For the die-hard Phillip Fulmer fans that still exist—and I am speaking to both of you at this point—just in case you missed it, when they showed Phillip Fulmer's picture on the JumboTron Saturday night, there were loud BOOS!  For you two remaining fans of Fulmer, it was from the Orange-clad sections, not the Tide fans.

Such are the depths of Fulmer's popularity right now.  Sporting a 3-5 record will do that to you, especially when you're being paid premium dollar, preseason ranked in the top 20, and supposedly filled with talent everywhere but apparently the coaching staff.

With the only "gimmie" win left on the schedule being a hapless Wyoming, the Vols now have a good/bad scenario on their hands.  The bad: They will likely finish so bad they won't get a bowl invitation.  The good news: They won't win eight games, so Fulmer's contract can't "automatically" get renewed.

When he had good assistants to carry him, he looked good.  Clueless Clawson certainly is no David Cutcliffe, and only John Chavis remains to give the team any credibility at all.  Recruiting has been on a downhill slide even worse than the winning percentage, and the powers that be don't see an imminent turnaround in the near future.

Combine all these factors, and you have a scenario that creates no other alternative but to pay up and clean the coaching staff and start over.  Perhaps in 15 years, when they bring Fulmer back to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their last National Championship, people will politely applaud him, and some may even remember him fondly.

For Fulmer, the sad thing is that it may take much time for it to happen.  At least he'll have his memories and all the money to bide him over until then.