Now that the entire staff is put together, the recruiting season is nearly over and the plans for the Orange and White Game are officially set, it seems appropriate to reflect on the past few months of Tennessee football.
The firing of Phillip Fulmer brought a multitude of reactions from fans across the Vol Nation. Many supporters argued that the man’s legacy and dedication to UT football was enough to keep him around. He brought Tennessee glory in the ’90s by winning two SEC Championships and a National Championship in ’98. He won 152 games and won them “the right way.”
The attachment many fans felt to Fulmer, myself included, was evident. For nearly two decades he has been the face of Tennessee football. All of a sudden, he was gone. It was time.
Consider the fact that Tennessee had not finished in the top 10 of the polls since 2001 and had not won an SEC championship since ’98. John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel pointed out in an October column that Fulmer was 1-5 versus Georgia, Alabama and Florida the past two years and lost by an average of 23.8 points. Fulmer’s 152-win record is somewhat misleading in regard to UT’s dominance under Fulmer, as nearly a third of those wins came against mediocre South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Kentucky teams. The off-the-field issues put UT in the news for the wrong reasons and led to what’s known to other SEC fans as the Fulmer Cup, jokingly awarded to the coach with the most players arrested.
No need to worry about ol’ Phil, though. Over time he’ll have $6 million in his pocket and he can snicker at the irony of the fact that those who hated him most are the reason his wallet is fatter than most of our wallets will ever be.
As unfortunate as Fulmer’s decline was, Tennessee was ready for a change. After weeks of speculation, Lane Kiffin was announced as the new head coach. This also caused a tidal wave of reaction. Many feel Kiffin is unproven at the NFL level and generally question his coaching ability. This is somewhat valid, as his record at Oakland was unimpressive and his age leads many to believe he’s not ready for the challenge that UT offers him.
It’s hard to argue with the success of Kiffin’s offensive coaching at USC. The man helped lead the Trojans to west coast supremacy and coached a couple of Heisman Trophy winners in Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart. He was known as a strong recruiter and produced a high-octane offense with the sack full of five-star players he helped bring in each February.
Will Kiffin’s ability to be a strong offensive coach at USC translate into a strong head coach at Tennessee? Who knows? But those now surrounding him on his staff are confident in his ability to do so.
Kiffin has worked tirelessly to put together what he considers the best staff in college football. The UT athletic director is footing the bill of $5.325 million for the assistants that Kiffin has brought on, including a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator, last season’s best recruiter in the country according to Rivals.com and a man who has coached four current starting running backs in the NFL and a variety of other recruiting and coaching gurus that can potentially return Tennessee to top glory.
On paper, this football staff looks like it might be one of the best college staffs in history. Fans cannot be quick to crown anybody a champion before they step onto the field, but the work these coaches have done is already having an impact on the direction of the football team.
They have been able to maintain a top 15 recruiting class started by Fulmer in a matter of weeks as well as generate interest from other top prospects who previously did not consider Tennessee. Players are required to get up at wee hours of the morning and run, and Kiffin is showing everybody who is boss by tossing those who do not comply with his rules off the team.
The players are the ones who have suffered the most through this time period. On top of losing the man they loved as coach, they’ll be managing their third new offensive system in three years. Despite the fact that many are showered with a free education, equipment and certain benefits we regular students are not, the emotional roller coaster of the past few months has no doubt been a difficult one.
But Tennessee football will be fine. The players will adjust. The coaches will recruit, develop and lead. The fans will remain loyal. The sky will remain blue.
Except for the many more orange fireworks we hope to see this fall, coinciding with Volunteer scores.
— Oliver Casey is a junior in enterprise management. He can be reached at [email protected].
