To admit this is like putting lemon juice on a paper cut...

[VOLveeta]

I wanted Fulmer gone.

And now I'm starting to realize that I was spoiled, had a sense of entitlement and... good Lord do "Fulmer's" come rarely.  Yes he was losing his mojo (so supposedly has/had Richt)... but I'm resolving myself to the fact that we just plain blew it by forcing such a draconian change without giving him a chance to pull it together.  Now to add a little acid to that paper cut, it appears Kiffin is a hell off a coach and I'm starting to think he's going to survive the NCAA's wrath and prove to the world, he's not such an idiot.

This is a gruesome time to be a Vol fan.  I'll never waver, but we are at rock bottom.  It's about so much more than just x's and o's... Fulmer so rarely lost staff, even in his worst seasons and while the last couple of seasons were ebb's... the changes we forced seem to have forced a potentially decade or more long drought.

yer peppy pal™,
VOLveeta

[ReVOLver]

Fulmer's biggest weakness was that he rarely lost staff.

To look backwards and pine for one of the very reasons we are in this situation is a ridiculous waste of energy. Firing Fulmer was the right move because he got lazy. The bad decisions on coaching hires that came after don't change that.

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[VOLveeta]

C'mon.... Let a man drown in his beer for five minutes.     I'll get over it and rebound like we all always do.  But had we left everything the way it was... we are no where near this bottomness of the barrel.  No way.  This program is at the lowest point I've seen it since my childhood and I'm OLD!

[VinnieVOL]

I wanted Fulmer gone.

And now I'm starting to realize that I was spoiled, had a sense of entitlement and... good Lord do "Fulmer's" come rarely.  Yes he was losing his mojo (so supposedly has/had Richt)... but I'm resolving myself to the fact that we just plain blew it by forcing such a draconian change without giving him a chance to pull it together.  Now to add a little acid to that paper cut, it appears Kiffin is a hell off a coach and I'm starting to think he's going to survive the NCAA's wrath and prove to the world, he's not such an idiot.

This is a gruesome time to be a Vol fan.  I'll never waver, but we are at rock bottom.  It's about so much more than just x's and o's... Fulmer so rarely lost staff, even in his worst seasons and while the last couple of seasons were ebb's... the changes we forced seem to have forced a potentially decade or more long drought.

yer peppy pal™,
VOLveeta

Agreed 100%, I am now totally in the "We should've never ran Fulmer off" camp.  I was never sure about his firing, whether it was the right thing to do or not.  Now I'm convinced we really screwed up.  We were a program off balance that has now been knocked to the ground repeatedly ever since.  Dark days, these are.

[BigOrange Maniac]

It's just a matter of getting the right coach in place. For the last 3-4 years of the Fulmer era, when it became apparent that he would ultimately have to be forced out, lots of fans repeatedly warned that it might take us a few coaches to get it "right," much like the situation Alabama went through.

That's exactly what has panned out. As bad as things are now, they aren't really any worse than they were in '08. We're a mediocre team now, but we were going to be a mediocre team with Fulmer at the helm. That's what it had become. Even in '07, when we snuck into the SECCG, we should've legitimately been a 7-5 or even 6-6 team and were embarrassed by Florida and Alabama.

At least now we're three years closer to finding the right guy. Despite where the program is now, I think the darkest days are behind us. Even though I'm all for canning Dooley immediately, he has stabilized the program somewhat.

[ReVOLver]

So if it was the wrong move, bring him back. He's only been out of the game 3 years. Who's in favor?

I just can't believe this is the direction people go but to each their own I guess.

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[VOLveeta]

ReVOLver... I don't know from football, if I'm honest.  I'm just taking five minutes to whine.  Fortunately for you and the program, my opinion means bupkiss.  We just took another hit, no one's ready to storm the castle... we're just having an "uh oh" moment.

[VinnieVOL]

I don't want him back, it's obviously too late for that.  I just look at it as "THIS is what we ran him off for?" He had let things deteriorate, but compared to what?  I just think he wouldve had us back in conention sooner than we will be at this rate.  I'll be in my 40's before we are a serious contender, I believe.

Many are assuming we WILL be back at some point, I'm not so sure.  I don't think it will be anytime soon.  We are lower now than Fulmer's worst years.  Are we on our way up?  Not in my opinion. Getting embarrassed by Florida and Alabama is better than getting embarrassed by everyone AND losing to Kentucky.

After Dooley is fired we will keep shopping in the coaching bargain bin and hope for a lucky hire.  We'll never open the bank for a big name coach, and even if we did I still don't think those big names would come here.  It's a gloomy outlook on my part but I think we'll be in the cellar for a good while.

I know it's a waste of energy saying things like this, but what's a message board for if not to vent and discuss?  I know there's no way anyone couldve predicted the chain of events that has taken place, but looking back I can't help but feel the way I do and be sad.  There's no "answer" out there.

[BigOrange Maniac]

After Dooley is fired we will keep shopping in the coaching bargain bin and hope for a lucky hire.  We'll never open the bank for a big name coach, and even if we did I still don't think those big names would come here.

Who says? That was the Hamilton MO. I don't think Hart is going to be like Hamilton.

[VinnieVOL]

Just my view on the state of the program.  But it saddens me even further that now I'm sounding like Hammy.

[crockettman]

Fulmer was a hell of a recruiter but as a coach he was only as good as Chief and Coach Cut.. his biggest mistake was holding on to Sanders as OC as long as he did and letting his ego get too big...Kiffin is a turd and I'm glad he's gone!This season was bad but look at our schedule and our situation with all the freshmen we had to play...all of the teams we lost to except Ky were ranked.. I think Dooley will get this team turned around and I think that brutal schedule will pay dividends in the future with those young players...Dooley grew up as a coach this year and so did this team..There are brighter days ahead for him and this program...Some times you just gotta dig through $hit till see sunshine..

[BanditVol]

My view all along was that it was risky to let Fulmer go, and I particularly didn't like the WAY he was let go (thank you Hamilton!).   

IMO had Fulmer stayed on or at least been given to the end of the season we salvage an at least .500 year in 2008.  And had that occured, no way do we drop this far IMO.

I don't believe for one minute we would have hovered around 0.500 as we have.  I do think we probably would have had 8, 9 win season though, and that our fanbase would not have accepted that any better than they were.  Others may disagree, which is fine, there is no way to go back and check.

The program is in sad shape.  But maybe, just maybe, we make a good hire at DC, or get good coaches to replace the two that left and Thompson does a bang-up job at DC, and we have the 8- or 9- win season we all demand next year.

Stranger things have happened...not all is lost!

Wake me up in August.   

[Inspector Vol]

IMHO getting rid of Fulmer was the right thing to do. The problem came from that was the only thing Hamilton did right. He screwed everything else up. All of this mess lays at his feet and whoever hired him.

[tnflower]

IMHO and from a "girley" point of view, our biggest mistake was getting rid of Chief.