Is Phil Fullmer as good as fired at Tennessee?

Question

I'm not a Tennessee fan or anything, but I seem to remember Fullmer being on the hot seat. By losing to an unranked team whose third string QB threw 4 interceptions in a half, does this pretty much seal Fullmer's fate among the Tennessee faithful? Barring a miracle of course, which doesn't seem likely when you can't take care of an average team with a 3rd string QB who tried to give you the game.

Answer 1

When was the last time a coach that won the national championship was fired? That is actually an excellent question.Tennessee did win their division as recently as last season. I don't think he is on the hot seat this season, even with a losing season. Anything less than 9 wins, and they will probably start grumbling, and in 2010 he will be on the hot seat. If he has a losing season, he would be on the hot seat in 09.

Answer 2

I'm a Tennessee fan and I've lived here my whole life.  Fulmer is no where near retirement.  He still plans on coaching for several more years.  Retirement in the near future would be a major shock.

The issue here is that Tennessee has settled for mediocrity for too long.  Should Fulmer be replaced?  Probably - not because he's a bad coach, but because the game has passed him by.  College football is very different than what it was in 1997 and 1998.  However, remember that last year he won the SEC East and his team nearly won the SEC Championship.  If he has what I predict (a 7 win season this year) he'll get one more chance.  If he's not back in the championship picture then we'll see UT make a change heading to 2010.

Answer 3

It'll depend on how the rest of the season goes. I think that UT fans are really going to start grumbling about Fulmer if the Vols have less than 9 wins. They're tired of being middle of the road and expect to be contending every year, like many teams with winning histories. '98 was a long time ago. I don't think he'll retire at all, but if he has a really poor season, I think fans will be calling for him to be out.

Answer 4

Wait until the seasons over. Tennessee wouldnt fire Fulmer, a coach that won a National Championship with the Vols in 98, mid-season. I think Fulmer will retire at the end of the season.

Hes not going to get fired, but he'll retire soon.