Clock is ticking: Fulmer's time to leave is approaching

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- It was fourth-and-goal at the Florida 1-yard line and Phil Fulmer had a decision to make.

He could kick the field goal and get booed.

Or go for the touchdown.

Phil Fulmer is definitely going to feel the heat after this humiliating loss. (Getty Images)

So Fulmer thought about it and decided to choose the route that didn't guarantee boos, which is to say he went for it. Then his quarterback promptly threw an interception. So Fulmer got booed. And this is pretty much what it's like to be the Tennessee coach these days.

"There's probably not very many people happy with me right now," Fulmer said. "There's a couple of things I'd probably boo too."

Florida pounded Tennessee here at Neyland Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The final score was 30-6.

So we are now one game closer to the end of the Phil Fulmer era. I don't know if it's coming after this season or next season or the season after that. But it's coming soon. And UT football seems destined to look like something short of UT football until Mike Hamilton pulls the trigger or Fulmer does it himself.

This can go down quickly or slowly.

But rest assured, it's going to go down because a large percentage of the fan base is growing impatient to a scary degree and the embarrassing statistics are starting to pile on top of Fulmer. Yes, he has that 1998 national title to his credit, and that should not be discounted. But how long does that matter? I mean, Tom Glavine won the National League Cy Young Award in 1998, but I wouldn't want him pitching for me next Saturday. And do you have any idea what Shawn Colvin is doing these days? She won three Grammys in 1998 and hasn't won a significant thing since, which makes her like Fulmer in a lot of ways.

Since 1998 Fulmer has:

• Not won the SEC.