The ax finally dropped on the longest tenured SEC head coach as Phil Fulmer stepped down as the Vols head coach at the end of the season. This might have been shocking news prior to the 2008 season as Fulmer signed a lengthy extension this past offseason, but reality set in for the Vols head man after embarrassing performances against UCLA, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. You can always judge an SEC fan base's contentment with its head coach based on the level of delusion they operate at. The fans at Tennessee's biggest rival schools (Georgia, Florida and Alabama) are all operating at off the chart levels of delusion for good reason. Tennessee fans just seemed to lose their spark this year. One year removed from an SEC title game appearance they ducked out just after halftime against Florida at home this year and in general Vols fans weren't among the cockiest and proudest in the SEC.
Letting your fans dictate the direction of your program is always dangerous and the restlessness with Fulmer seemed a little unfair. Here's a guy won a national title in 1997, won 9 games on average every season, won more games than any Tennessee coach except the guy whose name is on their stadium and like I mentioned earlier was in the SEC title game last year. It's not like he was free from criticism either. It's true the program had seemed to lose its luster in the post-Peyton era. It seemed like the program was barely above average without David Cutcliffe mentoring the Quarterbacks and calling the offensive plays. Folks are down in Knoxville, but they must be wary of this: there is no guarantee they are going to get better.
One name being bandied about is Butch Davis, the man who rebuilt the Miami dynasty and is currently building an outstanding team at North Carolina. On the college level he is probably one of the five best coaches in America. If you can land Davis, you've won if you're Tennessee. Outside of that, who can you guarantee will be better than what Fulmer was? I'm a huge Mike Leach fan, but there are definite concerns as to how he'll fit in as an SEC coach. I think his system can work, but he's not exactly the fiery guy that Saban and Meyer are. He's kooky. And how well will kooky play in the SEC? If he wins, it'll play better than not. How long would it take to make that offense efficient anyway? Could he turn Nick Stephens or Jonathan Crompton into the next Kingsbury, Symons, Hodges or Harrell in a season? Would Tennessee fans remain patient if they struggled through a season or two similar to the one they are currently suffering through to bear the fruits of Leach's system?
The other hot name in the world of coaching is Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Muschamp will undoubtedly bring the fire and intensity to the Tennessee job that a Saban or Meyer would and he knows the SEC as a former UGA Linebacker and Defensive Coordinator at LSU and Auburn. The assistant-turned-head-coach route has paid off in spades in some cases (Mark Richt and Bob Stoops come to mind) and in other cases not so much (How'd Ed Orgeron work out for Mississippi?). Coach Boom, as he's affectionately known for a tirade caught on ESPN and circulated around on youtube, should make a good head coach, but there is no way of knowing for certain.
There are plenty of other guys who you hear about, Chris Petersen at Boise State and Todd Graham at Tulsa are two names, but making the jump from a smaller school to a bigger program isn't necessarily a recipe for success either. Tennessee has an opportunity to create a buzz that has faded in recent years from Knoxville, however there is still a very real possibility that one day they'll long for the stability of Ol' Phil up on Rocky Top.
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