John Adams: Could Phillip Fulmer have a second coaching act at Tennessee?
Beverly Davenport will clock in at Tennessee on Wednesday. And like anyone in a new job, the UT chancellor probably will have plenty of questions.
The first question might be: “Where do you keep the rubber stamps?”
She will need one to formally approve Tennessee’s next athletic director, who is currently being sought by a search firm, which will pass along its recommendations to a search committee.
Gene DeFilippo heads up the Turnkey search firm, which UT hired to scour the country in pursuit of the most qualified athletic director. The six-person search committee includes former UT quarterback Peyton Manning and mega-boosters Charlie Anderson and Jimmy Haslam.
DeFilippo supposedly is a friend of former Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer. Manning played four seasons under Fulmer. Anderson and the Haslam family have a longstanding relationship with Fulmer.
One more thing: Fulmer is a candidate for the athletic director’s job.
So if you connect the dots, you could assume Fulmer will be UT’s next athletic director – once the new chancellor provides rubber-stamp approval, of course.
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If that assumption proves true, you might wonder what that would mean for UT’s math department.
Just kidding. You would wonder how it could affect the football program and fourth-year coach Butch Jones.
My advice to Jones: Don’t get off to a slow start in 2017.
But for literary purposes, let’s suppose the Vols do get off to a poor start, leaving them with a non-winning record by the end of October. That’s not out of the question since Jones has been 4-4 or worse after eight games in three of his four seasons at Tennessee.
How would an athletic director who also was a former football coach react to that?
He might think that he needed a new football coach. And he might not want to wait until the end of the season to begin a coaching search.
His solution? Hire an interim coach.
And whom might athletic director Fulmer hire as an interim coach?
Do I really have to ask?
Fulmer went 3-0 as an interim coach at Tennessee in 1992 after coach Johnny Majors had to undergo heart surgery. Fulmer also went 45-5 and won a national championship in one glorious stretch as UT’s coach from 1995 through 1998.
You won’t find an interim football coach with those kind of credentials wandering around a university parking lot. You won’t even find one more qualified with a search firm.
Let’s extend the fantasy scenario a little further. Suppose the Vols won their last five games under the interim coach. Then, who would be the leading candidate to become UT’s next full-time coach?
Do I really have to ask?
After hiring a search firm and forming a search committee, Tennessee might conclude that the best coach was already on the payroll. Fulmer would then begin his second stint as UT’s coach, and the school would begin its search for a new athletic director.
If you think that’s preposterous, ask Johnny Majors.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JohnAdamsKNS
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