The Deed is Done

Well, my pink slip proved to be prophetic when I posted it on Saturday night. I will admit, though, that I didn’t expect an announcement – if there were one – to come until after the season.

I’ve been very vocal in my discontent with Phil Fulmer and the direction of the Tennessee football team this season. I’ll stand by that. Nevertheless, it’s a sad day for Tennessee athletics. It’s sad that a man who has cemented his status in Volunteer football lore had to go out on such a bitter note.

However, it’s also sad that Fulmer couldn’t adjust his strategies to the current environment of college football. It’s further sad that his teams have shown a gross lack of discipline, both on the field and off, for at least five years.

Anyone who has followed Tennessee athletics over the years has come to associate Fulmer and Pat Summitt with the Big Orange. The difference between the two is that Pat has been smart enough to adjust her approach and her schemes as women’s basketball has evolved. She recruits a different type of player now than she did when she won her first title in 1987.

Unfortunately, Fulmer didn’t display that same adaptability. He kept recruiting the same type of player and calling the same plays that succeeded when the Vols won the national title 10 years ago. The problem is, the rest of the college football world has moved on to a different style of play and differently skilled athletes. So when Tennessee took the field against the Floridas and Alabamas of the world, they were at a glaring disadvantage before the coin was even flipped.

I can understand why Fulmer’s players were upset that their coach was being dismissed. I sure would have like to have seen that same fire before now, though. Where was all that bottled up passion before yesterday’s press conference? Maybe if these guys had taken the field with that same level of energy and determination, things never would have come to this point.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is, I think the decision was the right one. I’m not necessarily a fan of UT AD Mike Hamilton. But I think he got this one right. When you reach a point where you’re always saying, “Well, next year…,” there comes a time when you have to stop and assess why “next year” keeps getting pushed back yet again.

Is it scary to think Tennessee football could join the frustrated ranks of Nebraska and Michigan, who are stuck in mediocrity since making tough coaching changes? Absolutely. The Big Orange faithful can only hope we don’t find ourselves in the same mess. However, we’ll never know what may lie ahead until we count our losses and move forward.

I recall another not-so-distant controversial decision by Hamilton to fire men’s basketball coach Buzz Peterson. The Vols weren’t bad under Peterson. In fact, they were quite decent by Tennessee men’s basketball standards at that time. My how those standards have changed since a guy named Bruce Pearl rolled into town. No one with a fragment of a brain would dispute the rejuvenation that new coach brought.

Here’s hoping yesterday’s move is the first step toward a Pearlesque revival for Tennessee football. Only time will tell.