Word from ESPN.com's Chris Low is that Phil Fulmer has come to an agreement with Tennessee to step down at the end of the season after 17 years as the Volunteers' head coach.So what does this mean for Auburn? It certainly makes things a lot more interesting.
For starters, Auburn's Tommy Tuberville would be the dean of SEC coaches if he were to return next year, with 10 years at the same school.
For those thinking Tuberville's $6 million buyout is too much for the school to afford in these times of economic crisis, guess what Fulmer's buyout was? $6 million, according to ESPN, with another $3.55 million for the rest of the assistants and a whole boatload of money to bring in a new coach. I've said it before, I'll say it again: where there is a will, there is a way in the SEC. No buyout figure will ever save a coach.
This will certainly put the pressure on Auburn to make a decision on Tuberville before the end of the season. Already, the Clemson, Washington and Tennessee jobs are open. If Auburn delays its decision on Tuberville until after the regular season is finished to, as athletic director Jay Jacobs said, evaluate "the body of work," does it risk falling behind in what is expected to be a competitive market for coaching hires this offseason? The hot names out there -- Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, Boise State's Chris Peterson, fired Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin -- have already been mentioned for the Tennessee job.
And now for our favorite part of the Coaches Hot Seat Game, the comparison round. This week: Fulmer vs. Tuberville.
Career records
Fulmer: 150-51 (.746)
Tuberville: 84-38 (.649)
SEC record
Fulmer: 94-34 (.734)
Tuberville: 51-27 (.654)
SEC Championship game appearances/wins
Fulmer: 5/2
Tuberville: 2/1
National Championships
Fulmer: 1
Tuberville: 0
Record last five years
Fulmer: 37-23 (.617)
Tuberville: 47-14 (.771)
Recruiting ranking since 2002
Fulmer (SEC rank/national rank) -- according to Rivals.com
2002: 1/2
2003: 7/18
2004: 4/11
2005: 1/4
2006: 7/23
2007: 2/3
2008: 8/35
2009: 2/6
Tuberville (SEC rank/national rank) -- according to Rivals.com
2002: 3/6
2003: 6/11
2004: 6/21
2005: 3/13
2006: 4/10
2007: 5/7
2008: 5/20
2009: 5/10
Bottom line: Tuberville has clearly been better the last five years than Fulmer, and, while he hasn't hit the highs on the recruiting trail that Fulmer has, he hasn't had any big misses during his tenure like Tennessee did in 2008. (That's if you go by those recruiting rankings, which is an extremely inexact science.)
And while this season has gone south for Auburn (4-5, 2-4 SEC), it's not as bad as it has been for the Vols, who are 3-6 and 1-5 in the SEC. This is Tuberville's first bad season since his first, nine years ago. For Fulmer, it was his second dud in four years (Tennessee was 5-6 in 2005). In my opinion, the "what have you done for me lately" argument certainly hurt Fulmer more than it does Tuberville.
2 comments:
Really, Andy? Another story about Tommy Tuberville and his job security? Haven't you beaten this dead horse enough? It almost appears as though you are rooting for Tuberville to get fired. Wipe the drool off your chin and calm down.
After the 2003 head coaching debacle at Auburn, I do not see Auburn making any rash moves. People lost their jobs because of that and the current staff doesn't want to end up that way.
I'll say it for the last time. Tuberville has A LOT of fans that still support him, he has been a great head coach, and one bad year should not result in his demise. I predict Auburn gives him a chance to make up for it, and he deserves the chance. So please get off the "fire Tuberville bandwagon". Now, if next season is this bad, he will have a much greater chance of getting the boot.
I don't believe anywhere in that post did I say Auburn should fire Tuberville.
In fact, I think it's ridiculous that it's even an idea that's out there, considering what he's accomplished in 10 years at the school. (Note that I put Tuberville and Fulmer's record from the last five years in bold to indicate that Auburn has done quite well compared to Tennessee over that time.)
But I'm not a decision maker at Auburn. And the fact of the matter is, the people in charge don't put up with losing for very long, especially when the team is struggling as much as it has in the last 10 years.
Regardless of what you or I or anybody else thinks, there is a definite possibility that Tuberville gets fired after this season. Again, I'm not advocating it, but I do feel a responsibility to write about that possibility, especially when events around the country (i.e. other SEC coaches with similar resumes getting fired) could have a direct impact on it.
Post a Comment