For the 17 years that Phillip Fulmer worked the sidelines as the head football coach for The Tennessee Volunteers, they were the model of consistency. The Volunteers were 152-52 in Fulmer’s 17 seasons and they were 98-34 within The Southeastern Conference. Tennessee finished in the top 25 fifteen times. Over that time, The Vols won The SEC two times and they won The Bowl Championship Series Title in 1998. Since Fulmer was fired in 2008, The Volunteers have compiled an overall record of 22-27. Over that span the team is only 8-23 in The SEC and they have failed to win a conference game since November 19, 2011 when they defeated The Vanderbilt Commodores 27-21 in overtime. The Volunteers three main rivals in The SEC are The Georgia Bulldogs, Florida Gators, and The Alabama Crimson Tide. Since 2002, The Vols record against these three teams is only 10-23. Tennessee lost to these three teams this season by a combined score of 132-77. It hasn’t helped The Volunteers fan base that Alabama, Georgia, and Florida are currently ranked second, third, and fourth respectively in The BCS standings with all three having a legitimate shot to become national champion.
Fulmer only had two losing seasons in Knoxville and ironically since he was fired, The Volunteers have suffered three losing seasons. Derek Dooley was just fired as head coach of The Volunteers by Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart on Sunday after The Vols lost to Vandy 41-18. The loss was only the second time in 30 years that The Vols lost to their in-state rival. Besides Dooley’s 4-19 conference record and being 0-15 against top 25 teams, Tennessee’s previous loss on November 10 to SEC newcomer The Missouri Tigers at home ruffled the feathers of The Volunteer faithful. Amid sanctions regarding former Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin, the fan base in Knoxville would have been okay with a 7-5 record this season, but if you’re Dooley you cannot afford to lose to Mizzou and Vandy.
Fulmer was pushed aside because many felt that he couldn’t compete with former Gators head coach Urban Meyer and current Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban on the recruiting trail. The Vols have gone for the youth movement as far as coaches with Kiffin and Dooley and it hasn’t worked. After the 2009 season once the head coaching job of The USC Trojans was vacated by Pete Carroll, Kiffin left Tennessee for Los Angeles and he left The Vols to sink into the abyss. Dooley stepped into a bad situation and made it worse as they are now competing with The Kentucky Wildcats for the last place in the SEC East.
Hart’s next hire as head coach has to be someone that will excite the boosters and recruits alike. That man should be Bobby Petrino. Petrino is a lightning rod for controversy, but in his four seasons as the head coach of The Arkansas Razorbacks, Petrino was 34-17. Petrino had previous success with The Louisville Cardinals where he went 41-9 in four seasons as well, but during his tenure with The Razorbacks he did the impossible which was compete in The SEC West with ‘Bama and The LSU Tigers. Petrino was only 2-6 against The Tide and The Tigers, but he racked up victories against other teams to mask those losses. In 2011, The Razorbacks were 11-2 under Petrino with the two defeats coming at the hands of Alabama and LSU which wasn’t a bad thing being that both teams played for The BCS Championship last season.
Petrino has stirred the pot of controversy during his time. In 2007, Petrino was hired to be the head coach of The Atlanta Falcons. After 13 games and compiling a 3-10 record, Petrino quit and abruptly became the head coach of The Razorbacks. After Petrino lied to Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long about his April 2012 motorcycle accident which involved former Razorbacks volleyball player Jessica Dorrell, he was terminated. There is no hiding the controversy surrounding Petrino, but in the quest of winning The Volunteers need to take a chance. Petrino will be coveted over the next month as several high-profile head coaching jobs could be available such as The California Golden Bears. Petrino has never had any violations with The NCAA come up which is a step in the right direction.
The Volunteers have a storied program with names such as Peyton Manning, Reggie White, and Doug Atkins that are linked to it. Tennessee has some of the best football facilities in all of college football. Neyland Stadium in Knoxville has a seating capacity of over 102,000 which means that the expectations are indeed high. The SEC is a deep conference that you cannot afford to get lost in the shuffle. The Vols have been pushed aside in The and their next head coach must be a smooth operator that can put the pride back in the orange and white. There is a big chore ahead for Hart as the road has indeed been rocky down in Rocky Top.
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