Any Tennessee fan can tell you what Phillip Fulmer meant to the Volunteers. Everything. While the last few years may have been rough no college football fan can doubt Fulmer for a second.
From 1995 to 1998 the Vols went 45-5 picking up two SEC titles and a National Championship. He is 150-51 during his 17 years coaching the Vols
He was as good a recruiter as they come. Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Peerless Price, Jason Witten, Shaun Ellis and Donte Stallworth all suited up for Fulmer
Even last year he was able to lead Erik "interception" Ainge and a weak Tennessee team to the SEC championship game.
Coaches don't last 17 years in the SEC yet somehow every year Fulmer continued to win. It is one of those rare stretches of dominance that comes around once every 10 years (See Pete Carrol USC). But he did it in the SEC. The toughest college football battleground there is. Coaches were fired because of the sheer fact that they couldn't down the Vols.
Above all else he was a class act. During those 17 years Tennessee had no major NCAA sanctions levied against them. Peyton Manning said "His legacy at Tennessee will be that he built men and won championships. He will always be my coach.”
While the last few seasons may have been painful there is no doubt that Fulmer should be considered a hero in Knoxville. Champions always should be.
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