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Tennessee Vols five most consequential coaching moves with Phillip Fulmer as AD

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 18, 2021; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee athletics director Phillip Fulmer speaks during a press conference addressing the leadership changes related to the University of Tennessee football program held at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center in Knoxville on Monday, January 18, 2021. Mandatory Credit: Brianna Paciorka/Knoxville News Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK
Jan 18, 2021; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee athletics director Phillip Fulmer speaks during a press conference addressing the leadership changes related to the University of Tennessee football program held at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center in Knoxville on Monday, January 18, 2021. Mandatory Credit: Brianna Paciorka/Knoxville News Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK /
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KNOXVILLE, TN – FEBRUARY 21: Detailed view of the Tennessee Volunteers logo which is seen on a cheerleader megaphone during a game against the Florida Gators at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 21, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 62-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
KNOXVILLE, TN – FEBRUARY 21: Detailed view of the Tennessee Volunteers logo which is seen on a cheerleader megaphone during a game against the Florida Gators at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 21, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 62-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

No matter how successful or unsuccessful they are, all Tennessee Vols athletic directors have had some form of success with the program over the past nearly two decades. The only consistent is that they have all failed when it comes to the Tennessee football program. All of them were consequential in some way.

Dave Hart made a great Tennessee basketball hire in Rick Barnes while overseeing the Tennessee Lady Vols moving on from Pat Summitt. John Currie made a great move hiring Tony Vitello to run the baseball program. There are still coaches in the program hired by Mike Hamilton, Doug Dickey and Joan Cronan.

Despite the failures in football, Phillip Fulmer left a lasting legacy as an administrator. Good and bad, let’s take a look at the biggest things he did. These are Fulmer’s five most consequential moves regarding coaches during his reign as Tennessee Vols athletic director from December of 2017 to January of 2021.

5. Hiring Eve Rackham

Less than a week after Phillip Fulmer was named athletic director and one day before Jeremy Pruitt was introduced as head coach, Tennessee volleyball coach Rob Patrick resigned after 21 years on the job. As a result, Fulmer’s work wasn’t done once he made his football move.

A month later, Eve Rackham Watt was introduced as the program’s new head coach. Coming from the North Carolina Tar Heels, where she was an assistant for nine years, she oversaw a very successful first season on Rocky Top, as the program went 26-8 and 16-2 in the SEC, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Going 15-13 and 9-9 in 2019 and then simply 4-4 in 2020 due to the pandemic-shortened season keeps everything up in the air, which is why this is No. 5 on the list. But it was certainly a consequential move by Fulmer with the Tennessee Vols.

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