The Fall of Phillip Fulmer and the Hypocrisy of SEC Tradition

The Southeastern Conference is built upon tradition. Moments that will forever make the hearts of fans tick are abundant. “Run Lindsey, Run!” and “Give him six! Touchdown Tennessee!” are just a sampling of the past.

Memorable games from decades ago can seem to have been played just yesterday, because quite frankly, it’s those sweet and even sometimes sour memories of games won or lost that make the long, sorrowing winter and spring tolerable without football.

A die-hard fan of an SEC football team can’t go on about the hopes of next year without mentioning a heroic win or season of the past. Hell, the Southeastern Conference’s slogan even gives a shout-out to its historic past by describing itself as “The Standard of Excellence.”

But if the traditions and history of the conference are held upon such a high pedestal among fans and corporate alike, how can the Dean of SEC coaches, one with 150 career wins, 96 SEC wins, five SEC championship appearances in the last 11 years, and his alma mater’s first National Championship in 47 years be ousted because of a down season or two?

Sure, it’s easy to point out that Tennessee under Phil Fulmer has not won an SEC title since 1998, or that this season will be the second losing one in four years. But it’s difficult to swallow the thought that Phil Fulmer has not achieved enough in the eyes of his administrators to be able to guide his program through a few rough seasons.

Even harder to imagine is that a "few rough seasons" includes a 10-win, SEC title appearance campaign.

After all, this is Fulmer’s program. He was as recently as seven years ago the state’s proudest son and the most hated man in the state of Alabama, a title that might make even the most masculine orange-blooded fan shed a tear of pride. The man’s been on Rocky Top for 35 years and is what Keith Jackson once described as “Tennessee to the core.”

But that doesn’t seem to be enough for the national spotlight-craving Volunteer faithful and their head man, Tennessee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton. That National Championship season in 1998 gave many fans unrealistic expectations of the program.

Tennessee had not won a national title in 47 long years. A 45-5 record, two SEC titles, and a National Championship in a four-year span from 1995-1998 brought the craving for winning to an unreachable level.

Tennessee, considering the lack of top-level high school talent produced in the state as compared to the rest of the states that make up the SEC, can easily be looked at as an overachieving program.

An overwhelming majority of the program’s best players historically have been plucked out of the backyards of rival schools. The first players that come to mind: Peyton Manning (New Orleans), Jamal Lewis and Willie Gault (Georgia), and Condredge Holloway and Tee Martin (Alabama).

Even Tennessee’s stadium namesake, General Neyland, hailed from Texas.

Despite the in-state recruiting difficulties, Fulmer continued this tradition of convincing young athletes from all across America to come don the Orange and White.

Fulmer has done everything to continue the traditions upon which every Tennessee player and fan of past and present claim as the greatest part of the Tennessee Football experience, including winning. His 96 SEC wins are fifth in SEC history, behind names such as "Shug" Jordan, "Bear" Bryant, and Vince Dooley.

Sadly, tradition, a word that in SEC country is as sacred to football fans as sweet tea and barbeque, is one that cannot even help a Hall of Fame Coach have a chance to right his ship in this age of "what have you done for me recently?”

With the sweeping popularity of spread offenses, young and energetic coaches, and the attention on recruiting being as detailed and publicized as ever, Phillip Fulmer has been relegated in many fans' and boosters' thoughts as a has-been and an old-school coach who cannot keep up with the likes of Urban Meyer, Mark Richt, and Nick Saban.

Those coaches have no doubt illustrated impressive careers in a short amount of time, but how long until one of these "modern" coaches becomes another Phil Fulmer? How long until a down year erases a decade-plus of nine- and 10-win seasons?

The revamped success of Joe Paterno at Penn State this year has been well documented. It’s amazing the rewards of patience and faith in the head man from a fanbase.

I really do wish the best for Tennessee as they move on without Fulmer. It’s like when I was a kid and I heard John Ward announce the last game of his illustrious career. Since 1998, the game broadcasts are still good, but they simply aren’t the same.

It’ll be hard to imagine that Tennessee football will be the same without Fulmer roaming the sidelines, but it’s now become a reality. In a decade or two, when fans look back at Fulmer’s coaching tenure at Tennessee, it will no doubt be thought of and admired as some of the most glorious years in the program’s history.

Let’s just hope then that the Volunteer faithful aren’t dreaming of using UT to spell “Citrus Bowl.”