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3/1/05
By CHRIS LOW The Tennessean
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| It's amazing to me how dominating (Tennessee football) it is in people's lives....It's a passion. It's an outlet. It's entertainment. Some people live their life around it, and I guess that's OK. |
Spend a little time around the UT football program. Last year had it all. It started with Coach Phillip Fulmer skipping the SEC Media Days at the advice of his attorneys to avoid being subpoenaed and then lashing out at what he called ''rogue attorneys'' for trying to make him the villain in Alabama's NCAA troubles. On the field, the Vols made history by starting a true freshman quarterback in the first game, and Brent Schaeffer and Erik Ainge shared the position the rest of the way until they both suffered injuries. Tennessee, with very little fanfare in the preseason, still had enough to win the SEC Eastern Division championship outright and gave Auburn a scare in the SEC Championship game before losing 38-28. Rick Clausen rescued the Vols after injuries to Ainge and Schaeffer and was offensive MVP in UT's 38-7 rout of Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. The Vols won 10 games for the second consecutive year, swept Alabama, Florida and Georgia for the first time since the 1998 national title season and specialized in winning close ones. Six wins were by six or fewer points. Along the way, there were issues. Fulmer had to dismiss starting safety Brandon Johnson for firing a gun outside a teammate's apartment, and he also dismissed the multi-talented James Banks after Banks attempted to manipulate a drug test. There was a brawl at a nightclub the week of the SEC title game, and there was even a shoplifting incident involving tight end Chris Brown the night before the Alabama game while the team was at a Knoxville mall watching a movie. But the future looks bright. UT is in the top five in some projections for the '05 season, and 18 of 22 starters from the Cotton Bowl return. The dean of SEC coaches sat down with The Tennessean last week and reflected on a number of issues. In the first of a two-part interview, Fulmer talks about his coaching system and about the prospects for next year. Consistency biggest key to success, says Fulmer Tennessean staff writer Chris Low recently sat down with UT football Coach Phillip Fulmer: Q. You've never won fewer than eight games in a season and won 10 or more games in eight of your 12 full seasons. What do you think is most responsible for that consistency in a league that breeds inconsistency? A. It's not about one person or one side of the ball or just the offseason program or just the fall. It's about everything together, and I believe that with all my heart. It's about everybody on my staff pulling together to get it done. And a big part of it is about recruiting, getting the right kind of players in the program. But once they're here, you've got to discipline them and teach the system we believe in. Sometimes there's give and take, and sometimes people have to swallow their egos a little bit. Q. What exactly is that system? A. It's being balanced in everything you do. You're not going to always throw for all the yards you want to throw for because you've got to run the ball to protect the defense some. You're not going to get to blitz all the time because you can't afford to give up the chucks because it's going to put the offense in a bad position. You can't always go for the blocked kick because you may rough him and the defense can't stop him. That balance has been really important for us, and I mean that. It's not about me. I get way too much credit for what we've accomplished here. It's about a team of people. Q. What do you make of the often-repeated criticism that your staff has gotten stale because you've made so few changes? A. We've had a number of guys pass on head coaching opportunities at mid-major schools, or a number of guys have not pursued them. We've also lost a couple of guys to the NFL and had some guys pass on NFL jobs. You don't want guys becoming comfortable and non-productive, but I haven't seen that. There have been years where somebody doesn't do quite as well as another year in recruiting, and you come in, sit down and talk about it professionally and get it corrected. If it doesn't get corrected, that's when you make a change. Q. Are you ever caught off guard at how much Tennessee football means to people? A. It's amazing to me how dominating it is in people's lives. There's an incredible amount of interest. But I was just in Gainesville to watch my daughter diving, and it's the same down there. It's the same in Auburn. It's the same in Tuscaloosa, and it's the same in Baton Rouge, and it's probably the same in Columbus, Ohio. It's a passion. It's an outlet. It's entertainment. Some people live their life around it, and I guess that's OK. Q. Your teams have proven very dangerous in the underdog role. But this coming year, you're likely to start the season in the top 5 nationally. How will this team approach that role? A. I think we'll approach it confidently and the same way we try to approach every season. I think I've matured in the job and understand the pitfalls of being the guy everybody is shooting at. I can tell you that it's a better position to be in than being in the middle of the pack and having to fight your way to the top. So I'm OK with being one of the favorites, but I'm also realistic enough to know that we're going to do everything we can. But it still comes back to injuries, turnovers and a little bit of good fortune along the way that can make the difference. Q. Assuming key players such as Kevin Simon and Jason Allen return close to 100 percent from surgery, where does this team rank in terms of talent and depth with your previous teams? A. We probably have as much depth as we've had on any team since I've been head coach except in the secondary. That's still a question mark right now. We're going to have a brand new punter and nobody right behind him. We need to find a backup punter. But from a depth standpoint, I don't know if we've had a team quite like this with as many kids who've played. The exception is the secondary, which is a very crucial area. Q. How do you see your secondary shaking out? A. Antwan Stewart has to be healthy, but he's shown the right kind of attitude and ability to be a good player here. He'll get a shot at safety. Our commitment to Jason is to play him at cornerback. We'll find another corner, and everybody else is going to look at safety. I'm really excited about Inky Johnson. He's dynamic. He just has to learn. I'm excited about Jon Hefney and how much better he'll be in his second year. Those three freshmen we signed will get their first shot at safety. Hopefully, we've got the problem fixed before they get here. Odds are, though, they'll be in the mix, play a lot and maybe even start. Q. Parys Haralson and Jason Allen are your returning captains. Who else will be a leader on this team? A. There's a good list of them. Cody Douglas. Jesse Mahelona. I think Richie Gandy will be. He's earned everybody's respect. Kevin Simon. Rick Clausen. Those are just a few. Q. How valuable is it to have junior captains returning for a second consecutive year? A. I can't believe I didn't do it my first 11 years, looking back now. It's great when you have those kind of kids. I am concerned about our young leadership when you look at our freshman and sophomore class. There has to be guys mature and develop, and we're pushing that and working to teach them how to be a leader. Q. You've gone from being barren at quarterback a year ago at this time to a situation where it might be the deepest position on your team. Can you ever have too many quarterbacks? A. I've never had too many. I can probably better tell you after the season. I don't think we have an issue here with these guys because they're competing. The best player, the best leader and the guy who gives us the best chance to win all of our games is going to be our quarterback. The rest of them are going to be competing for playing time. Q. Have you discussed a possible transfer with Brent Schaeffer or the possibility of switching positions if he doesn't win the starting job in the spring? A. He hasn't mentioned anything to me about transferring, and we haven't talked about any kind of position change. I think he wants to be a quarterback, and certainly right now, he gives us some dynamics at that position. Steeled by Tide turmoil, Fulmer focuses on future There's a side of Fulmer that he doesn't show to just anybody. Always cognizant of doing and saying the right thing in public, the Tennessee football coach was pushed to the limit this past year. The off-the-field drama as it related to his role in Alabama's NCAA problems turned nasty, and Fulmer wasn't about to back down. In fact, he can still recite some of the exact things he was called by some of his harshest critics, be it cowardly, hypocritical or even fat. ''He does things that are politically correct,'' Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis said of his boss. ''But if you push him hard enough and you want to fight, he's not afraid of that, either.'' Fulmer, while admittedly motivated by some of the mudslinging, said he never allowed his focus to be sabotaged. He also praised the UT administration for its staunch support. Fulmer probably has as much clout now on campus as he has ever had. He's walking around with a new $2.05 million contract, a football team that has a chance to be his best since the 1998 national championship season and a new president, Dr. John Petersen, who already has shown a penchant for making football-friendly decisions. Now comes the hard part - making it all add up to an SEC title in 2005 or even better. Q. What concerns you most about some of the new academic reform measures as it relates to your program, especially now that scholarships will be taken away from those schools who fall below the new guidelines? A. From what we were originally told, we were in real good shape. As it has turned out with some of the interpretations as we've gone along, I don't think what we were told on the front end and what we're interpreting now is the same. They're actually punishing schools like Tennessee, Florida, Florida State - the guy that goes and recruits the really great player that might leave as a junior. The way it is now, you get penalized for the guy who goes to pro football. I think they will re-look at that. Q. Does it change your philosophy on how you will recruit? A. We'll be more conscious of academics. We'll also want to sign the player who's going to help us win championships. It's a balance. This class we just signed, out of 27 players, we've got three or four issues. You could have 15 issues of different degrees. Ten years ago, you might have had 15. Five years ago, you might have had seven or eight. If you plan on staying at a place for a long time, you don't want to risk that many in this day and age. I plan on staying here for a while longer. Some schools won't care because their coach will be looking for that next job. But we're still going to keep recruiting the great players. Q. How do you respond to the perception out there that you're an exceptional recruiter but just an average game-day coach and average X's and O's guy? A. That comes with the territory, but you don't win without having the ability to do both. Most of the work on Saturday has long been done during the week. Most of the situations that come up have long been decided. It rarely comes down to those last 25 seconds on the play clock. Q. Do you regret anything you did as far as your methods in aiding the NCAA in its investigation of Alabama? A. I said what I had to say about that at the time. I did what I felt was in the best interests of the University of Tennessee. I really don't want to get back into all of that right now. Q. What was your reaction when you heard disassociated Alabama booster Logan Young had been convicted in federal court for paying former Trezevant High Coach Lynn Lang to steer Albert Means to Alabama? A. The sad part is that a naive young man was taken advantage of, and the Southeastern Conference took another hit because of the whole thing. It was a sad chapter in college football, and it's a sad chapter in the Southeastern Conference. But out of it, anybody is able to go into Memphis now and recruit. There's a level playing field for everybody. Q. How much was your fire stoked by some of the unsavory things you were called by those accusing you of conspiring to bring down the Alabama program? A. It just made me stronger and that much more determined. I was motivated by every bit of it, but that doesn't always reflect in wins and losses. You still have to get it done on the field. Q. Did you sense the whole Vol Nation rallied around the fact that you fired back during the SEC Media Days teleconference? A. I think people were just anxious to hear the other side. We'd only heard one side of it. Really, it wasn't much of an issue outside of Alabama and in some circles. But as soon as I commented on it, it became a national issue. Q. Are you looking forward to going to SEC Media Days this year in Birmingham and facing everybody? A. Nope, I'm just looking forward to spring practice. Q. What would you hope your legacy is at Tennessee? A. Legacy makes it sound like you're getting ready to leave. But I guess it would be, ''He won and did it right, put the well-being of his players at the forefront and shared the credit.'' ''It's amazing to me how dominating (Tennessee football) is in people's lives. ... It's a passion. It's an outlet. It's entertainment. Some people live their life around it, and I guess that's OK.'' Phillip Fulmer, right, Tennessee football coach.
