What Goes Around Comes Around: A Look Back at Tennessee's Fulmer Years

After 17 memorable years at the University of Tennessee, Phillip Fulmer has been deposed from his position as head coach, thus proving the old adage "what goes around comes around"…

Monday’s announcement brought back memories of a cold Friday night in Memphis, November 1992. My girlfriend had a couple of tickets to the Cajun Buffet at the Wilson World and as poor college students, we figured we had nothing to lose. 

I remember pulling into the parking lot and seeing virtually every TV truck in the state parked there, and thinking “what the…”

Walking through the lobby, we got the news. Johnny Majors was out as head football coach at Tennessee. After a promising 6-0 start, Tennessee had dropped three straight, including BAD losses to Arkansas and South Carolina, and the powers that be decided Johnny had to go.

The circumstances of Johnny’s departure (was he treated fairly, was he not?) and the perception that Fulmer was part of a coup d’etat meant that from the very beginning, Fulmer was a polarizing figure among the fans and media types around the SEC.

Thank goodness we didn’t have university-issued cell phones back then, so we didn’t have any Houston Nutt-type drama to make it even worse.

The bottom line is, that Phillip Fulmer was both loved and hated for what he did and how he did it as the head football coach at Tennessee.

I loved him for… Recruiting
You could fill out a very good NFL starting 22 from the players that played under Fulmer.  They would probably be leading the AFC East right now.

Offense?  At QB, the Man, Peyton Manning.  In the backfield, Jamal Lewis and Travis Henry with Shawn Bryson at fullback, and Little Man Stewart in goal line situations.  

Catching passes:  Peerless Price, Donte Stallworth, Robert Meachem, Jason Witten (a converted DE). 

On the line, two current Packer starters plus a bunch of others. 
Defense?  D-Line – you wanna talk about a D-line?  Shawn Ellis, Leonard Little, John Henderson, Albert Haynesworth.  

Can you say “three and out?”  Great linebackers, safeties, corners, and kickers too.

Tennessee had some incredible college athletes over the last 17 years, and they gave Big Orange fans memories that will last a lifetime.

I hated him for… Recruiting Hoodlums
In a place like Tennessee, the combination of very high expectations along with fierce competition means that we have to stretch to get players from time to time, but Phillip allowed some really bad characters to pull on that hallowed orange jersey. 

Some guys toked their way off the team. Some ran afoul of the local cops and had to leave. Some did much worse. Travis Henry is a national joke now. Jamal Lewis went to the pokey. Leonard Little and Dwayne Goodrich did even worse on their way to prison. 

Whoever the next coach is, I would like to say that at a minimum, let’s keep the potential felons out of the locker room.  Winning with class requires classy players as much as classy coaches.  Less hoodlums please.

I loved him for… The Incredible Wins
Phil had a number of big wins that no Tennessee fan realistically thought could be achieved and it started early. 

In 1992 an untested Heath Shuler leads the Vols to victory between the hedges over a seasoned Georgia team.

The 1995 team beat a very good Ohio State team in the Citrus Bowl, with a memorable goal line stand against Eddie George & company, and demolished Alabama to stop a long losing streak against the Tide. 

The 1998 team had no right to run the table, yet they did, with a couple of big breaks along the way.

My all-time favorite will be the 2001 Florida game. You had to be a fan to understand the frustration we had at losing to the Gators time and again, hearing about not winning in the Swamp, how much better Spurrier was than Fulmer, etc. 

Seeing the Vols pound the Gators all over their own field and sending the smart mouthed, East Tennessee-born Spurrier out with a loss in his last home game at Florida is a sweet memory for all Vol fans.

I hated him for… The Inexplicable Losses
How did we manage to lose to Memphis in 1996?  Easily the worst Vol performance of the Peyton Manning era. 

How did we let Florida take a 35-0 lead IN THE SECOND QUARTER at home that same season? 

Arkansas 1999. The Razorbacks had no business even being close in that game. Giving up the ghost in the 2001 SEC Championship Game against LSU, five fumbles in the rain against Florida, 2002, annual bowl beat downs by the Big 12 and the ACC, and a few more debacles along the way.

The worst one, for my money, is another game against the Gators.  1995, in the Swamp, up 16 with 2 minutes to go in the first half.  Unfortunately the Vols capitulated in the second half, largely based on two TERRIBLE Jay Graham fumbles, and wound up getting blown out. 

Winning that game would have changed the trajectory of both programs. Imaging Peyton never having to answer the questions about beating Florida. Might have been a lot different. 

I loved him for… Regaining the High Ground Over Alabama
Every Vol fan of a certain age remembers thinking we would NEVER be able to compete with the Tide. Phil changed all that in big way. We regained our footing vs Alabama under Phil and, though we may lose it for a while, it will be one of our fondest memories about the Fulmer era.

Phil also reclaimed the high ground over the Tide OFF the field. Alabama has a great college football tradition and, as an SEC fan, I am glad to see them back among the top programs in the nation. It is good for the conference and CFB as a whole.

That said, certain apples at that fine university shamed the whole bunch over the last few years.  Between payments to current and potential players, binge drinking with strippers, shenanigans with secretaries etc. things got downright out of control in Tuscaloosa.

Phil told the truth about the whole Albert Means saga and got thrown under the bus for it in some circles. So be it. Tennessee fans know that our coach told the truth.

Certain Alabama fans should acknowledge it as well.

I hated him for… How He Lost the Program
It started promisingly.  David Cutcliffe leaves, Randy Sanders is promoted, we win the National Championship game over Florida State. 

But it gradually went downhill after that.

Randy Sanders is the #2 reason why Phil is gone. He was simply not good enough, and it showed on the field.

He wasn’t good enough as a player, he wasn’t good enough as a coach, and he certainly wasn’t good enough to get six years in the second most important job on the staff. 

Anybody watching the 2002 Florida game knew we did not have a “coordinator”.  He should have been gone at that time. 

David Cutcliffe was, and is, one of the best offensive coaches around. We needed a top notch replacement. Instead we got a turkey.

The #1 reason why Phil is gone is Phil. He choked on some of the most important personnel calls over the last few years.

The James Banks vs C.J. Leak controversy at QB helped drive Chris Leak to Florida. How good would Chris have been in a pro-style attack on the Hill? Leak should have had more time as the starter to prove himself.

Everyone knew after the 2004 season, with our big win over A&M in the Cotton Bowl,  that Rick Clausen was a formidable quarterback for our team. 

He outplayed Eric Ainge in fall camp, and deserved the starting job. Phil gave the job to Ainge, after “reviewing the tape for every play in 2004” and determining “which player gave them the best chance to win”.  Fulmer got that decision dead wrong.

This year’s decisions haven’t proven to be that good either. 

Dave Clawson?  Major problem. 

Settling on a feature back?  Major problem. 

Sticking with the run game?  Major problem.

We went from national champion to national punch line in a hurry.

In Closing

No one ever said Phillip Fulmer was a bad recruiter.  No one ever said Phillip Fulmer was a bad football coach.  Phillip Fulmer just made too many bad decisions. Being associated with that “coup” against Johnny Majors was the first, but certainly not the last.

With the final analysis, Phillip Fulmer was a better coach than Johnny Majors. He had better players, better wins and a national title to back it up. He put us at the top of the conference, consistently, for a decade plus.

There is one last thing I hope Phil can do better than Johnny.  That is to walk away gracefully, savor the good times, and let bygones be bygones. 

Vol fans, here’s hoping we can get back to respectability soon, with a respectable coach to lead the Big Orange nation.