It’s been a tumultuous time to be a Tennessee Vols fan the past few weeks. Not only did the university announce the firing of football coach Jeremy Pruitt following an investigation into potential recruiting violations, UT’s athletic director, Phillip Fulmer, also announced his retirement.
Fulmer has had a long career with Tennessee, one that began all the way back in his time as a student athlete in the late 1960s.
During his time as a player, Fulmer had a pretty successful college career. He not only garnered All-Southeastern Conference honors as offensive guard, but he also contributed to Tennessee’s 30-5 record from 1968-71.
After graduation, Fulmer coached offensive line and linebacker at Wichita State for five years. He then briefly coached offensive line at Vanderbilt for one season before coming back to his alma matter in 1980. For the next 13 years, Fulmer served many different roles in the Tennessee coaching staff, including offensive line coach and offensive coordinator.
Beginning with a partial season in 1992, Fulmer served as the Vols’ head coach until 2008. He had a mostly successful career, leaving with an overall record of 152-52. He not only coached Peyton Manning for all four of his seasons with the Vols, but he also helped the team achieve the conference title in 1997 and the national championship in 1998.
After stepping down from coaching at the end of the 2008 season, Fulmer led a generally quiet life for the next 10 or so years. In 2017, it was announced that he would be taking over as Tennessee’s new athletic director amidst former AD John Currie’s disastrous search to find former head coach Butch Jones’ replacement. While Fulmer was originally hired in an interim role, his contract was extended to four seasons after he hired Jeremy Pruitt.
Things seemed all well and good for Fulmer entering 2020. The football program was on a six-game winning streak, but soon COVID-19 hit and Pruitt’s tenure collapsed with a 3-7 record, including six straight losses by double digits. Many immediately had questions about Fulmer’s status with UT, and they didn’t have to wait long to get an answer. In the same press conference where Pruitt’s firing was announced, Fulmer announced his early retirement.
“Phillip concluded that he thought it best, and suggested, that a new coach and a new athletic director form a partnership that could provide longterm stability and success for our football program,” Chancellor Donde Plowman said during the press conference. “Phillip came out of retirement to take his current athletic director position and never intended it to be long term.”
Fulmer himself reemphasized Tennessee’s need for stability in this strange time, noting that he hopes the next head coach and athletic director can hold the positions for 10 or more years.
“My thoughts are that I’m 70 years old, and I’m not going to be the athletic director at age 80. It was always my expectation that I’d move on from athletics sooner rather than later,” Fulmer said. “It only makes sense that I make that move this semester so that a new coach and new athletic director can implement their vision together.”
Seeing as how Fulmer would be stepping down before the end of his contract, questions were raised on how his departure would be handled by UT. In a statement to Trey Wallace, writer for FOX Sports Knoxville and Read-Optional, the university noted that they would continue paying Fulmer for quite some time after his official departure.
“We anticipate that when (Fulmer) leaves the athletic director position, he will receive $37,500 per month through December 31, 2023,” a spokesperson from UT said.
Soon after the announcement of Fulmer’s retirement, UT announced that Danny White, the University of Central Florida’s current athletic director, would replace Fulmer.
“I am thrilled to be headed to Knoxville and to a university with a great competitive tradition and a spirited and devoted fan base,” White said. “Volunteer fans have an expectation to win, and my first task will be taking on the search for a new head football coach. But I want all Vols to know that I am deeply committed to excellence in all of our athletic programs.”
As of writing, Fulmer has not made any further statements on his retirement or White’s hiring.
