Get Fulmer Back.com

With Phillip Fulmer getting the boot at Tennessee, we thought it would be good to run down the reasons why he should still have his job at Tennessee. Thus, we got our crack research staff together and they poured of reams of stats and news articles to come up with the top 5 reasons Phillip Fulmer should still be the head coach at the University of Tennessee. Here we go...

1. Head Coaching Record
We all know that Phillip Fulmer's head coaching record is 152-52 or 74.5% (5th best team record of all schools), but critics of Fulmer's win percentage point to his performance in the last 10 years. Did you know his record in the last 10 years at Tennessee (1999-2008) is 80-34 or 70.2%? That is not exactly falling off a cliff. In fact, Phillip Fulmer led Tennessee to the 16th best record of any Div. I-A school in that last decade.

NCAA Winning Percentages the Last 10 Years.

In the 10 years before Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee had a 70.7% winning percentage, and in the 40 years before Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee had a 67.1% winning percentage. So basically, Phil Fulmer's poor performance recently is still better than the previous 40 years before him.

2. SEC Coaching Record
Again, we all know that Phillip Fulmer had a 97-35 (73.3%) SEC Record for his head coaching career at Tennessee (good for 2nd best team record in the SEC). Critics, however, point to the last ten years. In the last 10 years Tennessee had the 5th best record in the SEC, and that sounds bad until you really look at the numbers.

SEC Win Percentages 1999-2008

Basically, the team was literally 1 game away from being 3rd, 2 games away from being 2nd and 5 games away from being first (out of 75 games). Also, think about this: if Georgia had one more win last season (not against TN) and Tennessee didn't go to the SEC Championship, then Tennessee would have had the 3rd best record in the last 10 years. And those are considered Phil's down years.

(That Staseen website is a statistician's dream.)

3. Phillip Fulmer Bleeds Orange
I guess you heard that Phillip Fulmer was first for this year's blood drive. However, this section is not just about actual blood. Phillip Fulmer loves Tennessee, and is constantly striving to make his Alma mater better. Just last year he donated $1 million to UT.

4. SEC Championships
Phillip Fulmer has won 2 SEC Championships while at Tennessee. Recently Fulmer hasn't won any SEC championships, but he did go to the SEC championship 5 times in the last 11 years (including last year!!!). That is more than any other head coach. I know that wouldn't be good enough for Ricky Bobby, but that is not exactly falling off the map.

5. 6 Million Other Reasons
Phillip Fulmer's buyout was $6 million. This buyout comes when the University of Tennessee is facing major budget problems and being forced to layoff faculty. Admittedly, Tennessee's athletic program gives money back to the university almost every year (we have heard, but can't find source), but that's a few extra million that could be given back this year when the university really needs it.