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Tennessee Lady Vols: Holly Warlick contract extension huge mistake by Phillip Fulmer

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 17: Tennessee Volunteers fans get ready before a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 17, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 17: Tennessee Volunteers fans get ready before a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 17, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Volunteers Athletic Director Phillip Fulmer is making a big women’s basketball mistake by extending Tennessee Lady Vols head coach Holly Warlick’s contract.

Related Story: Lady Vols 2017-2018 individual player awards

After three straight historically underachieving regular seasons and two straight historically early exits from the NCAA Tournament by Tennessee Lady Vols standards, Holly Warlick should be firmly on the hot seat. She doesn’t need to be fired yet, but there should be no extended comfort.

With no Final Fours in six years and two straight second-round exits, the administration needs to send a message that program’s slow decline is unacceptable. Unfortunately, if reports are true, they are doing the opposite.

Under the Tennessee A.D. Phillip Fulmer, the Vols are reportedly working on a contract extension for Warlick. Jimmy Hyams of WNML first reported the news Tuesday.

Now, to be fair, Fulmer more than anybody probably understands the value of stability. He also has a relationship with Warlick. And extending her contract only two to three years with the Tennessee Lady Vols isn’t the most ringing endorsement.

However, it’s squandering a huge opportunity. Warlick, right now, only has one year left on her contract. Her performance the past six years puts her in a win now situation among Tennessee Lady Vols fans.

So, as we reported back in March, the program is in the perfect situation. Warlick had the No. 1 recruiting class this past year, and she has the No. 6 class this year. These kids will be in the program together for the next three years.

As a result, the Tennessee Lady Vols have the luxury of not having to extend her contract for recruiting reasons The players are already in place for a while. They can just give her one more year to coach and then cut bait, with no cost to the program, if it doesn’t work out.

By extending Warlick’s contract, Fulmer is squandering that huge opportunity. Yes, he probably wants to see what she can do after a couple of years of developing both of these classes together. But she already had those chances.

From 2012 to 2015, she had the No. 5, No. 3, No. 6 and No. 13 ranked classes. The result? In 2015-2016, the year that should have all come together, the Tennessee Lady Vols fell out of the Top 25 for the first time in 30 seasons.

Why should we believe Warlick will perform differently by re-stacking the roster the same way? We shouldn’t. As a result, this extension is a huge mistake. Warlick should just get next year to show what she can do, and she should have to do one of three things.

Next: Lady Vols 2017-2018 report card

Either win the SEC regular season title, win the SEC Tournament, or make the Final Four. If none of those things happen, then it’s very clear that it’s time to cut bait. After all, how much time do you need when you inherited the most storied program in women’s basketball history?