John Adams: Phillip Fulmer as Tennessee AD? Don't laugh
Tennessee has taken so long to hire an athletic director, Phillip Fulmer is now considered a candidate.
Go ahead and laugh. But it’s not that far-fetched. In fact, he’s probably the favorite.
Never mind that former football coaches as athletic directors are as out of style as typewriters and blacksmiths. They might be regarded as dinosaurs, but that doesn’t make them extinct.
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And at a school whose hiring doesn’t always follow the norm, a former football coach as athletic director is even more plausible.
Many fans and media seem convinced that Tennessee alum and longtime UT sports administrator David Blackburn is the most logical candidate. His Tennessee background and longstanding success as a Chattanooga athletic director have made him a favorite.
The UT Board of Trustees doesn’t care about media and fan favorites. Or logic. It has a reputation to protect.
Its reputation? Making one bad hire after another for numerous administrative posts around campus.
Based on the board’s track record, Fulmer actually might be an improvement, despite his lack of administrative experience.
Phillip Fulmer emerges as candidate to be Tennessee's athletics director
Don’t hold his football coaching against him. As a coach, he was regarded as an exceptional organizer and recruiter. The two go hand in hand, of course. And what is recruiting if not selling?
Fundraising is a big deal for an athletic director. Fulmer could raise money just by flashing its 1998 national championship ring.
Anyone who has ever done business with him knows how much he values a dollar. So balancing a budget shouldn’t be a problem, either
However, if he succeeds lame-duck athletic director Dave Hart, he might want to rethink his message to the masses.
In an interview with the Tennessean’s Mike Organ last week, Fulmer said, “Butch (Jones) has done a great job with the football team. I love Rick Barnes and watching his kids play basketball. … And I’ve known (Lady Vols coach) Holly (Warlick) since she was a kid.”
He would be better off attacking the status quo, reminding Tennessee fans of better days. Fans don’t want to keep hearing about rebuilding programs or winning mid-level bowl games. They would like to celebrate a championship now and then.
Fulmer knows all about that.
Could Tennessee Vols' next AD be Phillip Fulmer?
He was at UT when the Lady Vols won national championships under Pat Summitt, when Bruce Pearl revived the men’s basketball program, when Bill Webb won a national championship in track and when Rod Delmonico took the baseball team to the College World Series more than once. More importantly, Fulmer oversaw the best of times in the modern era of Tennessee football.
Fans remember him better for when he was building Tennessee football toward a national championship than when he was leading its decline, which led to his firing after the 2008 season. They also remember him as a Tennessee guy through and through. He’s a native Tennessean. He played at Tennessee. He and his wife even donated $1 million to the university.
That goes a long way with fans after having a chancellor (Jimmy Cheek) from Florida and an athletic director (Hart) from Alabama. Fulmer is an insider. He’s one of them.
And if he can’t help rekindle the program’s success, he at least can remind them of it.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: Twitter.com/johnadamskns.