It’s time.
At Tennessee, you can only lose to an arch rival so many times. You can only throw a subordinate coach under the bus so many times. You can only slap arrested players on the wrist so many times. At some point, it’s time to move on.
Phillip Fulmer’s time is up.
It’s been nearly a decade since Fulmer’s 1998 team captured the national championship. Although the state of Tennessee still inexplicably issues National Championship vanity license plates, for most Vol fans the memory of that banner year has faded.
Today’s embarrassing loss to a strong-but-not-that-strong Florida squad should seal the deal. Fulmer has always been a great recruiter, but as anyone in the military will tell you, the battle is won on the field, not the recruiting office.
I still hate the Gators, but my blog nemesis (for this week anyway), the Jollyblogger, has a point in dubbing the Vols as “Outback Bowl runners-up.” We may not even get that far if the Fulmer regime remains in place.
It’s been a great ride on the Fulmer express, but the train has reached the station.
By my count, the Vols have thus far given up 119 points over 3 games. Even when you take the FOUR scores (two defensive, two on special teams) not made by opposing offenses, the defense is still giving up more than 30 points a game.
Chavis needs to hit the road, too.