as it is typical that they usually don't know what they're talking about. Athletics is a separate budget paid by completely unrelated financial entities.
But what is just now starting to come out is just how bad this contract really is for Tennessee football. I'm specifically speaking about the "coach for life" clause that has Fulmer getting an extra year every time Tennessee wins eight games per season.
The rationale behind this number was obtained by looking at Tennessee's overall winning record (around 66 percent) and applying it to a 12-game schedule. However, as a fan of another SEC school, most of the other SEC schools fan bases hope Fulmer stays around forever. It's not so much about what the other schools have been able to do against Tennessee so far as much as it is what will become if the slide is allowed to continue (which it seems like it is).
Florida and Georgia sure hope he stays. Steve Spurrier is 1-2 versus Fulmer since joining the South Carolina program, but it may not be long before he's winning regularly too.
So what's the problem with this contract, and why is it so bad for Tennessee fans? Well, for starters it screams mediocrity.
I know some will define mediocrity as going 6-6. However, there is a pecking order in the SEC, and although Tennessee is not in the top, they are in the upper end of the middle. As such, they should be able to go 4-4 in conference most years without much sweat.
Given that scheduling Cal and UCLA has been a more recent thing, and that the previous toughest non-conference opponents were teams like Wyoming, it's fairly believable that Tennessee can go 4-0 in non-conference play.
So, with this contract, Tennessee is basically telling Phil Fulmer that he never needs to worry about his job so long as he goes undefeated against non-conference cupcakes and splits in conference.
In other words, don't worry about the fact that Florida owns Tennessee and the trend that Georgia is headed that way too. Don't worry about the fact that Nick Saban will soon have Alabama producing annual results against UT that look like last year.
In fact, even if Spurrier catches fire at South Carolina and goes on a hot streak against UT, we won't worry about that either. This is because Fulmer gets four guaranteed mulligans. As long as he beats the Vandys, Kentuckys, Miss. States, etc., he's safe.
Another sticky situation in this scenario is that, unlike in seasons past (when there were only 11 regular season games), Tennessee now has up to 14 games in which to make this happen. While the SEC championship game is unlikely most years (UT has been to five of the 16), there is usually going to be a bowl game, and that just makes matters easier for Fulmer.
If Tennessee goes to a good bowl where they play a strong opponent, then it won't matter if they lose, because if they get to a good bowl, chances are good that Fulmer's already got eight wins for the year.
If Tennessee goes to a lower bowl game after having a mediocre to average year, then they get a bowl patsy, because half of all college football teams go to bowls since there are so many nowadays. This gives Phil one more easy chance to get that eighth win.
And if Fulmer doesn't win eight games one year, then UT can always use some sort of "average" again where even though he only won seven one year, he won nine another year, so he's averaging eight.
The bottom line should be obvious for all to see. The AD does not want Phil to go—and instead of searching for excellence in his coaching candidate, he is instead searching for ways to excuse more and more.
They must be fishing, poker, or drinking buddies, because there are all kinds of protections built into this for Fulmer. The AD is also still protected by being able to say that Phil is living up to the winning percentages put forth by Phil's predecessors (which includes General Robert Neyland). How convenient for Phil and the AD—how terrible for the Tennessee fan.
Why is it terrible for the Tennessee fan? Well, for starters, Fulmer has had very few excellent seasons when David Cutcliffe wasn't involved. Now "Cut" is gone again.
Recruiting is also on the downhill slide. Recruiting has significantly dried up in border states where Alabama (and Auburn), Georgia, South Carolina, and even Kentucky are managing to keep more of their good in-state talent at home. Furthermore, these schools, especially Alabama and Georgia, have started pulling more out of Tennessee than they used to, which furthers the problem.
Tennessee has no "buzz," and it's hard for Fulmer to compare to Urban Meyer or Mark Richt or Nick Saban on the "cool" or "it" scale when out recruiting these kids, who see old, overweight guys who've been around a long time (guys like Phil)l as yesterday's news and completely out of touch with their generation.
No coach should ever feel safe. I think Paterno and Bowden have been "babied" by Penn State and Florida State respectively, and that they should be held to the same standard to which those schools would hold other coaches with different names.
When teams weren't paying this kind of insane money, coaches were rightfully allowed more slack. However, when you, as a coach, have your agents negotiate contracts in multiple millions of dollars, you have given up any right, in my opinion, to live on yesterday's results or mediocre "just beat the teams with losing records" results.
Somehow, I believe that the good people of Tennessee would like to see their team expected to occasionally beat the teams on their schedule that have a winning record.
Tennessee is going to slip right along with their administration's standards and expectations—and the rest of the SEC is going to be loving it.
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3 months ago
Seems a bit harsh.
Tennessee won the East last year. They narrowly lost the SECCG, and then they beat a solid Big 10 team in their bowl game.
You mentioned that UT has been to 5 of the 16 SECCG's, but they have been to 3 since 2001, the same as GA. FL has only been once since 2001.
3 months ago
Donald .. the article might come across a little harsh to some tenn fans, but this UGA fan understands, and the contract sounds like a good thing to me.
I love Mark Richt, and want him around as long as possible, but I hope Ga never gives him this kind of incentive, CMR feels secure at GA but I hope they never make him feel that secure. I say keep the fire lit don't turn down the flame.
from 3 months ago
I hate Tennessee as much as the next guy, but it's not like Fulmer is a terrible coach. In his first 7 seasons, he won the East three times, the SEC two times, and won the National Championship.
In Richt's seven seasons at GA, he has won the East three times and the SEC two times. No NC appearances. Just two years ago, GA was 4-4 in conference play.
Really, the Vols had one terrible season in 2005. Look at Fulmer's last 5 years, which most people consider his worst years:
2003: 10-3
2004: 10-3
2005: 5-6
2006: 9-4
2007: 10-4
And here is Richt's record in the same 5 year period:
2003: 11-3
2004: 10-2
2005: 10-3
2006: 9-4
2007: 11-2
Richt has done much better in bowl games.
3 months ago
Tim,
As far as comparing Fulmer's record against Richt's, I think you miss the point. If you can't restock with recruits, the program falls. And UT has now made it "ok" for that to happen. To recruits, perception is reality. For several years now, Tennessee has been picked to finish 3rd in the SEC East. This kind of thing starts to make recruits believe that the buzz is with Florida and Georgia.
And I don't think anyone really believes that Florida is going to be shut out of the SECCG much longer. Meyer went in his second year and was not expected to go his first year (as no coach should be). The 4 years before that were Zook years. I believe we will see Florida in the SECCG many more times as long as Meyer stays. It was only because Georgia happened to beat Florida last year (for only the 3rd time in the last 18 attempts) that Tennessee was able to go last year instead of a second straight year for Florida (had they beaten Georgia instead). And the only reason last year's SECCG was close was because LSU had been decimated with injuries by that point in the season. I can honestly tell you that, as an Arkansas fan, I know that injuries helped Arkansas beat them in that game last year that happened a week prior to the SECCG. McFadden and Jones also probably knew it was their last college game and poured their hearts out and I believe those 2 could have willed a defeat against a less injured LSU team on that particular given day. But even with injuries, LSU won the SECCG and, while the score was somewhat close, LSU really didn't have to worry too much about what the outcome would be.
Let me make one other point about the arbitrary 8 games clause (which was really the main point of my article). Last year against Cal (I believe) there was a time late in the game when it was obvious that UT would probably not get the ball back if they punted. But Phil suspected they weren't going to win anyway so he didn't even try for a 1st down but instead punted just to keep the score from getting worse. A lot of UT fans rightfully recognized that as giving up. While some may think that's ok, I don't know anyone who would say that they think Neyland would have done that in that situation. What's to keep him from doing that more given that he knows he got an "allowance" of acceptable number of losses?
3 months ago
Getting a bonus for winning 8 games is hilarious. Tennessee should expect to win at least 8 games every season. Getting an extension for winning 9 plus games is more like it.
And Tennessee's recruiting had seemes to have dropped off a bit, but they are back at it this year getting a top QB from California, a top WR from Pennsylvania, and a top ATH from Virginia. Never did understand how they could recruit nationally better than anyone in the league.
3 months ago
Justin,
Necessity is the mother of invention (as the old saying goes). If the borders are being sealed by some of these other teams and they are also losing many of the in-state talent, you have to look elsewhere. I will call your attention to 2 things about those recruits you mention. First, none are from Tenn. or an SEC border state (as I mentioned in my article). And the second thing is that you can expect a quality QB recruit most of the time that you have a junior or senior starting QB that will be departing soon due to the fact that there might be a reasonable shot at beating the current backups and being the starter soon. Crompton is a red-shirt junior so, if the kid expected to sit out his freshman year anyway, he could be looking at starting for 3 years in this case.
But again, the article was about the 8 game automatic contract extension and, while I don't agree with it in principle to have any set number of allowable losses, I do agree with you that a 9 game threshold would make more sense if you were going to do it at all.
3 months ago
From a Tennessee fan...this contract is upsetting, but not for all of the reasons mentioned in this article.
First, I continue to read in multiple articles that Tennessee gets lumped in with the rest of the SEC for not scheduling tough non-conference opponents. That's categorically false - Tennessee has been the most agressive in scheduling difficult non-conference opponents of anyone in the SEC. This decade, the Vols have played Syracuse, Notre Dame three times, Miami twice, just finished the series with Cal and has now opened a series with UCLA. In the next ten years, the Vols will play home and home with Oregon, NC State, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Ohio State.
Second...and even people in the SEC seem to forget this fact...the Vols are 3-1 the last four years against Georgia, and have won the last two games 51-33 in Athens and 35-14 against the team that was supposed to be playing for the National Championship. You can take all the preseason hype you want, but there's nobody in Knoxville who's worried that Georgia has passed the Vols by.
That said, AD Mike Hamilton said he locked up the contract this way to dissuade some negative recruiting that was going on within the conference (as in, other coaches telling players "Fulmer's about to get fired.") Take that for what you will, but that was among Hamilton's central reasoning.
I think 8 wins is underwhelming, I completely agree with that. Even if the contract was 9 wins I'd be a little edgy about it. I think Fulmer did a fantastic job saving the season last year, especially with his head on the chopping block twice. I like him, always have, and I'm glad he's our coach. But yeah, the eight wins - whether it's easy to reach or not - is embarassing for a program of Tennessee's prestige.
3 months ago
I'm not getting the eight game bonus. Is it an AVERAGE OVER A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME, OR IS IT 8 GAMES STRAIGHT UP EVERY YEAR? (sorry for the caps)
You seem to indicate it could go both ways, and I'm wondering just exactly what his contract says. Also, can we assume the 8 wins is for regular season? And not totals for reg and post season?
In any case, 8 wins is really not that great for a competitive conference, so I see your point. But I don't think you can assume a 4-0 non conf record.
The Vols have stepped up to the plate with at least one BCS conference team on their slate every year. (Granted, UCLA stinks this year, but so what? It's a step up from the Citadel or Western Carolina)
Overall, the bar has been set for minimal standards of success. I wonder what his bonus is for 9 wins? And 10 wins etc....is there any change?
3 months ago
I guess I don't understand the outrage. I don't think Tennessee should be embarrassed at all because their athletic program is being loyal to their coach.
Just because he gets a bonus after 8 wins doesn't mean he is going to stop recruiting and/or trying to win just as much as he normally would. He is not going to get his 8 wins and mail in the rest of the season.
If he doesn't produce wins, he'll get canned anyway.
And Donald, come on:
"It was only because Georgia happened to beat Florida last year (for only the 3rd time in the last 18 attempts) that Tennessee was able to go last year instead of a second straight year for Florida (had they beaten Georgia instead)."
Yeah, that plus Tennessee embarrassed GA 35-14! Give them credit; they did what they had to do. If you want to play the semantics game, you could argue that if Tennessee played FL later in the season, things would have been much different. After all, UT was the lab rat against the superhuman Tebow--the guy the nation thought was only a "throwback" running quarterback. I don't think UT respected him enough based on all the man coverage they were in (and stayed in for some reason). Other teams definitely benefited from tape of that game--and you can bet a bunch of coaches were thankful they didn't face Tebow that early.
I can't believe I'm defending Tennessee. This has to be a first for me.
3 months ago
I'm feeling the love, Tim...besides, we're much more likeable than Georgia or Florida right now.
The contract says "eight wins in the regular season" according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel article on the deal. Mike Hamilton talks about eight wins in 12 games, so that may not include the SEC Championship if the Vols made it there, though any season that ends in Atlanta isn't going to end with Fulmer getting fired. The contract also includes a $500,000 raise for winning the SEC and one million dollars for winning the national championship.
Full article with comments from Fulmer and Hamilton here: http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2008/jul/05/messages-in-fulmers-new-deal/
from 3 months ago
Will...thanks for the clarification. I was confused.
from 3 months ago
Will,
I'm just curious- how is Tenn more likeable than UGA or Fla right now? And likeable to whom?
from 3 months ago
Among SEC fans, I think we'd all agree that Florida is generally disliked by most. Between Tebow and the lingering history of Spurrier and those basketball-football-basketball championships, everyone else in the SEC has been beaten by them enough at one point or another over the last 15 years to where I think even teams like Mississippi State have a general disdain for them.
As for Georgia, I think anytime a team gets heavily involved in "we should be playing for the National Championship instead!" - no matter how credible the argument may or may not be - it makes them come across as whiny. When that team then returns the majority of their starters and is ranked in the Top 3 in just about every poll I've come across, you get a lot of "We're going undefeated!" from the same fanbase, which also tends to irritate.
So it's really a good thing for your program and a sign of winning or the potential therein to be so disliked. It seems Tennessee is usually the fifth or sixth team mentioned in a conversation about the SEC right now, which is unusual and a new experience for us...but on that same level, the general disdain towards the Vols is at a lower point.
But we all have our enemies at the same time, and I'd say without hesitation that Georgia fans dislike the Vols more than anyone else does in the SEC right now.
from 3 months ago
Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say everybody hates Tennessee the most, always and forever.
Just sayin.
I guess my UT love fest is over.
3 months ago
Thanks for posting that, Will.
After reading it, there is another element that I didn't even consider: recruiting. Fulmer can flat out say he isn't going anywhere and he has total backing from the athletic department.
Seems like loyalty instead of mediocrity.
3 months ago
Tim,
You may not like it but it is the truth that if Florida had beaten Georgia, they would have been in the SECCG and Tenn. would not have. So Tennessee didn't do "what they had to do." They should have beaten Florida if they wanted to go to the SECCG. Instead, they got the benefit of Georgia doing what they had to do in getting the Florida monkey off their back. Again, look back at the games. Florida lost 3 games in conference last year (Georgia, LSU, Auburn). Had they beaten Georgia instead and therefore only lost 2 games, there would have been a tie with UF holding the tie-breaker edge.
BTW, I don't see how the timing of when UT played Florida had anything to do with it.
from 3 months ago
Donald:
UT had 2 conf. losses; Florida had 3. FL beat Tenn, Tenn beat GA, GA beat FL. The race came down to two teams--Tenn and GA, and Tenn throttled them. FL isn't even in the equation.
The timing of when UT and FL playing was explained in my last post.
3 months ago
Donald, ur a f'n idiot. I do agree with you that TN has not been held up to the dominance of the 90s when we had the like of Lenard Little, Albert Haynesworth, and Peyton Manning. You can't expect to have a fantastic recruiting year, when your getting a new offensive coordinater, and you are recruiting mainly lineman. The year before, depending on what site you were looking at, TN had a #1 or #2 recruiting class. They already have a great class going for 09, and it is just going to continue to get better.
3 months ago
Fulmer's contract is not great for UGA. Fulmer has dominated us for much of his career.
2 months ago
You ruin a decent article with your knock on Tennessee's non-conference schedule. Find a team who has played a harder non-conference schedule than Tennessee the past 5,10,15 years?
Even when Tennessee played Wyoming, Tennessee played nationally respected schools each year. WTH?
Even for gimme games Tennessee schedules those medium schools who are good for an upset each year (Marshall over K State, Southern Miss over Bama or Nebraska)
Tennessee's toughest non-conference game, year by year since Fulmer started:
1993 - Louisville (9-3 that year)
1994 - @UCLA (open @ UCLA? huh? I thought they were new?)
1995 - Oklahoma State (mediocre that year, matchups against East Carolina and Southern Miss were probably better)
1996 - UCLA comes to Tennessee
1997 - @UCLA (the newness is wearing off), after opening with somettimes okay Texas Tech.
1998 - @ Syracuse to open against Donovan McNabb in a great game
1999 - Notre Dame (opened with Wyoming)
2000 - weak.... Southern Miss & Memphis (who upset TN 96)
2001 - @ Notre Dame PLUS open with Syracuse
2002 - Miami Hurricanes who went 12-1 that year (opened with mighty Wyoming and played Rutgers, too, but it was before the media made them good)
2003 - @Miami Hurricanes, where TN broke their 39 game home winning streak (also played Marshall, who beat Kansas State 2 weeks later on the road; and played 9-5 Fresno State during their short 2-year span of decency. They beat UCLA in their bowl that year)
2004 - Notre Dame (again)
2005 - Notre Dame (yet again)
2006 - CAL (favored) (tennessee decided to started scheduling decent non-conference games)
2007 - CAL (again, favored)
2008 - UCLA
Fulmer's sinking the Vols, but at least the Vols schedule teams and play with pride.
Gigavol
www.SmashSouthSports.org
2 months ago
Go ahead and add Oregon to that list above for 2010. Tennessee just added them.
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