Philip Fulmer Steps Down at Tennessee

After 16 years as head coach at Tennessee, Volquest.com's Brent Hubbs reports that Philip Fulmer has agreed to step down.  There will be a press conference this afternoon at 5 PM where it will be made official.

Fulmer has had a brilliant career, long having one of the highest winning percentages for any active head coach.  He led the Vols to back to back SEC titles in '97 and '98 as well as the 1998 National Championship.  During his time, Tennessee produced great talents like Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis, and John Henderson.

However, the turn of the century has not been kind to the Vols.  They have been to the SEC Championship three times since 2001, but lost all three games.  In 2005, they finished 5-6 suffering their first losing season since 1988.  Former Offensive Coordinator David Cutcliffe returned in 2006 bringing new life to the Tennessee offense, but his departure to Duke at the end of last season has been particularly harsh on the Vols.

They currently sit at 3-6 (1-5 SEC).  Their offense has been horrendous this year particularly in three big losses to rivals Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.  This weekend they were blown out by a South Carolina team that had only beaten them once in the past 15 years.

The Vols are currently sitting on a pretty strong recruiting class so it will be interesting to see how Fulmer stepping down will affect that.  Potential candidates for the head coaching job include Cutcliffe, Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster, Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, among many others.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?