Vindication for UT AD Mike Hamilton

On November 2, 2008, University of Tennessee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton became the most hated man in Knoxville when he fired long-time coach and life-long Volunteer Phil Fulmer.

Players, understandably, were upset to lose the coaches who had recruited them. The Big Orange Nation was angry that an outsider had dismissed one of their own. Boosters were furious that Hamilton had renewed Fulmer’s contract with a huge buy-out clause only a year earlier.

The swell of anger peaked a few days later when Tennessee lost to Wyoming, and the blame for that loss was pinned squarely on Hamilton. At the time, many critics said that the firing should have taken place after the season, rather than in the midst of the campaign.

However, four months later, the mid-season firing of Fulmer has proven to be the correct decision for several reasons:

1. Fulmer got an appropriate send off. Waiting until after the season would have denied fans the chance to show their appreciation for all that Fulmer accomplished. Doing it ASAP also provided Hamilton opportunity to start mending fences with the UT fan base.
2. UT got first choice of coaches. By waiting, Hamilton wouldn't have had the jump on the many other schools shopping for new coaches, and he might have had to settle for someone like Gene Chizik. By making the move early, Hamilton got the best head coach available. Likewise, new head coach Lane Kiffin was able to act quickly to assemble the best coaching staff available.
3. The recruiting season was salvaged. Hamilton had his new coach ready to hit the recruiting trail the day the season ended, and it has already paid dividends. Despite having little time and few assistants in place, Kiffin was not only able to retain most of Fulmer’s class, but he was also able to add top-notch recruits of his own. Kiffin and his staff added four-star players Nu’Keese Richardson and David Oku and the class’s only five-star players Janzen Jackson and Bryce Brown.
4. Rocky Top is re-energized. Under Fulmer, the program had grown stale and the fans lethargic. With the coaching change, the Volunteer Army has rallied and the troops are once again talking about football in an excited manner, and most importantly to Hamilton, they are opening their wallets for merchandise and season tickets. All this despite coming off a 5-7 season.
   

In the past, Tennessee ADs were former coaches like Doug Dickey and Gen. Neyland.  Mike Hamilton has a BS in Accounting and an MBA, but that's actually a more suitable background to run a major collegiate athletic program today. And though he's a quiet and unassuming man in person, he has shown that he intends to run his athletic department using a calculated, business-like approach.