I have been a little slow to follow-up on a story I devoted most of last week to: the Britton Colquitt issue. The Great Punkin himself has spoken out, via a guest column in the Knoxville Snooze-Slantinel, and responded to to John Adams’ article calling for his head.

To Fulmer’s credit, John Adams has made a career out of attacking the UT football program, and may have gone a bit far in so pointedly calling for Fulmer’s head in his article. Adams, an LSU graduate, has long used jabs a Phil Fulmer to sell papers, and keep people reading. I will also say that the timing of Adams’ article was not spectacular. I do find it ironic that, after years of attacking Fulmer, Adams calls for Fulmer’s ouster the very same week that Bruce Pearl and the BasketVols achieved the all-time high-water mark for the mens basketball program.

Although I know there are those who disagree with me (Gee, imagine that…), I acknowledged and continue to feel that Adams did make some good points in his article, and I agree with his underlying premise, if not his conclusion. A lot of what Adams said was worth saying — and even if it wasn’t, it’s Adams right to say it nonetheless. Be that as it may, I think Fulmer’s response was a cogent and timely as it was warranted. Obviously, Fulmer feels confident enough as a coach to publicly respond to Adams’ remarks, and join the conversation. For my part, I’m glad he did.

I for one continue to support Fulmer, because I think he has been a good coach for the Volunteers since 1993. I do not question his integrity or his character — if it appeared that I intended to do so in my articles, then I failed to properly convey my message. (For what it is worth, I do agree with Fulmer’s column that John Adams, however, was questioning these things…) My problem is not with Coach Fulmer, but with the complete lack of discipline shown by players since the first of the year. I know Fulmer wants what is best for both Tennessee and each and every player — I’m just not sure that has been coming to fruition lately.

As I have previously written, I think Fulmer has been too dedicated and steadfast a leader for the football program to be asked to leave over — essentially — one bad month in a nearly fifteen year career at the helm. I believe that he should be given a chance to right the ship. More importantly, however, regardless of whether Fulmer is obligated to bear the consequences of the bad decisions of the Tennessee players, I do not believe that all of the recent problems are his fault. As has been pointed out by Moon Dog, among others, the root cause of these problems arises from a lack of responsibility on the part of players — and society in general. Unfortunately, with the headset comes a bevy of responsibilities that a coach — unlike his players — simply cannot ignore.As a longtime Fulmer supporter, I am glad that he has — at a minimum — acknowledged the situation and publicly. It takes a certain degree of courage to openly respond to such direct media attacks — especially when the writer is as entrenched in the local media as Adams. I think Fulmer’s article does go a certain distance to quell the furor surrounding Britton Colquitt. Still, the ultimate litmus test will come in the form of the results down the road.

While I continue to believe that Fulmer must take decisive actions when it comes to player discipline in the near term, I am content — for the time-being — with Fulmer’s public assurances and answers to some of the questions which have been flying.

He has my full support … until he proves to me that he does not deserve it.

Ultimately, keeping the Tennessee football players in line is somewhat akin to the actions of the Department of Homeland Security — failures are what gets noticed, not successes. Thus, a period of quiet for the Vols, without continual police blotter notices, is really all that it will take for these events to pass into memory. I would still give a note of caution to both Coach Fulmer and the members of the Tennessee football team, however:

Out of sight, does not always mean out of mind…

Hopefully, this is the final installment I will post regarding these trials and tribulations for the football Vols. If not, then the problems persist, and things will only continue to get worse.

For the sake of Coach Fulmer and the University, I hope that is not the case…

– Go Figure …

About the Author:  "Lawvol" -- I'm just a guy living in North Carolina who has an unnatural fascination with the color orange. Just because I'm a Tennessee alum and die-hard Volunteer fan doesn't mean that I can't poke a little fun at the Big Orange and anybody else for that matter. Feel free to complain all you want. >> Read more from this author

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