What's taking so long Tennessee

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Fulmer is by far the best choice for AD

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no

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Fulmer is by far the best choice for AD. What is the holdup?

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This seems like an easy choice. UTC has punched above their weight in basketball and football recently

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This seems like an easy choice. UTC has punched above their weight in basketball and football recently

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It is an easy choice. It should have been done a long time ago. But you know Tennessee.

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Fulmer is by far the best choice for AD. What is the holdup?

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Marie Robbins would help them get rid of the sexual assault problem.

Back in the game: Phillip Fulmer and the rebirth of East Tennessee State football

"An FCS school, the Buccaneers will begin a new era as a member of the Southern Conference in the fall of 2015. For the past year, Fulmer has helped ETSU, which is based in Johnson City, as a consultant on everything from fundraising to the school’s coaching search. It’s a unique opportunity to channel the passion that once helped him build one of the SEC’s premier programs. As Fulmer tells it, it’s also a role he never expected to play at this stage in his life.

*****


Dr. Richard Sander faced a major challenge when he first took over as the Buccaneers' athletic director on Jan. 15, 2013. University president Dr. Brian Noland had approached Sander the month before; Dave Mullins, who had served as East Tennessee’s AD since ’02, was considering retirement, so Noland initiated a search for a possible replacement. Sander had previously spent more than two decades working as Virginia Commonwealth’s athletic director, but he had been retired since ’06 while consulting for various schools.

Noland was toying with the idea of rebuilding Buccaneers football. He mentioned the plan to Sander in passing, but little was set in stone. However, not long after the school officially hired Sander, Noland came to his AD with a directive: We’re bringing ETSU football back.

From his days at VCU, Sander boasted plenty of experience shaping successful athletic programs, as the Rams won 27 Colonial Athletic Association titles during his tenure. Still, this was entirely uncharted territory.

“Me being from VCU, we didn’t have football,” Sander said in a phone interview. “So I thought I needed to find somebody that knows football. Being in the state of Tennessee, I figured, who better than Phil Fulmer to help us start football?”


Sander had never met Fulmer, but figured he'd reach out. After an introductory call, Sander drove with Noland to Knoxville to meet the former Volunteers coach. The group sat for three hours and discussed how Fulmer could help. Fulmer, who admits to missing the game, realized this was a unique opportunity to get involved.

“Dr. Noland just showed tremendous vision and energy,” said Fulmer. “He was excited about the opportunity. He’d engaged his students and faculty already. He assured me that it wasn’t going to be done on a shoestring like it was before. It would be done first class.”

Of course, Sander couldn’t leave without gauging Fulmer’s interest in coaching. Fulmer had led Tennessee for 17 years -- and was a player and assistant before that -- but was forced out in 2008 after a second five-win campaign in four seasons. Still, he had won six SEC East titles and the ’98 BCS championship. In all, Fulmer went 152-52 as the Vols coach.

More importantly, however, Sander recognized Fulmer’s familiarity with the state. He was comfortable with East Tennessee and the Tri-Cities area, which encompasses Johnson City and nearby Bristol and Kingsport. Fulmer, who is 63, also wasn’t likely to use the Buccaneers as a stepping-stone to a better job.

Noland and Sander made a hard push to get Fulmer as their coach. They even met with Fulmer and his attorney for five hours on a second occasion. Looking back, Sander says he thought he’d sold Fulmer on the idea, but ultimately the coach declined.

“Even though it’s only two hours away, it’s still 17-18 hours a day,” Fulmer said. “I’d done that for 40 years. I’m not ruling out that that I’d ever do it again, but I have a partnership here at a very good business with people that I enjoy being around. My time is much more flexible than it used to be."

LINK

If anyone is lucky that Coach Fulmer stayed around college athletics, it is UT.

I think that's pretty close to it, also seems as though the Haslams are blocking the Blackburn hire as well. My guess is they want to have more of a say and that won't be the case of Blackburn gets the job.

The nice thing about this taking so long is that the public is now becoming more united in pressuring the University to go with Blackburn at AD.

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Fulmer eats ... Tennessee.

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donuts. Tennessee donuts.

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Jay Jacobs would be a better choice and that says a lot. The role of AD has evolved and giving it to a former coach with zero AD experiment is not a good strategy.

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Yeah, look at Joe Alleva and the great coaches he hired for LSU...