KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- When Phillip Fulmer came to the University of Tennessee in 1968, he was an 18-year-old offensive guard from Winchester, Tenn., who had a dream. He wanted to play for Tennessee and someday, should fortune smile, become the head coach of his beloved Volunteers.
That dream came true as, for 34 of the past 40 years, Fulmer has remained on the Tennessee campus as a player, assistant coach or head coach. That journey, which began before Richard Nixon was elected President of the United States, has made Fulmer more successful and wealthy than he ever thought possible. Last year, Fulmer and his wife, Vicki, pledged $1 million of their own money to the university. Fulmer is deeply invested in his alma mater.
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| Phillip Fulmer falls to 1-4 against Nick Saban in SEC clashes. (US Presswire) |
Fulmer left the field with his wife and daughters by his side. When he met with reporters, he looked like a man who was running out of answers.
"It's disappointing. This is such a special rivalry and special game to all of us involved," said Fulmer, who is 10-5-1 against Alabama but has lost the last two against Nick Saban.
Tennessee's players looked frustrated to the point of being numb when they met with reporters after the game.
"We played our butts off but they got the W," said defensive end Robert Ayers.
Fulmer, in his 16th full season as head coach, was in the SEC Championship Game a year ago, losing to LSU, the eventual national champion. But the fall of the Volunteers this season has been so steep and so dramatic that even his strongest defenders are now having a hard time making their case.
If this turns out to be Fulmer's last season at Tennessee, he will leave with an average record of 9-3. He won a national championship in 1998 and has taken teams to five SEC Championship Games -- only Steve Spurrier has been to more. He has won 100 more games (150-50) than he has lost. Those numbers are decidedly in Fulmer's favor.
But there are other numbers which have been circulated by a disgruntled Tennessee fan base that is convinced the Volunteers program, despite last year's trip to Atlanta, has been slipping for several years while its biggest rivals -- Alabama, Florida and Georgia -- have been moving forward. Fulmer is 0-4 vs. Florida's Urban Meyer, 3-5 versus Georgia's Mark Richt and 1-4 versus Saban, who also coached LSU.
Fulmer won back-to-back SEC championships in 1997 and 1998 but has not won a title since. No coach in Tennessee history has ever gone 10 years without winning an SEC championship.
And then there is the issue of David Cutcliffe, Fulmer's longtime offensive coordinator who is now the head coach at Duke. With Cutcliffe calling the plays, Fulmer's teams were 85-19. In the years that Cutcliffe was gone, first at Ole Miss and now at Duke, Tennessee's teams are 65-31.
Saturday night's game was a microcosm of the entire season. Alabama made two huge errors in the kicking game. The first was a muffed punt that gave Tennessee the ball at the Crimson Tide 5-yard line. The second was a partially blocked punt that gave the Volunteers possession at the Alabama 32. In those two possessions Tennessee gained minus-10 yards and scored three points. And so it has gone all season long.
Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton, who gave Fulmer a seven-year contract extension over the summer, attended the postgame interviews to show his support. But now he has to choose his words carefully. In an interview on Oct. 14, he recognized that "apathy is a program killer" and said that, despite his personal friendship with Fulmer, he would make a change if it was the right thing to do.
Contacted this week, Hamilton would simply say that "None of us are happy. We just have to win some football games. At this point that is all I should say."
Fulmer has never been one of glamour boys of SEC coaching, à la Saban, Richt and Spurrier. He is today what he has always been -- an old offensive lineman who believes that there is no obstacle that can't be overcome with enough hard work and persistence. And for 40 years that mindset has served him well.
"I'll be back up tomorrow," Fulmer said. "I just saw the team and they have to have a special look on their face. We've got to be ready to go back to work."
But one wonders how many tomorrows are left for Fulmer at Tennessee. Fulmer needs just 24 wins to pass Gen. Robert Neyland (173-31-12) as the most successful coach in Tennessee history. He makes no secret of the fact that surpassing Neyland is a very important personal goal. But it does not appear Fulmer will get the opportunity.
Tennessee has four games remaining (South Carolina, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Kentucky). To win them all would give Tennessee a 7-5 record and put the Volunteers into mid-level bowl. Would that be enough to give Fulmer one more chance to keep the dream alive?
With 9:43 left in Saturday's game, Roy Upchurch scored to give Alabama a 29-3 lead. The Orange-clad Tennessee faithful voted with their feet -- they headed home.
