“I have a great picture in mind. Somebody that’s committed to winning championships and being the best that they can be, with a chance to compete in a conference that’s nationally recognized. I’m not going to go walk into a door somewhere that you have no chance to be successful. I want to be on the big stage and recruit against the best that’s out there.”

But will any school give Fulmer the chance?

Personally, I think it would be a smart move. Although his final season at Tennessee was a losing one (5-7), I believe that the school gave him the boot way to early. Every school has rebuilding years, and prior to that, Fulmer led the Vols to a record of 152-52 in 17 seasons, including a national championship in 1998.

Phillip Fulmer at Tennessee, Image: Newscom

Fulmer’s only 59, and says that he feels young and full of energy. After leaving Tennessee, he joined with a former player to work in recruiting in the investing industry. This year, he plans to enjoy some Saturdays as a fan – but he’s not resting on his laurels. He’s also be busy visiting NFL teams and college campus to learn more about coaching. Ohio State and Duke have already welcomed him with open arms, and he’ll be visiting Texas in late August.

And if he doesn’t get any decent offers?

“I’ve gone through all my organizational stuff and redone it and worked on it and added to it and taken out. I’m either going to be ready to go coach again or write one hell of a book.”

Post from: EveryJoe

Fulmer to Return to College Football?

Phillip Fulmer, before one of his final games at Tennessee. Image: Newscom

In case you don’t follow news from that college or the SEC, Fulmer spent 17 seasons as Tennessee coach before resigning being fired last season and replaced by Lane Kiffin. Says Fulmer,

“We all realize that we love the university very much, but it really can’t love you back. It’s bricks and mortar and there’s people that make decisions along the way and sometimes they’re the right decisions and sometimes they’re the wrong decisions. We’re going through getting past all of that.”

While at Tennesse, Fulmer won 75% of hs games and led the Volunteers to a National Championship, 2 SEC Chapionship titles, and seven East Division titles before going 5-7 last season.

Post from: EveryJoe

Phillip Fulmer Honored before Spring Game

Lane Kiffin is reportedly getting a new gig as the head coach of University of Tennessee. After a one and a half year stint with the Oakland Raiders, Kiffin is getting a pay raise to go down a level of competition.

But if the 33-year-old Kiffin thinks life at Tennessee will be easier than life dealing with Al Davis, he’s in for a big surprise. Sure, Al Davis is a nosy owner who wants things done his way. But Kiffin entered that job after taking over a horrible team and had virtually no pressure to have massive success. A .500 record would have had Raiders fans salivating.

However, with Tennessee, Kiffin will face a whole new level of pressure. Tennessee fired Phillip Fulmer despite a good amount of success over the years. Kiffin will need to not only win at Tennessee, he will need to win big.

When Kiffin felt pressure in Oakland, it wasn’t uncommon for him to start whining to anyone who would listen. At Tennessee, such behavior will have him out on the unemployment line before he can say “Tennessee Volunteers” three times fast.

Good luck to Lane Kiffin and hopefully he can cut out the whinning and cut in the winning.

Photo: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Lane Kiffin to Tennessee – Can he Survive?

Phillip Fulmer is the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. He also has a birthday coming up on Labor Day. Happy Birthday from all of us at Dejuiced!

This will be his 16th year as head coach where he has a record of 147-45 and an SEC record of 87-27. He coached the Volunteers to the first ever BCS National Championship after the 1998 season. He’s had some good years after that and some bad (remember 2005? No? Ranked 3rd in the preseason and finished 5-6. Your welcome for catching you up.) and last year the Volunteers went 10-4 with a win against Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. This year the Coaches and AP polls have them #18 at the start of the season and they take another trip to California this year but this time go up against the UCLA Bruins.

But outside of the goodness above, he has been 14-12 against the SEC in recent years and has been 5-11 against Florida. Some fans are still not over the 2005 year (I understand. Buckeyes went 6-6 in 1999. But I got over that when Cooper was fired). If another year like that happened, what will Knoxville do?

Post from: EveryJoe

Coaching Approval Ratings: Phillip Fulmer